Beryl Suthers Print Page

The window commemorates Beryl Suthers, a former church member who served in the Voluntary Aid Detachments in World War Two from 1941 to 1943. Beryl was an active member of the church from 1964 to 2003. 

The primary role of a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) member was that of nursing orderly in hospitals, carrying out menial but essential tasks - scrubbing floors, sweeping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms and other areas, dealing with bedpans, and washing patients. They were not employed in military hospitals, except as ward and pantry maids; rather, they worked in Red Cross convalescent and rest homes, canteens, and on troop trains.

VADs in the Second World War were given more medical training, but they were not fully qualified nurses. They worked in convalescent hospitals, on hospital ships and the blood bank as well as on the home front. In 1943, the government created the Australian Women's Auxiliary Service (AWAS) to control the large numbers of VADs employed by the military.

 

Note:
In November 2015 the Chatswood South Uniting Church, on the corner of the Pacific Highway and Mowbray Road (just near The Great Northern), was listed for sale.  Two years later it was relisted for sale. The owner has submitted a Development Application to the Lane Cove Council to build 40 new apartments. In March 2020, The developer JL Chatswood said the main building would be retained. 

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