Original subtitles

(THEME MUSIC)

(GUNFIRE AND SHELLING)

(FOOTSTEPS PATTER)

(MUFFLED SHRIEKING)

(SHRIEKING GROWS LOUDER)

-(DEAFENING SHRIEKS) -MAN: Prep for surgery!

-(SHRIEKS FADE) -(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS)

(CROWD HUBBUB)

Sisters, come.

-Hurry up. -Gather round.

Come along.

We have come to war to aid our men.

That is our calling,

our devotion.

I served during the Boer War.

I have seen the impact a trained nurse

can have on the health and recovery

of the wounded combatant.

Tomorrow, you will commence your duties.

Be your best for your patients, for your country,

hail you from Australia or New Zealand,

for the Empire and for the King, but mostly for yourselves.

Matron Wilson. Matron Gould. I'm here to escort you.

Sisters, our lorries are here.

SOLDIER: The vehicles have been redeployed

for movement of livestock.

Horses travel by lorry while nurses walk?

Six weeks on the voyage. Five hours on that dreadful train.

A stroll will help us regain our land legs.

Form two lines. Make them straight.

NURSE: Lord, I thought Adelaide was hot.

NURSE 2: You've got to be joking.

Good thing we have our deckchairs

to help us face the ordeals of war.

I wonder what battalion he's with.

NURSE: I don't know.

-CHILD: Shoe shine? -No. No, thank you.

SOLDIER 2: Oi. Imshi. Imshi. Come on. Up you get. Come on.

-Up you get. Come on. -Thank you.

-You're welcome. -SOLDIER: Follow me, ladies.

It's so hot. Do you think we have to walk?

We're to share?

They could have at least let us nominate our roommates.

I'm sure we'll rub along alright.

Oh, do you mind? Just, I sleep better with the breeze.

Oh, of course.

You're from Sydney, aren't you, Sister Sheppard?

Mm. And you?

Melbourne. Well, Perth originally, but, you know.

I feel I know you from somewhere.

Really? How odd.

Yes, I felt it the whole voyage from Australia.

Could we have crossed paths during training?

No, we couldn't have.

That is, I'm certain we haven't.

Is it alright if I use this one?

Thank you, I think.

-What is it? -Bully beef.

The men live on it, apparently.

Well, for country, Empire and King.

Oh.

(ALL LAUGH)

Would you like to join us, Sister Ross King?

Thank you, Sister Steele, but...

Lieutenant Frank Smith.

May I escort you to your table, Sister...?

Alice Ross King.

But are you sure you wouldn't rather make me march?

(LAUGHS)

You know, we're not all brutes in the army.

So, Lieutenant, how long have you been...

Mind if I join you?

Of course.

Lieutenant Smith, this is my roommate, Sister Sheppard.

Which battalion are you with, Lieutenant?

The 13th.

Your camp under the pyramids - do you sleep in tents?

-FRANK: Indeed we do. -SHEPPARD: All of you?

Officers as well as men? You all sleep in tents.

From the colonel to the lowest private.

The pyramids are marvellous. Simply towering with history.

Have you been to see them yet?

I'd be delighted to escort you both.

If I have time from my duties, that would be lovely.

Ah, yes, your duties. Brave bunch of girls you are.

Or are some of you nurses married ladies?

All footloose and fancy-free.

We have to be to qualify for Australian Army Nursing...

-But you do have privacy? -Pardon?

Oh, your tents. I hope, as an officer, you have privacy.

That you don't share.

Well, it depends on rank, but for the most part,

we've got space to ourselves.

Lieutenant Smith seems nice.

Yes.

ALICE: You and he got along like a house on fire.

I was just being sociable.

Hm. Of course.

Though we should be careful how we conduct ourselves.

I know we're entitled to a bit of fun while we're here,

but being too forward could...

Well, it could give you a reputation.

I was just being sociable.

Of course.

(DISTANT BOMBING)

Is that...?

(PANTS) Can you hear it? They're fighting.

NURSE: Over at the Suez.

Apparently, the New Zealanders are already there.

Sisters. A moment, please.

The enemy is increasing his push towards us,

10,000 Turks amassed on the other side of the Suez Canal.

Is it an invasion, miss?

Turkish strategy is beyond my ken,

Sister Haynes, but our armies are responding,

and the British are establishing

a casualty clearing station in Port Said,

just six miles from the canal.

A clearing station that needs volunteers.

