MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Honouring Our Veterans, One Story at a Time
Welcome to the Camberwell Pompey Elliott RSL’s Member Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on the remarkable individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving our nation. Through their stories, we celebrate the courage, commitment, and camaraderie that define our RSL community. Join us as we delve into the lives of our members, honouring their contributions and preserving their legacies for generations to come.
INTRODUCING OLYVE CLARKE
Olyve Clarke (née Sykes) joined the RSL in 1945 after serving in the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS) during World War II. Recognized for her exceptional secretarial skills, Olyve was selected personally by Colonel Mary Douglas, the AAMWS controller, to serve as her assistant, with whom she travelled to the Solomon Islands, Borneo, New Guinea, and throughout Australia. Promoted to Staff Sergeant, Olyve continued to support returning POWs after the war, and for many decades has remained deeply committed to serving her fellow veterans.
How long have you been a member of our Club?
I joined after I left the army, which was at the very end of the war. Even a bit after, because I was in the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service and we stayed in just a bit longer than the end of the war, because fellows were coming in from where they’d been in prison…[They] were coming home and they needed us to [care] for them. I left the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service a bit after the war finished, because there was such a lot of work [looking after the POWs].
Olyve Clarke at Camberwell Pompey Elliott RSL, August 2024.
Why did you join the RSL?
It was just something I wanted to do. I wanted to find other people who had been through similar experiences.
What’s your favourite part of being a member of the RSL?
In the early days it was a go-ahead thing, [because] you could go out and help people. A lot of the men would go out and do gardening for people who couldn’t work properly and you could do shopping for people who couldn’t get out [of their homes, due to injury]. There were all sorts of little jobs that could be done all the time to help people.
What did you enjoy doing the most?
I did a lot of shopping for people! Mostly grocery shopping.
Olyve in full uniform with Staff Sergeant insignia.
And what did you love most about your work with the AAMWS during the war?
I imagined that I would be working in a hospital. Major (Alice) Appleford was overseeing us [while] we did a “rookies’ course” [sic] for about 3 weeks, and then we came back to be sent to wherever [we were needed]. I was supposed to go to Heidelberg Hospital, and [Major Appleford] looked at what I could do and she said, “Do you type 100 words a minute?” and I said “Yes.” “And [can you] take shorthand?” “Yes.” She said, “You are never going to be a nursing orderly. I need you in my office!” Well, that went on for quite a while. I was [working] in her office as a Private, [then] Colonel Douglas came in. She was the head of the AAMWS on this side of the world. She wanted a letter taken, so I was standing before her writing like mad. And then she said to me, “Did you get all of that?” And I said, “Yes, Madam.” And she said, “Read it back!” So, I read it back to her and she said, “Oh, I need this girl in my office!” And from then on, being the head of the service…I travelled all over the place with her. And [I] became a Sergeant, which I would never have done if I’d been a nursing orderly. I’d never [have] got more than Private. And I just went everywhere with her. We travelled to all sorts of places where the girls were stationed, to see and make sure everything was all right with them…making sure that the girls were doing their job properly…It was a wonderful experience.
What were the conditions like?
Where some of the girls were stationed, [it] wasn’t easy. But, gosh, the nursing girls did an incredible job.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to follow in your footsteps [and join the AAMWS]?
Oh, do it, yes. Absolutely, yes!
How do you define success?
Success? I just loved what I was doing. Loved every minute of it.
What’s something about you that few people would know?
That my mother was Cornish. She met my father, or he met her, at some dance or something in London, during the war. They fell in love, and they married before they left England to come home at the end of the war. It was a lovely story…they came home [by] ship. On the ship, you know, the officers have the top deck, and the women coming home had the next [level down]. And the men were down on the [lower deck]. And she used to meet Dad on the ship. And Dad would rig up a towel or something right across a little corner and they’d meet there every day.
Did your mother make a good Cornish pasty?
She loved Cornish pasties! Here, when they say they have Cornish pasties for lunch or dinner, I’ve tried them, and they’ve got no idea what a Cornish pasty is!
Who are your family members?
My children…I have a son and a daughter. They’re in Queensland. I have 37 in my family including grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Olyve wearing the AAMWS day uniform. (Supplied by OLYVE CLARKE)
What’s a hobby that you’ve had that you still enjoy?
I think belonging to the RSL was quite a hobby!
You have travelled a lot over the years. What’s one place you would still like to visit?
I’d love to go back to Cornwall.
If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A Cornish pastie!
1944 recruitment poster for AAMWS (The Australian War Memorial)
