Edith Cameron was born at  Straun, Merino in 1889 to Ewan Cameron and Emma Harriet Nunn.  She attended Alexandra College in Hamilton where she was a top student. When she was around eleven, her father became a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the seat of Portland, and the family spent most of their time in Melbourne because of Ewan’s parliamentary duties. Edith moved to Presbyterian Ladies College in Melbourne. When she was seventeen, her father died.

After finishing school, Edith trained as a nurse at Melbourne Hospital and completed her midwifery certificate at McKellar House (below) at Hamilton Hospital. A member of the Royal Victorian Trained Nurses Association, Edith went to work at the Melbourne Hospital in April 1911. When war broke, Edith was among the early intakes of nurses. At the time, she was a staff nurse, in charge of the surgical ward at the Melbourne Hospital, a role she had held since June 1914.

On 20 November 1914, Edith was part of a send-off for forty-three nurses at the Grand Hotel in Melbourne. She was attached to the 1st Australian General Hospital (1st AGH) and sailed for Egypt two weeks later. Edith remained in Egypt for around fifteen months.

The 1st AGH moved to Rouen, France, in March 1916, but Edith went first to the British 26th General Hospital in Estaples, France then the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station (No.1 CCS) at Estaires. She arrived there on 25 May 1916 with five other nurses.

It was at the CCS that Edith and six others nursed men arriving directly from the frontline. They were given immediate treatment and assessed for transfer to stationary hospitals. A quiet day would see around a dozen men admitted, but those days were few. Often admissions ranged from 25 to 45 men and the number hospitalised at any one time was over 100. In April 1917, during the Battle of Arras, that number jumped to over 200, while outside, blizzards prevailed.

Edith remained about year, her departure coinciding with the removal of the No. 1 CSS to Bailleul. She moved back with the 1st AGH at Rouen for around two months before sailing for England. Over the next five weeks, she nursed at the 1st and 2nd Australian auxiliary hospitals. On 20 December 1917, Edith left England for Australia as a nursing sister on AT54  Runic .

She returned overseas but went to Egypt before sailing to Sydney on 28 April 1918 suffering from Malaria. By then, she had been honoured with the Royal Red Cross medal (2nd class) in recognition of her valuable services.  Edith sailed again on 9 November 1918 from Sydney to Egypt.  Over three months, she spent time at the 31st General Hospital at Port Said and the 71st British General Hospital.  Edith left Egypt on 5 February 1919, as she was on nursing duty during the voyage. She was discharged on 23 May 1919.

In August 1919, Edith was admitted as an associate of the Royal Red Cross.  At the time, she was working as a charge sister at Mont Park Military Hospital. After her time there, Edith became superintendent of the Victorian Bush Nursing Association. She was also a member of the Returned Army Nurses Club. By 1939, Edith was “house mother” at the new Union House, Melbourne University. She never married and died at Armadale in 1969.