Good. Sister Ross King. Sister Haynes.

-Miss Wilson? -Mm-hm?

Are Australian battalions heading to the fighting?

I couldn't say.

Might they be staying here in Cairo?

Troop movements are not our concern, Sister Sheppard.

We leave in an hour.

-(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS) -(DISTANT GUNFIRE)

-We must be nearly there. -(GASPS)

(GUNFIRE GROWS LOUDER)

MAN: We've requisitioned the building from some French nuns

who ran it as an orphanage.

It, uh...

It needs a quick once-over.

Well, I'll leave you to it, Matron.

Well, Sisters, here we are.

Yes, throw all of this out.

But these bedsteads, take them out and scrub them.

(BRIGHT MUSIC)

(COUGHS)

Sisters. Take that mattress outside. Beat it and air it.

Oh, Olive!

(NURSES SQUEAL)

Well done, Sisters.

SOLDIER: This is most satisfactory.

Well done, Sister.

Good. Very good. Thank you.

(BELL RINGS)

Matron, excellent.

An ambulance has just arrived.

WILSON: Sisters. To your stations, please.

MAN: Orderlies. Casualties approaching.

WILSON: Dressing station one, please.

(SOLDIERS GROAN)

WILSON: Dressing station two.

Hello there, Corporal.

(MEN CONTINUE TO GROAN)

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

Sister Ross King. Come with me, please.

Excuse me, Matron.

Speak to the major.

Next.

Major Leopold concerned about this one?

He was just doing rounds.

And you were just being sociable again, I suppose?

No.

I realise it's Lieutenant Smith you've really set your cap at.

Sister Sheppard, I know I've been uncivil,

and I know I have no right to step in your way.

And I'm not surprised you're smitten with Frank.

But I'm not.

I'm sure he finds you pretty presentable too.

Sister Ross King, I have no romantic interest

in Frank Smith.

But what about all that business

of officers and tents and privacy?

I was just making small talk.

Oh.

So you won't mind if I indulge in the gentle art with him?

Not at all.

As you said, we're entitled to a bit of fun.

Sisters. We're closing the station and returning to Cairo.

OLIVE: But we've just got here.

Most of our troops have already been recalled.

Have we beaten the Turks?

-I couldn't say. -If we're pulling out...

British High Command may have a new plan.

But it does seem the Turks have withdrawn,

and you've earned yourselves a couple of days leave.

(CAMELS MOAN)

WILSON: Morning, Sister Sheppard.

Sightseeing on your day off?

Oh, I, um... The pyramids.

My brother, Lance Corporal Wilson.

I tried to convince my serious big sister

to go crocodile hunting on the Nile,

but she insists on getting me cultured.

Well, I mustn't detain you.

Good day.

(HORSES NEIGH)

Excuse me. 2nd Battalion?

2nd?

Those blokes got themselves a sunny spot.

Uh...

Third row, miss.

Sister Sheppard?

Lieutenant Cook.

-How are you? -Well. You?

Yes.

Indeed.

Tea?

Home sweet home.

-Has anyone cottoned on? -I don't think so.

You're my naughty secret.

-Else. -Hm?

There's talk of an invasion.

We're being sent to the Dardanelles.

When?

(COUGHS)

-Are you alright? -I must have pulled a muscle.

FRANK: New arrivals.

You've heard the rumour of us invading Turkey.

Whole camp's abuzz with itchy trigger fingers.

At Port Said, I was asked to assist in surgery.

I saw my first bullet extraction.

The bullet was embedded in the humerus.

The surgeon got it out very neatly.

And busy, you know.

One time, I did almost a dozen gunshot wounds. A dozen.

-And you weren't alarmed? -I thought I might be nervy.

But I just wanted to do the job well.

-Hello there. -Major Leopold?

You're in Cairo?

Recalled, awaiting orders, like so many other chaps.

Staying at the hunting lodge, actually.

We're sure to bump into each other.

Well, good day.

Who's that old bloke?

The English MO I met in Port Said.

I'm so glad I went.

I feel ready for anything now.

-(LAUGHS) -What?

What?

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like the thought of you

so close to the front.

War's no place for a woman.

I'm a fully qualified nurse, Frank.

This is where I should be.

Well, if I had my way, you'd be in a beautiful palace.

-A palace? -Mm-hm.

I've always rather fancied myself in a palace.

-SOLDIER: Nurse, over here. -NURSE: Can you open your eyes?

