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Cenotaph record

Leslie Estelle Cowper

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Identity

About

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  • Title
  • Forenames
    Leslie Estelle AWMM
  • Surname
    Cowper AWMM
  • Ingoa
  • Also known as
    Lesley Estelle Cowper AWMM
  • Service number
    Vietnam 215403 AWMM
  • Gender
    Female AWMM
  • Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
  • Religion

Civilian life

About birth

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  • Birth
    13 November 1928 AWMM Te Kuiti, Waikato AWMM
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Birth notes
  • Address before enlistment
  • Post war occupation
  • Next of kin on embarkation
  • Relationship status

Service

Wars and conflicts

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Training and Enlistment

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  • Military training
  • Branch Trade Proficiency
  • Enlistment
    • Post WW2 1957 AWMM Nurse AWMM
    • Post WW2 1964 AWMM Nurse AWMM
  • Occupation before enlistment
  • Age on enlistment

Embarkations

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Prisoner of war

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  • Capture details
  • Days interned
  • Liberation date
  • Liberation Repatriation
  • POW liberation details
  • POW serial number

Medical history

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  • Medical notes
    Died of Sickness, Cause of Death AWMM

Last known rank

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Biographical information

Biographical information

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  • Lesley Cowper was a T/F nurse in the Provincial Hospital at Qui Nhon, South Vietnam.

    Trained at Auckland Hospital. First commissioned in Queen Alexandra's Royal Nursing Corps in Britain in 1957. After returning to New Zealand she was commissioned in the Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps in 1964. She was given a leave of absence to join the civilian New Zealand Surgical team in Vietnam and served there as a civilian nurse. Source: Sheryl McNabb, 100 Years of Military Nursing', p.333.

    T/F Sister 28 August 1964; C/Sister 28 August 1965.

    New Zealand Surgical Team Vietnam from 8 November 1965 until her death on 2 May 1966.

    She was awarded the National Order of Merit-South Vietnam.

    Most records including death registration spell the name Lesley. However her name is also spelled Leslie in publications.

    Lesley Estelle Cowper served as a nurse with the New Zealand (Civilian) Surgical Team in Qui Nhon. She became seriously ill after contracting tuberculosis and died in a Saigon hospital on 2 May 1966. See Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database record. Leslie did serves as a Territorial Nursing Sister hence the service number shown. AWMM
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Death

About death

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  • Death
    2 May 1966 AWMM
    Age 37 AWMM
    Vietnam, Southeast Asia AWMM
  • Date of death
  • Age at death
  • Place of death
  • Cause of death
    Died of Sickness AWMM
  • Death notes
  • Cemetery
    Waikumete Cemetery, Glen Eden, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM Protestant Lawn, Block C, Section 7, Plot 41 AWMM
  • Cemetery name
  • Grave reference
  • Obituary
  • Memorial name
  • Memorial reference

Memorials

Memorial

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  • Memorial name

Roll of Honour

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Leave a tribute or memory of Leslie Estelle Cowper

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  • Have just been doing some research and read of her death so long ago, I was saddened, I was serving at that time but never knew her. May you rest in peace Leslie.
    Public - Gerry - Comrade - 19 August 2019
    Report 

Sources

Sources

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  • External links
  • References
    • Subritsky, M. (Ed). (1995). The Vietnam scrapbook: The second ANZAC adventure. Papakura, N.Z.: Three Feathers Publishing Co. AWMM
    • Hornung, J. (2002). Angels in Vietnam: women who served. Lincoln, Nebraska: Writers Club Press. AWMM
    • Service Women Project: Sponsorship to research this record was kindly provided by the Auckland Returned Services Association, Returned Servicewomen's Branch; Marjorie Traill, Dorothy Grant, Daphne Shaw and Margaret Woollett. AWMM
    • McNabb, S. (2015). 100 years New Zealand military nursing : New Zealand Army nursing service : Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps, 1915-2015. Hawke's Bay, N.Z.: Sherayl McNabb. AWMM
      p.333 AWMM

Contributors

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DateFirst namesLocationRelationshipContact
19 August 2019GerryChristchurchComrade

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