Anzac Girls

A great series, much enjoyed, but.....big shame that they had to have a swipe (as usual for Aussies film producers) at 'British pomposity' / snobbery, which whilst maybe not entirely unfounded, was I feel grossly exaggerated, and in very poor taste. But on the plus side they did not take a swipe at the Brit general, who came across as quite a good guy. Also, whilst most of the effects were excellent, the immaculate state of the nurses' uniforms in most of the scenes, was totally unrealistic; anyone who has spent a few hours in the field will know that white has no place, and grey / grime / sweat and smell rules. All above said, well done on a great production, helping to ensure that we remember them all, with gratitude, and admiration.

A number of the reviews here have taken issue with the nurses flirting etc in the early episodes. I don't see this as being inconsistent with their roles, most of these were young women in their early twenties many of them away from home for the first time. These were the girls that would have left fairly repressive by todays standards home so the fact they may have been interested in the blokes isn't really a surprise. As the series went on all of the characters got more sad and wise as anyone in that situation would. The book The Other Anzacs is a very good read and this show follows it fairly faithfully.

I think this is worth a look if nothing else for the way Nurse Alice Ross King gives the VD lecture.

Have so far thoroughly enjoyed this offering of nurses serving in World War I. The emphasis on their personal lives has meant that it has not been necessary to dwell on the actual battle scenes and the horrors that entailed. Was hard to follow who was who in the first two episodes but it became a lot clearer after that. The development of the relationships over the episodes means it is a continuing story rather than just an episodic one and this has kept us waiting for the next chapter (episode). We will be sorry to see this excellent period drama end next week at episode 6. This has been a sterling effort by the producers and an ensemble cast using minimal sets and sometimes ordinary outdoor settings. The series also gives an insight to how the allied armies behaved in that conflict.

Having had two great uncles fought in World War 1, and having a great grandmother who was a nurse in France, I have to say my anticipation was not disappointed. These young actors were superb portraying the young soldiers and nurses from that war. The script is amazing. The story moves at a good pace without any boring bits.

I wanted to correct some of the misconceptions that have been expressed here. Someone mentioned the nurses flirting with the soldiers. Really, of course they would have. They were teenagers and young men and women and healthy ones at that with all the hormones of any young healthy generation. Of course they were Bible trained with good morals but temptation was always going to be a problem for them in a foreign country.

And as far as the language was concerned. I knew these people as the older generation in my life and they spoke just like that. I felt like I was watching them as youngsters. The cast did such a good job of convincing the audience that they were from a past age. I also love the way Harry read poetry. That was a great pastime for people of that time who often recited poetry as a form of entertainment to others. There was no tv or radio then. I loved this series. I think it was spot on and everyone should watch it as at least to learn about a historical bunch of brave young people facing one of the world's greatest catastrophes, the First World War. Watch it. You might just learn something about courage and perseverence. I did.

I don't fully understand why some reviewers thought the script and dialogue was cringeworthy. I have just finished re reading and cataloguing in excess of 150 letters written to my grandma from Gallipoli, Egypt and the trenches of France during WW1, most of them from my grandfather, and several of his "cobbers". The series script echoes a lot of these letters' dialogue and terminology - taking leave in "old Blighty", referring to the enemy as "fritz", and so many Aussie terms and phrases from that era - bonzer, cobber, doing the trick, doing their bit for King and Country, kiddo, and many more. The dialogue could have been almost copied from my grandpa's letters. Loved the series.