-What are you doing? -Going back to camp.

Oh, no, you can't. Your wound's not healed.

-I've got to go. -Sister Haynes!

Sister Sheppard is right, Private.

Your dancing days will be over

if that gash in your foot gets septic.

Me mates are gonna sail off to fight Johnny Turk without me.

That's just a rumour. There might not be an invasion at all.

There...

There might not be any fighting.

All this talk.

(GASPS) Elsie!

Matron!

(READS) "The postmaster-general has approved the construction

"of an additional telephone trunk line

"between Adelaide and Melbourne."

Hello there.

I knew my six-week-old Adelaide 'Advertiser'

would bring you back from the brink.

(MUMBLES)

What do...?

Pleurisy. You had a temp of 104.

Could have fried an egg on your forehead.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

I heard voices.

Well, you look rather better.

-How long have I been ill? -Couple of days.

Has the invasion happened? Have our men gone?

-Nothing's happened. -Hm.

We should tell Miss Gould.

Her concern for you has made her almost human.

(SQUEAKING)

-Syd! Oh, you mustn't be here. -I hadn't heard from you.

You can't be here. You must go.

In a moment. Look at you.

You're pale as a sheet.

You must go.

Shh.

Oh.

Sister Sheppard, how are we this...?

Clearly on the mend.

Elsie's not to blame. It's my fault.

-This is utterly insupportable. -She's done nothing wrong.

Our position within the army is ambiguous enough.

If you understood our situation...

Here you are laying us open to charges of immorality.

I suspect, Miss Gould, Sister Sheppard's offence

may be of a different kind.

Isn't that right, Mrs Cook?

WILSON: From the moment I saw you on Circular Quay,

I felt you were familiar - your wedding was

in the 'Brisbane Courier' social pages.

With photographs.

An interstate newspaper carried photographs of your wedding?

-Why? -Because of his father.

(SIGHS)

My father is...

..Joseph Cook.

Prime Minister Joseph Cook?

Well, he lost the last election, but...

..yes.

Right.

Well. What a mess.

Look, punish me if you need to, but go easy on my Elsie.

If you could leave now, please, Lieutenant Cook.

Through the front door rather than the window.

Syd.

Just get better, old girl.

Go back to bed, Sister Sheppard. Back to bed!

(DOOR OPENS)

We will discuss this when you are recovered.

And you should be spending your days off on rest,

not eavesdropping.

ALICE: I knew I'd seen her before.

I saw her wedding photograph in the wedding papers.

She wore ivory silk.

He's handsome, isn't he?

She can't have imagined she could keep being married

secret for the whole war?

But Elsie can't lower her reputation with her husband.

It's not about her reputation now. She'll lose her job.

Oh. Oh, of course.

FRANK: Morning, Sisters. Hello, Alice.

Hello, Frank. Lieutenant Smith is taking me to the pyramids.

But Miss Gould said that we should rest.

One must cast sweets in the cup while one can, Hilda.

-You look wonderful. -Thank you.

She is so...assured.

She is so something. That's for sure.

Now, I have a surprise for the next leg of our expedition.

Tea at an oasis? A string quartet by the Sphinx?

-Camels? -(CAMELS MOAN)

I know they're rather alarming, but...

Dromedaries are the fastest way to travel these sandy roads.

I'll be by your side the whole time...

-They're gorgeous! -(MOANS)

Wait! Let me help you.

There we go.

ALICE: It's astonishing.

Lot of good stone put to no great purpose,

far as I can see.

It makes me feel...

..insignificant.

Like I'm a part of something endless.

Certainly feels like I've been in this desert for an eternity.

Men are getting edgy.

I just wish the brass

would get this invasion over and done with.

"If you can force your nerve and heart and sinew

"To serve their turn long after they're gone...

"You'll be a man, Frank."

-Kipling. -Oh. (LAUGHS)

Look at you. My clever little nursey quoting poetry.

Thank you for a lovely day.

Hey, um...

-Hello there. -Oh! Hello, Major.

Been Sphinxing?

The Great Pyramid.

Ah. Orion's Belt buckle.

Apparently, the ancient Egyptians built

the great pyramid to correlate to one of the stars

in the constellation of Orion.

Oh.

I can hardly recognise any stars here.

I still find it odd not seeing the Southern Cross.

I did a bit of stargazing in my dim and distant youth.

Shall we?

