Nina May Palmer

Nina May Palmer (also known as May Palmer) was a New Zealand nurse who served in both the First Balkan War and World War I. After graduating, she and her sister Clara Palmer opened a private hospital in Davis Street, Thorndon, Wellington which they ran until 1909.

Service in the Balkans During the summer of 1913, Palmer was on holiday with her mother in Europe when war broke out in the Balkans. The Greek royal family made an urgent public appeal for trained medical staff which she responded to. Her offer was accepted and she was then posted to Salonika to nurse Greek soldiers. She and her nine colleagues treated 950 Greek personnel. They tended to 'terrible head injuries chiefly caused by shrapnel' and 'many shockingly badly shattered limbs'''.

This did not deter Palmer and other New Zealand nurses who, frustrated by the government's initial refusal, paid their own way to England. In October 1914, Kai Tiaki'' reported that Palmer was on her way to Marseilles to join the French Red Cross as a volunteer.

Awards and legacy May Palmer was awarded various medals during her service, which are part of the collection at Auckland War Memorial Museum.