[3] Deakin was in London when the First World War broke out, but soon returned home where she joined the Australian Red Cross and completed a course in nursing.

[3] Hoping to undertake some war work, in August she made contact with Norman Brookes – her sister Ivy's brother-in-law and a Red Cross commissioner in Cairo.

Brookes encouraged her to come to Egypt, and against her parents' wishes she left Australia in September with her friend Winifred Johnson.

By late 1917, Deakin was managing 60 staff – including agents in Britain, France, and Belgium – and the bureau had to relocate to a larger building in Grosvenor Place.

[6] Deakin later recalled "we were often met with suspicion and eventually jealousy, as we had made ourselves felt as a court of appeal for relatives who were unsuccessful in obtaining satisfaction from the military authorities".

[8] In December 1918, Deakin met Thomas White, a former prisoner of war who had managed to escape from the Ottoman Empire several months earlier.

[2] White maintained her involvement with the Red Cross after her marriage, serving as Victorian divisional commandant (1938–1945) and national vice-chairman (1945–1950, 1964–1966).

[3] During the Second World War, she helped mobilise the organisation in Victoria, establishing emergency training groups and reviving the Enquiry Bureau.