Muriel Isabella Moss Borthwick

Born 29 Nov 1916 - Died 27 Nov 2017

Service number: 71989 AWMM
Also known as: Muriel Isabella Moss Anderson AWMM
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
Last rank: WW2 Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) WAACs (R22502074)
War: World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Muriel Isabella Moss Borthwick — Portrait of Muriel Isabella Moss Anderson, 71989 (2014). © NZIPP Photograph by Janine Ross-Johnstone 1140-7344. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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Biographical information

Wife of Gilbert William Anderson.

Member of the Redcliffes, Sumner, Papanui RSA.

From Wishes came true for a truely nice person; "She was born on 29 November, 1916 in Otago, the only daughter of Ada Isabella and Walter Borthwick. Walter had served as a rifleman in the Otago Infantry Regiment and was wounded during World War One.

According to her family she had a hard childhood with her parents losing their family farm during the Depression. She worked hard in a number of roles, willing to have a go at anything. She was a cleaner, a waitress and played the piano at dances.
At the start of the war Muriel was a seamstress and began her war effort sewing neck bands on army jerseys. But she thought she could do more, so used her experience as a St John Ambulance Voluntary Aid to enrol as an army nurse in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) (Service Number 71989).

Muriel, a keen sportswoman, had played hockey and represented Otago in cricket as a batswoman and a wicketkeeper. The Otago Women’s Cricket Association held a social evening in her honour to mark her selection in the WAAC. Her sporting interest came to the fore in Egypt where she picked up a hockey stick to play in a game between nurses and doctors.

She embarked for overseas just before Christmas 1941 with the rank of Private Nurse and spent four years in service, including two years at the New Zealand No.1 Hospital in the Middle East before being posted to England for a few months. It was here that she had a great thrill in meeting up with her brother, Flight Sergeant Frederick Walter Alexander Borthwick. He had gained his wings in Canada and was serving in Bomber Command. Frederick survived the war, dying on 4 October 1982.7 Muriel returned to New Zealand in April 1945 and was discharged in November 1945.

While in England Muriel worked at an internment camp in Scotland and toured both England and Scotland. Muriel’s daughter, Deni Anderson recounts that her mother worked at Buchanan Castle, near Drymen, which was used as a hospital during the war, and nursed German soldiers.

After her stint in England, Muriel continued nursing in Italy. During this time a patient made a lead pencil on cardboard drawing of Muriel which he gave her as a thank you present which is still held in the family." AWMM

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Muriel Isabella Moss Borthwick