Jessie May Mathews (Staff Nurse) born in Ballarat, was a single 25 year old nurse at the time of her enlistment in the Australian Army Nursing Service on May 25th 1917. She embarked from Melbourne, on board the Mooltan on June 19th 1917. She reached Egypt a month later but was only there a week before being sent on to Salonika in Greece as a member of a detachment of Australian nurses sent there to nurse British soldiers. In January 1919 she arrived in England to serve at the 1st Australian General Hospital where she was promoted to Sister in July. She returned to Australia on the Friedrichsruh, reaching Melbourne on March 9th 1920, and was discharged on the July 31st 1920 as medically unfit, her debility not being stated.

Lucas’s Staffs Appreciation of Brave Men, the original Avenue register, records her name as May Matthews.

Her brother Martin Mathews also served in the AIF and is honoured with a tree in the Avenue.