Orion is Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Saiph

and Rigel at the bottom right.

And those three stars in the middle are his belt.

My father knew the stars. Australian ones.

He used to fish by them.

Said when there was no moon,

mullet practically threw themselves in the boat.

He must be proud of you, enlisting.

He passed away when I was small.

He drowned...

..with my brothers.

I'm so sorry.

Mother didn't want me to enlist.

Didn't want me to be a nurse at all.

My parents didn't want me to do medicine either.

Hoped I'd follow in Father's footsteps -

go in for the Church,

take over his parish, stay in Cumbria.

You didn't want to?

No, I wanted to see the world.

Though, as I've got older, I can understand their position.

And your mother's.

One wishes to keep close to things one cares for.

Sheppard's your maiden name?

Well, aren't you the sly one?

Sister Ross King, I've never done anything like this ever,

but I couldn't stay at home while he went to war.

What's it like...

..being married?

I hardly know.

Our wedding was just before Syd sailed.

We hadn't seen each other for three months till the other day.

When you were at the camp, in the privacy of his tent?

Just being sociable.

(BOTH GIGGLE)

We're going to be separated again now, though.

You're a good nurse. It's ludicrous they'd send you home.

Well, at least you'll have a room to yourself.

You know, after sharing all this time together,

'Sister' seems a bit formal.

Shall we use our Christian names?

(GOULD READS) "Australian military nurses

"must be between 21 and 40,

"have done three years training

"and be either widowed or single.

"Nurses who marry whilst on active service

"will automatically vacate their positions."

I want to do my bit, Miss Gould. I was one of the first to join.

By committing a falsehood!

You can perhaps work in a military hospital

back in Australia.

But I'm needed here.

You said a trained nurse can make

a huge difference in war.

Yes, and the army expects us to adhere to the rules.

I'm sure your father-in-law, the former prime minister,

would understand the politics of our situation.

You know, my father-in-law's last act as prime minister

was to pledge Australia's full support for Britain in this war.

And, you know, he's such a strong supporter

of the Nursing Service

that I'm sure he'd be our advocate in Parliament,

in government or opposition.

We'll receive no special dispensations.

No, Miss Gould.

There will be no hiding this.

I do not want to be accused of subterfuge.

So...there is one complication you will immediately remove.

Say hello to your new colleague, Sister Elsie Cook.

Oh, that is bonzer, Sister! Just bonzer!

It is such a relief.

I dropped a dozen stitches last night worrying.

Well done, Elsie.

Thank you, Alice.

(BOTH GIGGLE)

SISTER WILSON: So, what's the plan?

The Poms have got it sorted.

Sneak landing at the Dardanelles,

a quick dash to Constantinople and Bob's your uncle.

We don't have an Uncle Bob.

After this caper, we will.

Fingers crossed, this'll see the Turks off

and we can all go home.

Some of us have been chosen to go

on the British hospital ships.

I wish it was me.

I'd be closer to you.

My dear girl.

You get so terribly seasick.

Mmm.

(SOLDIERS WHISTLE AND CHEER)

They're calling us Anzacs.

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

-Frank. -You're so lovely.

Frank, stop.

What's wrong?

I don't think we should.

But tonight's my last night.

I go to Turkey tomorrow. Who knows what could happen to me?

You said it yourself.

One should cast sweets in the cup while you still can.

Yes, but...

I want us to part on good terms.

Thought you'd be at the camp with the other young folk.

Oh.

I was.

But it got rather unruly.

Alice.

Will you take the advice of an old man?

You're not old.

Experienced, then.

At times like these, emotions are intensified.

LEOPOLD: Men make rash declarations.

Especially men going off to battle.

You're a very young person away from home,

and I would urge you to exercise caution

in how you respond to any offers you may receive.

Oh! I thought I saw you come up here. I...

HILDA: I-I can come back later.

Hilda, wait.

So sorry. I am such a galoot.

You're leaving tonight?

On the 11:30 train to Alexandria.

Can't think why I've been picked for a hospital ship

when others are so much more competent.

I...wanted to say goodbye.

I hope you don't think that's presumptuous.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Will you write to me, Hilda?

Tell me how you and the boys are faring?

I'd...be delighted.

Though I imagine we'll all be back in a couple of weeks.

'Bye.

HILDA: "Dear Alice, We have spent the last few days

"in Mudros Harbour as an enormous fleet.

"Hundreds of British and French warships gathers.

