All language subtitles for ANZAC.Girls.S01E01.Adventure.720p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-ABH

(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)