Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915

M

FROM T

1914, to Oct

ting to go-Still at Le Mans-No.- Stationary

gave us tea and biscuits, and we were then sorted out by the Senior Matron, and billeted singly. I'm in a nice little house with a garden with an old French lady who hasn't a word of English, and fell on my neck when she found I could understand her, and patter glibly and atrociously back. My little room has a big window over the garden, and

ve been found jobs so far: two are taking a train of sick down to St Nazaire, and two have joined No.- Station

hed high up over an open space-now crowded with transport and motor ambulances. We made tea

melly back yard; there is not much to eat, and you fill up with rather nasty b

s (Choral), and taken photos of the Cathedral and the

rden of Mme. Bont

o.- S. this afternoon where F-- has been sent, to see her; she asked me to go out and buy cakes for six wounded officers. They seemed highly pleased with them; they are on beds, the men on stre

and paralysis, and septic wounds, and an officer shot through the head, with a temperature

oth told to get into ward uniform in the morning, and wait there in case a job turns up. I've just come

doing dressings on the trains. A lot have

ed a General with the same complaint-from the sour bread, he said. Fanny, the fat cook here, and Isabel the maid, were overcome with anxiety over my troubles, and fell over each other with hot bottles, and drinks, and advice. They are perfect angels. Madame Bontevin pays m

ime with it. It referred, in a Frenchman's letter, to a sunset at Havre on an evening that he would nev

are being kept to staff another Stationary Hospital farther up, when it is rea

r, or will only be crippled wrecks. You can't realise that it has all been done on purpose, and that none of them are accidents or surgical diseases. And they seem all to take it as a matter of course; the bad ones who are conscious don't speak, and the better ones are all jolly and

a hospital, and then travelling till to-day, Saturday. No wonder their wounds are full of straw and grass. (Haven'

Germans are well fortified and entre

y been dressed once, and many were gangrenous. If you found one urgently needed amputation or operation, or was likely to die, you called an M.O. to have him taken off the train for Hospital. No one grumbled or made any fuss. Then you joined the throng in the dressing-station, and for hours doctors of all ranks, Sisters and orderlies, grappled with the stream of stretchers, and limping, staggering, bearded, dirty, fagged men, and ticketed them off for the motor ambulances to the Hospitals, or back to the train, after dressing them. The platform was soon packed with stretchers with all the bad cases waiting patiently to be take

- Clearing Hospital people who run it. Every man was fed, and dressed and sorted. They'l

e worst cases next to us. We may get there some time to-morrow morning, and when they are taken off, we train back, arriving probably on Wednesday at Le Mans. The lot on this train are the best leavings of to-day's t

s one wonder. And the biggest wonder of it all is the grit there is in them, and the

ere already two trains in, and no beds left on hospitals or ships, and 1300 more expected to-day; four died in one of the trains; ours were pretty well, after the indescribable filth and fug of the train all night; it was not an ambulance train, but trucks and ordinary carriages. The men say there are hardly any officers left in many regiments. There has never been this kind of rush to be coped with anywhere, but the Germans must be having worse. We had thirteen German prisoners t

nd went to report ourselves to the A.D.M.S. and get a warrant for the return journey. We shall get in to Le Mans s

should disturb us. At 6 we went to our respective diggings for a wash and breakfast, and reported to Matron at 8. We have been two days and two nights in our clothes; food where, when, and what one could get; one wash only on a station platform at

ook off the trains on Sunday afternoon had died here, and one before he reached the hospital-three of tetanus. I haven't heard how many at the other hospital at the Jesuit school-tetanus there too. Some of the amputations die of septic absorption and s

s,' no matter how old; so are we. I've asked M. to collect

get through-the big dressings are so appalling and new cases have been coming in-all stretcher cases. As soon as they begin to recover at a

itish cruisers have been sunk b

at any rate till both armies are exhausted, and decide to go to bed. The men say

stars all night. Orion, with his shining bodyguard,

), and we joined on to him with a lot of hospital cases sent down to the base. I've been collecting the worst ones into carriages near ours all the way down when we stop; but of course you miss a good many. Got my haversack lined with jaconet and filled with cut-dressings, very convenient, as you have both hands free. We continually stop at little stations, so you can get to a good many of them, and we get quit

t Nazaire all day, and com

hen you get there no one smiles or speaks, but listens to the guns. The men seem to think the Germans have got our range, but we haven't found theirs. The number of casualties must be nearly into five figures

ply swarm out of the train at every stop-if they can limp or p

since early morning; one load of bad cases took eight hours to unload. The officers all seemed depressed and overworked, and they were having a very tight fit to get beds for them at the various hospital

to sleep in, and the sergeant found us a candle and matches and

rolls and jam at the buffet. Then we found our way to the hospital ship Carisbrook Castle. The Army Sister in charge was most awfully kind, showed us over, made the steward tur

regiment had nine officers killed and twenty-seven wounded. He said they knew things w

and twelve A.S.C. men taking two trucks of stores, who have no officer with them!) There we heard that ten of our No.- Sisters were ordered to Nantes for duty by the 4.28, so we hied back to