"But now we are all Turkey-bound."

Please, God, bless Mum and Dad...

WOMAN: Shh!

Please, God, protect all the Kiwi boys

and the Australians too.

Hilda, I was up all night

with that tommy with rheumatic fever.

I'm sorry. Sorry.

Please, God, if we have surgery today,

and if I'm asked to assist, could you make sure

that I don't drop anything?

(GROANS)

Actually, please, God, could you possibly see

that someone else altogether gets chosen?

Oh, honestly, Hilda. You're as wet as a weekend in Wellington.

(LOUD BOMBING)

What's that?

What's happening?

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

I want every MO and every nurse on board on duty.

Prep for surgery. Both theatres.

Make some room on these bloody decks now!

Come on, boy. What are you...? Go!

-(WOUNDED SOLDIER SHRIEKS) -SOLDIER: Did you wash him?

It's alright now, Private. You're safe now.

OK. OK.

OK. Just need you to breathe deeply.

Let me have a look.

(SOLDIERS GROAN)

Keep breathing deeply. Deep breaths.

(SHRIEKING)

MAN: Matron!

Just a drop. That's it. That's it.

(GROANS)

Elsie, where are they all from?

Gallipoli.

Sister Ross King. You're here. Good.

We need another dressing station.

Triage haemorrhages, chest and head cases first.

Then limbs and sepsis. Watch for signs of gangrene.

(SPLUTTERS)

Sister Ross King?

There are so many boys.

Sister, we have 200 patients already admitted.

And God knows how many more arriving from the docks.

-Please do your job. -Of course, Miss Wilson.

Boys.

Can you look out for...for him?

WILSON: Station three, please.

Hello there, Private. I'm Sister Alice Ross King.

I'll be looking after you today.

-Just take a deep breath. -WILSON: Orderlies, please.

Help here, please.

(SOLDIER SCREAMS)

Have you seen Syd?

Did...did Bert make it?

Can you stand for me, Private?

Who's Bert?

Been mates since Mount Eden prep, me and Bert.

Sisters!

Careful.

The MOs all gave them morphine an hour ago.

They wouldn't be so woozy if we could get to them sooner.

There are so many from the 2nd.

Syd will be alright. You'd have heard.

-Have you heard from Frank? -A card dated the 19th.

ALICE: Anything could have happened since then, of course.

Alice. There's no exit wound.

Major Springer.

God's sake, make sure the next lot of sterile water

is actually bloody sterile - last jug had an onion in it.

I'm sorry. The servants brought it in from the cookhouse.

Major, I have a patient with a bullet still in the wound.

He'll have to wait his turn.

I'm concerned he's developing gangrene. How long?

-A day, two, three. -He's waited six already.

He could lose his arm.

Sister, there are men here

who could lose their lives if I don't get to them.

You've had surgical experience.

As theatre sister.

He's loaded with morphine. You can do it.

(SCREAMS)

-All a bit much, eh? -No, no. No, I'm fine.

-Alice...about the other night. -(SIGHS)

I was wrong, utterly, to take advantage.

Sometimes one can't suppress one's feelings.

-Oh, Xavier. -I've no wish to embarrass...

Oh, Xavier, please.

I haven't time for affairs of that sort right now.

I just need a friend.

Can we be friends?

Of course.

You're 2nd Battalion. Do you know Lieutenant Cook?

What, the pollie's son?

Not in my company, but... yeah, I know him.

Is he...

Do you know how he is?

We all hit the beach. Second wave.

Never saw him after that.

Elsie.

I'll be right. You go back to the ward.

I'm sorry, but you're lucky last.

Hello, old girl.

Oh, God, Syd.

I didn't know where you were.

(WHISPERS) Elsie.

(CONTINUOUS BOMBING IN BACKGROUND)

36 hours.

36 hours straight, you did on that shift.

You are a conch.

I only managed 32.

I had eight men die on me today.

Oldest was 19.

(SILENCE)

Maybe we've won.

(BOMBING RESUMES)

Millicent!

Medicinal purposes.

Officers mess won't notice.

No.

Do you know what gets my goat?

The papers going on making out this is a simple thing,

this forcing of the Dardanelles.

If we dare tell the truth about this,

we'll be called un-British.

Millicent, we just need some sleep.

(LOUD BOMBING)

Good luck with that.

-From home? -From Hilda.

She says the men can't make headway inland

because there aren't enough of them.

