Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Letitia Annie Millar, also known as Annie Letitia and as Lettie, was born on 13 August 1881 at Timaru, the younger daughter of Robert and Alice (née Orr) Millar, of Princes Street, Timaru. Robert Millar, senior, died in 1905, and in October 1912 the family suffered further sadness, when the elder daughter and sister, Sarah Catherine Millar, died as the result of a bicycle accident. Lettie was educated at Timaru South and Timaru Main schools, and it was at the Side School (South) in 1892 that she made her mark – winning the standard III prize for writing and gaining an award for regular attendance. After leaving school, Letitia trained as a nurse at the Timaru Hospital and was successful in the State examinations held on 11 and 12 June 1913. Having gained her registration in August 1913, she was gazetted as a registered nurse.

Letitia lived at home in Timaru after leaving school and during her training. In early 1915 she made a contribution to the Timaru Belgium Relief Fund. Letitia Miller was to be a nurse with the New Zealand Army Nursing Service Corps, as gazetted on 16 December 1915, the surname being corrected to Millar in October 1917. To carry out her duty in the war effort, she enlisted on 21 December 1915, at the age of 34 years 4 months. Single and Presbyterian, she nominated her mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Robert Millar, Princes Street, Timaru. Her address at the time was Trentham Camp. Letitia Annie Millar was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 119 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 31-34 inches. “Nurse L. Millar, late of the Timaru Hospital, is leaving with the 9th Reinforcements.” (Timaru Herald, 8 January 1916).

She embarked at Wellington per the “Maunganui” on 8 January 1916, with the in the 9th Reinforcements, destined for Suez, Egypt. A photograph with the caption “The Nursing Staff Accompanying The Ninth Reinforcements” was printed in Kai Tiaki (the nurses’ journal). Standing in the back row was Nurse Millar, seven others with her, three of whom were survivors of the Marquette disaster. In the early part of 1916, Sister Millar wrote to the nurses’ journal, Kai Tiaki, that she and Sister Shuker had a good trip to Suez. They had no serious cases of sickness. Having embarked on the hospital Ship “Warrimoo”, she disembarked at Suez and on 26 March 1916 was on duty at the 27th General Hospital at Cairo, leaving there on 15 June for duty on Hospital Ship “Braemat Castle”. Disembarking from “Braemar Castle in England in September, she was taken on the strength of No. 3 NZ General Hospital at Codford. A July 1916 return of members of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service, though far from complete, had listed several hundred nurses on service. Staff Nurse Letitia Annie Millar was at the 27th General Hospital at Abbrassia, Cairo. She was taken on Strength at Codford Hospital on 18 September 1916. On 29 December 1916, Nurse L. A. Millar was admitted to the N.Z. Nurses Convalescent Station, suffering from pleurisy. After a rest at the New Zealand Nurses’ Convalescent Home at Sandwich, Staff Nurse L. Millar, N.Z.A.N.S., returned to duty at the 3rd N.Z. General Hospital, Codford, on 20 January 1917. At the end of July 1917 she was transferred from No. 3 NZ General Hospital to No. 1 NZ General Hospital (Brockenhurst).

Under instructions from the Matron-in-Chief N.Z.E.F., Staff Nurse Millar reported to N.Z.A.N.S. Headquarters on 21 October 1917, and was struck off Strength of that unit. She embarked at Devonport on 1 November 1917 per "Mokoia", and returned on duty to New Zealand. Staff-Nurse Letitia Millar had been on duty in Egypt and in England for two years. Letitia Annie returned to New Zealand as a nurse with a draft of invalided soldiers, arriving at Lyttelton on 6 January 1918. Accompanied by a medical man and six men of the ranks, all belonging to South Canterbury, she travelled to Timaru by the express and was given a hearty welcome by a large crowd. The Mayor addressed them briefly, and he made special mention of Sister Millar and Dr. W. H. Unwin, as he had learned of the splendid service these two had rendered their boys. His expression of thanks and appreciation to all returning, on behalf of the people of South Canterbury, was met with applause. On her return Letitia A. Millar was given three months leave.

Once back in New Zealand she returned to nursing, firstly in Timaru and then in various parts of the country. She was to be Sister, under provisions of N.Z.E.F. Order No. 707., from 6 January 1918. On 21 February 1918 Letitia was called up for duty at Te Waikato Sanatorium. Sister L. Millar was released from the Army Nursing Service in January 1919, discharged from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on 31 March 1919, and placed on the Retired List of Officers. She joined the staff of the Otaki Hospital. Two years later she was a sister at the Public Hospital, Hawera, going on leave in December 1921. In March 1922 she resigned from Hawera Hospital to do private nursing. As of 13 September 1921, Staff Nurse L. A. Millar, a member of the NZ Army Nursing Service and Temporary Reserve, was transferred to the Reserve.

A very enjoyable reunion of the New Zealand Nurses’ Christian Union took place in March 1927 at Napier. The occasion was “a tennis tea” given to the returned N.Z.A.N. Sisters and overseas workers. Among those present was sister Millar. She spent her retirement in the Wellington area, where she died on 17 May 1970, aged 88 years. Letitia is buried in the Soldiers section of Karori Cemetery, her grave marked with a services plaque. For her service (over three years in New Zealand and overseas) Sister Letitia Annie Millar had been awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. At the July 1916 meeting of the Timaru South School Committee, the headmaster reported that Nurse Millar's name, amongst others, had been added to the roll of honour. She was a sister of William David Millar who died of wounds at Gallipoli, and a sister of Robert James Millar (6/507) who also served in World War I.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [09 January 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5549 0080794; AABK 18805 W5948 0358492) [02 September 2014]; Karori Cemetery headstone image & burial record (Wellington City Council) [28 July 2014]; Karori headstone transcription (Wellington Branch NZSG) [28 July 2014]; South Canterbury Times, 22 December 1892, Timaru Herald, 23 December 1892, 7 October 1912, 4 February 1915, 8 January 1916, 5 July 1916, 7 & 9 January 1918, Kai Tiaki: the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, 1 July 1913, 1 October 1915, 1 January 1916, 1 April 1916, 1 July 1916, 1 January 1919, 1 January 1921, 1 July 1922, 1 October 1925, Dominion, 16 December 1915, Press, 17 December 1915, 5 January 1918, 5 July 1919, Auckland Star, 5 March 1917, Evening Post, 7 March 1917, New Zealand Times, 8 March 1917, Otago Daily Times, 14 March 1917, New Zealand Herald, 5 January 1918, Hawera & Normandy Star, 22 November 1921, 21 March 1922, 16 May 1922 (Papers Past) [28 July 2014; 01 September 2014; 18 April 2017; 13 & 19 March 2020]; Probate reference (Archives NZ, per NZSG) [28 July 2014]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [March 2014; 01 September 2014]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [28 July 2014; 01 September 2014]; Registration of Nurses (NZ Gazette, per NZSG) [28 July 2014]; Register of Nurses (NZ Gazette, per ancestry.com.au) [01 September 2014]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [01 September 2014]; NZ Gazettes 1913, 1933 [2014]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file
• Other military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

TS