Edna Mary Bridget Page, née Leer, was a talented young musician who lived in Sydney throughout the First World War. The National Film and Sound Archive has recently received the donation of a large collection of sheet music and musical journals belonging to Edna, and through the recollections of her daughter and granddaughter and grandson, the intriguing story of this feisty young woman has been uncovered, providing the context for how her music was performed. It is rare for a cultural institution to receive a collection of sheet music that documents the career of an owner who was historically significant, although not a celebrity. Music collections are usually acquired piecemeal with no information about how the music might have been used.

Investigation of digitised newspapers of the era has revealed evidence of Edna's musical performances and corroborates family stories about her career. At the age of 16 in 1909, Edna obtained the Associate Degree – Violin in the London College of Music examinations as a pupil of Robert Peel at the Sydney Orchestral College, Hunter Street. She then studied piano, mandolin, banjo and singing. Twice Edna had booked to travel to London to further her musical career but her mother's ill health intervened and the onset of WW1 ensured that this was not to be. She was a principal violinist in an early iteration of the Sydney Symphony orchestra between 1912 and 1918.

Shauna Connolly, the Canberra donor of the music collection, recalled her grandmother's life:

During and after the war Edna used her musical skills to raise money for charities and of course regularly entertained the troops. She was known as "Miss Ragtime" – she did not reveal her real name, otherwise she would have lost her respectable teaching position at the conservatorium. After the war she supported her husband, who ran a bakery and tea rooms in Rockdale, Sydney. She continued to give private lessons and performed at many concerts and functions.

The soldier in the photograph is my great uncle Stanley who arrived from England three days before his brother (my grandfather) married Edna. My grandfather left with the 1st Division three days later on October 18, 1914. My great uncle enlisted (although underage) in February 1915. He survived Gallipoli but sadly was killed in July 1916 at Pozieres, France, three months after his 18th birthday. Although Edna had only known him for four or five months (as he lived with her family) they became very close friends and she was devastated by his loss. I suspect having two members in her immediate family away at war was the reason why, when she wasn't teaching and playing in the orchestra, she was so devoted to raising money to support the nurses and other charities. My mother tells me that Edna went in every day to Martin Place to play, sometimes standing next to a wounded soldier to raise funds. She often had someone singing with her, or she sang and played alone.

There is a haunting story behind the death of Stanley. He had been sent to Australia from England by his mother to avoid the war, as his brother Ernest had signed up. He lived with Edna's family after his elder brother William had embarked, but the patriotic fervour of the time was too strong for the impressionable 16-year-old, and he followed his brother as soon as he could successfully convince a recruiting sergeant of his fabricated age. Both William and Ernest attempted to try and find Stanley when there were rumours that he was being moved to the front. An extraordinary letter records Ernest's meeting, even though it was not enough to prevent Stanley's death at Pozieres on the first day of the battle: (Transcription below)

R.E.P.S, A.P.O.3, 4th Army H.Q., B.E.F. 22-4-19

My dear Mother

I must tell you my good news straight away – I shall be home in about three weeks for keeps. Of course I am very excited at the thought of soon becoming once again a civilised being; to being once again an independent member of society instead of an insignificant part of a vast human machine from which humanness had been driven.

You cannot imagine what a great deal it means, this "going home". And I am not nearly expert enough with my pencil to give such expression to my thoughts as would enable you to realise the great joy of it. And it might have been so very, very different. One of us will not partake of the happiness of "going home". It will probably be his birthday when you receive this letter. Saddening thoughts creep in on me.

Dear, old Stan. How I do thank God I persevered that day I found him. How bitterly would I always be reproaching myself now had I given up and been unsuccessful that June day ...

… Yes, I was indeed weary of it all. I did begin to wonder if I should ever get away from the tentacle grip of the army. But now, thank God, I am saying goodbye to it all. I am going once again to live a natural life.

Many thanks for the promised chocolate – it is about the only thing I take. I am neither a non-smoker or a teetotaller but am as near to being both as makes no difference.

My love to you all.
Yours ever, Ernest

Besides the three Page brothers who went to war there were also Edna's second cousins, three brothers Alfred, Sydney and Norman Leer. Sydney died on April 12, 1915 at Gallipoli and Alfred died from TB at the Red Cross Home, Randwick on April 28, 1921. Edna's father and only brother also travelled to England later in the war to work in munitions factories in England.

It was only natural that Stanley wanted to be with his brothers in the services but his grieving mother, Sarah, never forgave Edna, although her husband William returned safely. As Edna had introduced Stanley to Catholicism (the family was Church of England) Sarah blamed her for his enlistment and subsequently his death – a loss Edna mourned deeply.

After the war ended, Edna increased her teaching and continued to perform in a variety of capacities as both soloist and accompanist. I believe that Edna and women like her were driven to perform and teach as a stream of continuous creativity in response to the appalling destruction and loss of life they had witnessed. Their efforts equipped the next generation with musical skills and collaborative resilience to face their own trials. Through the donation of Edna Leer's music collection and the associated documents and stories we are building an understanding of how Australian women musicians survived during the Great War and inspired others. Edna Leer is standard-bearer for a whole generation of professional female performers who are being rescued from obscurity.

The NFSA is keen to hear from anyone who might have similar stories about women musicians during the First World War. Please contact Jenny.Gall@nfsa.gov.au