The Turks just sit on the cliff tops and...

(MARCHING)

Reinforcements.

How's Syd?

His leg threatened to become infected,

but I think we've beaten it.

I thought after Port Said, I was ready.

I thought I'd seen it all.

We all did, but it's early days.

ELSIE: Reinforcements will help.

Next.

Gunshot wound to chest. Bullet not located.

(GASPS)

Scalpel.

-Are you alright, Sister? -Fine.

-Thank you, Doctor. -Major.

When will you bloody nurses learn some discipline?

Hello there.

You had a collapsed lung. Can you take a deep breath?

(WHEEZES)

You'll be fine.

Don't imagine I'll be riding camels...

..any time soon.

This should be firm. Let us know if it gets uncomfortable.

You should rest.

I'll get the orderlies

to take you to the ward.

ALICE: "My dear Hilda, I was going to complain to you

"about how busy we've been, but I can only imagine

"how much worse it is for you so close to the cove.

"I had a nasty sore throat the other day,

"and though I should have slept, I found I couldn't.

"So I snuck into town and did some shopping.

"Foolish, I know, but it made a refreshing change from war."

-Costs too much. Too much. -S'il vous plaît, mademoiselle.

-Just forget it. -Excuse me.

Could you tell me where I could find a bookshop?

-An English-language one? -Yeah, afraid so.

I've got little Latin and French,

less Greek and no Arabic whatsoever.

Um...well, down this lane,

take your first flight of steps to the left.

They're narrow, and watch out for beggars.

Jog for about a hundred yards,

and there's a little place that sells some editions.

Goodness. You're clearly a local.

Well, what book are you after?

'The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'.

-Poetry. -And philosophy.

I brought my much-loved copy with me on the voyage over,

but it was the unfortunate victim

of my batman's malaise de mer.

Your batman was seasick on your favourite book?

-Well, thank you. -Would you like me to show you?

Please.

Some see Khayyam as a Sufi.

To others, he's a mystic or an atheist.

-And what do you take from him? -I think he's a fatalist.

He believes our actions are free

but we've no influence over the future.

It's an attitude rather suited to war, win or lose.

It's all down to fate.

Well, we're on the right side. God's on our side.

This conflict's all part of his grand plan?

I'm afraid I don't believe that.

Then why are you here?

Well, Australia's a young country.

We've got to engage with the wider world

if we're to be taken seriously.

I guess I'm here for common or garden duty.

What brought you to the mysterious East?

My duty, I suppose.

And the lovely silks.

Ah.

My sister has tried to educate me

on the difference between silk and satin.

She's failed hopelessly. (LAUGHS)

(LAUGHS)

Would you read me some?

Certainly. (CLEARS THROAT)

Ah. (CLEARS THROAT)

"A book of verses underneath the bough,

"a jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou

"beside me singing in the wilderness

"Oh, wilderness were paradise enow!"

That's...

..lovely.

I was expecting a grim lesson on destiny.

I can read you some of those too if you like.

(BELLS CHIME)

-I have to go. -Is everything alright?

We have an 11pm curfew, and our matron is rather strict.

And you risked her wrath for me and old Omar here.

-I'll pay for a garry. -No, it's fine. I'll run.

Please, you must let me pay for a garry.

I hope you don't turn into a pumpkin.

(LAUGHS)

Thank you for the lift, Lieutenant.

I don't know your name.

Harry. Harry Moffitt.

Alice Ross King.

-Goodnight, Alice. -Goodnight.

(CLEARS THROAT)

Mena Camp, thank you, driver.

ALICE: Too hot to sleep again?

Well, I tried prostrating myself on the bathroom floor,

but...even there...

You're always at it, aren't ya?

At what?

Day and night, casting your sweets

at this fellow and that.

Is my business really yours, Olive?

Sorry.

I've got the grumps.

Put it down to the 180 tommies

from Gallipoli I admitted today.

You missed Miss Wilson's call for volunteers.

Apparently, High Command

want a general hospital closer to Anzac,

so they're setting one up on Lemnos Island.

Did you put up your hand?

Did Elsie?

She's not gonna leave Cairo while Syd's convalescing.

Hmm.

But you could.

-I dunno, Olive. -Of course.

All those sweets in your cup.

He your sort?

I honestly don't know.

Try and give a cough several times a day

to keep your lungs clear.

You're so good to me.

Well, you're doing very well.

Major Springer's very impressed.

