A heroic war effort all round

SEVEN members of the Curtain family fought for God, Country and Empire, one in the Boer War and the remaining six in World War I.

Old book with images from World war 1 and world war 2. By Nurse Curtain. Supplied by Emma Zeeman

THEY were a large Catholic family that felt duty-bound to serve.

David and Maria Curtain, from Elderslie, had 12 children — five boys and seven girls.

Seven members of the Curtain family fought for God, Country and Empire, one in the Boer War and the remaining six in World War I.

Edward Curtain was the first to fight, leaving Tasmania to fight the Boers in 1901.

Nicholas Curtain enlisted in the army at the end of August 1915 to fight in World War I, joining the 12th reinforcement for the 3rd Light Horse Brigade.

Nicholas did not serve in Gallipoli, though his regiment of mounted infantry was only a few days away from being deployed to the Gallipoli Peninsula when the evacuation began.

Nicholas, who gained the rank of sergeant, became ill with malaria in 1918 and was discharged the following year because he was medically unfit.

A World War I nursing photo from an album of photos by Louisa Curtain.

James Curtain enlisted in November 1915 and was posted to artillery reinforcements before joining the 3rd Motor Transport Company.

He was involved in action in France but survived to return to Tasmania in 1919.

The four Curtain sisters who served as nurses during World War I represented the largest group of girls from a Tasmanian family.

Sister Mary Curtain was the first to enlist in May 1915, and was sent to Egypt and later to France.

In 1917 Mary became ill with chronic bronchitis and was invalided to London before returning to Australia.

Sisters Louisa and Harriette enlisted together in June 1915.

Harriette worked as a nurse in Egypt but was forced to leave the army when she married Dr Aldous Campbell Arnold in Cairo, who was attacked to the 1st Light Horse Field Ambulance.

Despite this forced discharge, only a few weeks after returning to Australia she returned to England to work as a volunteer nurse.

Louisa worked as a nurse in England and Egypt.

She also served with the No. 3 Sea Transport Nursing Section, which nursed injured soldiers on their return home to Australia.

Nancy Curtain enlisted in 1917 and was sent to a hospital in England and later to France. She was invalided in 1919 and returned home to Australia.

See today’s Mercury for the Centenary of the Anzacs liftout for more stories on some of the Tasmanian families touched by war.

Originally published as A heroic war effort all round