so excited at going up to the Front they couldn't keep still. They asked us eagerly if we'd had many of "our regiment" wounded, and how many casualties were there, and how was the fighting going, and how long would the journey take. (The nearer yo

t Nazaire for all the hospitals and all th

Khartoum to help him, and another

nd hope for the best till they come to lo

y official out of a room for us, and at 5 came and dug us out to have coffee and brioches with them. Then we went for a sunrise walk round the village, an

coming off station duty. Matron wanted us to go to bed for the day; but we asked to come on after lunch, as they were busy and w

t the Jesuits' College to take

y till Sister -- came back, and then I went to my beloved Cathedral (and vergered some Highland Tommies round it, they had fits of awe and joy over it, and grieved over "Reems"). It is awfu

es of Communication (on the War Establishment Staff) is here

n 'Le Matin'

TTE AC

OMME A

E REDOUBLE

violence much longe

ays be pushed up as near the Field Hospitals as the line gets to, whether we drive the Germans back to Berlin or they drive us into the sea. It is now going to Braisne, a little east of Soissons, just S. of the Aisne, N.E. of Rheims. It is on its way up now, and we are to join it with our baggage when it stops here on the way to St Nazaire. We shall have two days and two

ry killing, and the numbers involved, as they have never done before, and as it was known they would. Th

oculated against tetanus to-day. They

n the Hymns, Creed, and Lord's Prayer. Excellent sermon. We had the War Intercessions and a good prayer I didn't know, ending with "Strengthen us in life, and comfort us in death." The men looked what they were, British to the bone; no one could take them for any other nation a

it be in Berlin? The cemetery here is getting full of French and British soldiers' graves. Thos

s in. Met Miss -- in her car in the town, and she said that it was just possible that the train might go down to Havre this journey, she wasn't dead sure it was doing this r

told by the A.D.M.S. that it had gone to Havre this journey, and couldn't be on this line till next week, and we could go to bed. So after all

it comes in next week, and meanwhile go on duty at the Hospital." I don't mind anything as long as we do eventually get on to t

news from the front, and that the

ll having bright sunny days, but it is getting cold, and I shall be glad of warmer clothes. The food at the still filthy Inn in a dark outhouse through the back yard has

?ner: meat of some sort, one vegetable, bread, butter, an

ugh cold meat, and sometimes a piece of pastry (for pudding), bread, butter, and cheese, and a very small cup of

tblues the bluest that June or any other month can do in l'Angleterre. It is col

ls, decorated Staff Officers of all ranks, other officers, and N.C.O.'s down to the humblest Tommy-is the politest and best-mannered thing I have ever met, with few exceptions. Wherever you are, or go, or have to wait, they come and ask if they can d

-- (wounded) visits the amputation man, and, by way of cheering him

st be th

s," says t

they both seemed to feel better a

rt waggons with big black horses, wreaths from the Orderlies, carried by a big R.A.M.C. es

every day and night at both Hospitals, t

" and views and Avenues and Gardens. The Cathedral grows more and more upon one; I have several special spots where

lawns with silver statues, shady avenues and sunny gardens, long corridors and big halls which are the w

tatues, terribly primitive sanitary arrangements and water supply. We have to boil our instruments and make their tea in the same one s

e same fate (No.- G.H. is at Havre again! and has still not yet done any work! so you see what I've been rescued fr

e are some bad dressings in the top ward. The five Germans are quiet, fat, and amenable, glad to exchange a few remarks in their own language. I haven't had time to try and

evening; heard that St Nazaire is being given up as a base,

nce, England, Belgium, and Japan; and that there were no more men in Germany to replace the killed. They smiled peacefully at the prospect and said it was ganz gut to be going to England. They have

ed cloisters on all four sides, and holy statues and crucifixes about. In the middle were the audience-rows of stretchers with contented Tommies smoking

help them. When he was within seven yards, the man he was going to help shot him in the thigh. A Coldstream Guardsman with him then split the German's head

Headquarters, October 10th, 1914. Sister -- will proceed to Villeneuve Triage to-d

ass carriage to myself with all my kit, and my lovely coat and muffler, and rug and cushion, after a ple

en) a highly important envelope marked Very Urgent, to gi

ut six hours, so I may as w

, and charming Isabel, and my nice little room-(a heavenly bed!)-and ducky little gay garden, where

and polite and friendly. He was 21, had fought in three campaigns, and been wounded twice; now convalescent after a wound in the foot a month ago-going to the dep?t to rejoin. Her husband also at the front, and another brother. I changed at Versaille

e I can take a long walk) after a long wait, with café au la

Active Service. I haven't the slightest idea whether, w

rs either in a French billet,

to Braisne to j

down to Ha

the famous charge of the 9th Lancers unhurt, b

passed Villeneuve Triage, and got out the station after! Had to wait 1-1/2 hours for a train back, and got here eventually

n little groups; they swarm here. I sleep to-night in the same small bed in an empty cottage with a Sister I've never seen before. We meal at a Convent French Hospital. I delivered my "Very Urgent" envelope to the R.T.O. for the Director of Supplies, and reported to Major --, and after lunch had