Well, you're the one that saved me.

I feel better when you're around.

Be by my side always.

Marry me, Alice.

Marry me now.

But...what about my work?

Leave it. We can leave this disaster.

We can go home. Go back to Australia.

I love you, Alice.

I just want to make you happy.

Build you that palace you always dreamed of.

Alice?

Who is it?

Is it that Pommy bloke?

I'm sorry.

I'm on duty.

Any pain?

Are you sure?

No stiffness, twinges?

I'm afraid, old girl, your excellent nursing

has restored me to full fitness.

"Fit for active duty.

"Return to unit."

You know what today is?

It's our anniversary.

We've been married eight months.

(MAN SINGS) ♪ It's a long way to Tipperary

♪ It's a long way to go

(BOTH SING) ♪ It's a long way to Tipperary

♪ To the sweetest girl I know

♪ Goodbye, Piccadilly

♪ Farewell, Leicester Square

♪ It's a long, long way to Tipperary

♪ But my heart's right there. ♪

MILLICENT: He's lost both eyes.

Do you know what he does for a living back home?

He's a tailor.

But we must just work on

and pray for a swift victory.

I've had 19 deaths in a fortnight, Hilda. 19.

Cracker boys, every one of them.

But you mustn't drink. You mustn't.

You might... do something silly.

What? Silly?

Like sending wave after wave of our boys

up those stupid deadly cliffs?

Silly, like living on a floating tin can

with bombs dropping left and right?

You can keep on praying if you like,

but I am heartily sick of this whole bloody war.

Millicent!

ALICE: Lovely, isn't it?

HARRY: Especially to a boy from Gisborne.

Population - not very many.

There's beauty all over Egypt. I had no idea before I came.

Neither did I.

What shall we drink to?

Your safe return from Anzac Cove.

-Fate willing. -You will be careful?

Of course. We can't control the future.

Are these rock cakes?

Harry, I know you don't believe in God, but...

..the suffering I've seen, it can only be the result of evil.

The men you nurse, Alice, were wounded

because of failed international politics,

not supernatural forces.

That's not what I'm saying.

What are you saying?

Well, this invasion,

I've seen what it really means to real people.

No, you haven't. You haven't been home.

You haven't been in Australia.

You should see how people there react

to the very mention of the word 'Gallipoli'.

They're going off what they read in the papers,

not what's actually happening.

We're standing tough, Alice, making a name for ourselves.

New Zealanders too, and I'm proud of that.

So am I, but you're talking like it's a cricket match.

I don't think you understand what you're facing.

I think I have a fair idea, thank you.

(CLEARS THROAT)

Victory against the Turks

would prove that we're not just colonials.

A victory? Harry, we're not winning.

And men are dying.

I know what's in the papers.

I know what's happening in Turkey too.

This Gallipoli thing, Alice,

is our chance to step out of Britain's shadow,

and I want to be part of that.

More tea?

Harry sailed?

We fell out today.

Well, sort of.

He's not...naive.

He's the opposite, really.

But he still sees the war in this sort of glamour

and lofty notions, while I'm...

Oh, bother.

(SIGHS)

I hardly know him, Elsie.

I hardly know the first thing about him or his character,

and yet I...

I'm no longer interested in other men.

I've never felt like this for anybody before.

And now he's gone to Gallipoli.

Do you and Syd argue?

Not really.

Well, perhaps we haven't been together long enough.

He went back to Gallipoli today too.

Gallipoli.

What a stupid name!

A stupid name for a stupid place in the middle of nowhere

that no-one ever heard of three months ago.

-What shift are you on? -Earlies. You?

We should get some sleep.

Your qualities, as army nurses, must include the following -

gentleness, cleanliness,

observation, order, truthfulness,

obedience, courage, coolness and tact,

wherever the army may send us.

Wartime nursing is not like civilian nursing.

You will be tested by your service,

perhaps to your very limits,

but with these core principles in our hearts

and our patients' welfare uppermost in our minds,

we shall prevail.

It's all very well, but I do believe

we're in for a splendid adventure.

Where's the hospital? Colonel, there is nothing here.

I never asked for nurses in my unit, and if it were up to me,

we would not have women in the forward zone.

There's been a battle, at Gallipoli,

a place they're calling Lone Pine.

We do make a rather good team, don't we?

MAN: At this rate, the sick'll soon outnumber the wounded.

Half of your nurses will die before this war is won.

(SOBS)