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

mbulance

H AND

1914, to Dece

orge-Lancashire men on the War-Hazebrouck-Bailleul-French engin

e more bad cases here; a boy sergeant, aged 24, may save his eye and general blood-poisoning if he gets irrigated quickly. You can watch them going wrong, with two days and two nights on the train, and it seems such hard luck. And then if you don't write Urgent or Immedi

with hot red carpets. Glorious British Army lying broken in the train-sleep (or the chance of it) three hours one night and four the next, with all the hours between (except meals) hard work putting the British Army togethe

came round, if you asked him his name he would look fixedly at you and say "

-Got t

t all. A brilliant dazzling day (which our Island couldn't do if it tried in November), rugs, coat, and cushion on your bed, and the most heavenly view unrolling i

, and gas all to be done. Then we shall be a very smart train. The electric light an

d Nursing Orderlies, in white overalls, hard at work on them-orderlies removing their boots and clothing (where we hadn't done it, we leave as much on as we can now because of the cold). Sisters washing them and settling them in, and with the M.O. doing their dressings, all as busy as bees, only stopping to say to us, "Aren't they brave?" They said we'd brought them an awfully bad lot, and we said we shed all the worst on the way.

ll nearly 9, to the sound of the No.- G.H

e same equipment they came out with in August? Can't last like that. Makes you feel a pig to have a big coat, and hot meals, and dry feet. I've made a fine foot muff with a brown blanket; it is twelve thicknesses sewn together; have still got only summer underclothing. My winter things have been sent on from H

20th, 10 a.m., Bo

patients, but we shall be able to do more for a smaller number, and the train will travel better and not waste time blocking up the stations and being left in sidings in consequence. The cold thi

nders, was alongside of us early yesterday morning; each truck had a roar

ipped against the cold. Also, this morning an engine gave us an h

w how any of them stick it. Five bombs were dropped the day before where we were to-day, and an old man was killed. Things are being badly given away by spies, even of other nationalities. Some men were sleeping i

broken, and it is

t; unloaded early at Boulogne. Had a bath on a

mber 25th.-Left

the Florentine people in Ghirlandaio's Nativities, and who has the manners of a French aristocrat on his way to the guillotine) tried to control him, but it ended in a sort of fight, and poor Charles got the sa

place we've not been to

tend to the chauffage, so we have been quite warm and lovely. We ply him at the stations

got 100 hours' leave in turns. We all now spend hours mapping

ay from the station, so we went to bed at 12 and loaded up at 7.30 this morning, all Indians, mostly badly wounded. They are such pathetic babies, just as inarticulate to us and crying as if it was a crêche. I've done a great trade in Hindustani, picked up at a desp

sort of steam-plough

for England." He thought the Germans were putting up a very good show. There have been a great many particularly ghastly wounds from hand-gren

gain at 11.30 p.m. No waiting in the siding this time. Three hospital ships were waiting this side to cross by daylight. They can't cross now by night because of

wn and saw the Cathedral-beautiful old tower, hideously restored inside, but very big and well kept. The town was very interesting. Sentries up the streets every hundr

ospital; he meant it for Headquarters. We have a lot of cases of frost-bite on the train. One is as bad as in Scott's Expedition; may have to have his foot amputated. I'd never seen it before. They are nearly all slight medical cases; very few wounded, which makes a very light load from the point of view of work, but we shall have them on the train all night. One of us

ebrouck, talking to the R.T.O., but scored off us by ca

only medical cases about just now, which is a blessed relief to think of. They are inevitable in the winter, here or at home. The Major has gone up t

n on each truck stood ready, and caught the packets as eagerly as if they'd been diamonds as I threw them in from my train. It

ians again, not far from Armentières, so I am

no, and school taken up by R.A.M.C. Base Hospitals. It was a lovely blue morning, and I went right out to the last rock on the sands and watched the breakers while Sister N. attended to some business. It was glorio

ways dashed upstairs. He put a man upstairs to trace this bell and intercept the Belgian. It was connected with the little trap-door of a pigeon-house. When a pigeon

nth to read a Se

Hindu wouldn't eat his because the Mussulman had handed it to him. The Babu I called in to interpret was very angry with both, and called the M. a fool-man, and explained to us that he was telling them that in England "Don't care Mussulman, don'

Johnsons have all gone." To-day's French communiqué says, "The enemy's heavy artillery is

e Japanese. They are exactly like Japs, only brown instead of yellow. The orderlies make great friends with them all. One Hindu was singing "Bonnie Dundee" to them in a little gentle voice, very much out of tune. Their great disadvantage is that they are alive with "Jack Johnsons" (not the guns). They take off al

rted for?), while endless trains of men and guns have gone up past us. H.M. King George was in the restaurant car of one of them. We have been out all the morning, down to the grey and rollin

like the apostles, and share everything from cakes and 'Spheres' to

with Sir John French. We are just alongside. He has red and blue curtains lining the bridges to k

ring walk through seas of mud. There are more big motor-lorries here than I've seen anywhere. We wandered past a place where Indians were busy killing and skinning goats-a horrible sight-to

e up our 'Punches' and 'Daily Mails' and 'Times' for them, and give them any Sevenpennies we h

e yesterday afternoon in a

Ambulance men, so I gave him the rest of the children's: the sailors on the armoured train had the first half. He came back with some pears for us. They are so awfully grateful for the things we give

the knee. Some of the toes drop off. I have one carriage of twenty-four Indians. A Sikh refused to sit in the same seat with a stout little major of the Gurkhas. I showed him a picture of Bobs, and he said at once, "Robert Sa

much good in the long-run. And the French might try and get their own back when they get into Germany, but "the British is too tender-'earted to do them things." They arranged that Belgium should have Berlin! They all get very pitiful over the Belgian homes and d

mped round the town till I found a hotel which kindly supplied a fine bath fo

hen I came i

ip to the Front. We happened to go to a place we hadn't been to before, in a coal-mining district. While we loaded he marched off to explore, and was very pleased at finding a well-shelled village and an unexploded shell stuck in a tree. It specially seemed to please him to

over the Channel, which he thinks is a naval battle. I think it is lig

line and found both the French guards rolled up asleep and the engine-driver therefore hung up. Then he ran out of coal, and couldn't pull the trai

e half-way between B. and Calais, a high down not far from the sea, with a splendid air. Some of the others went for a walk as w

here this morning by a bomb. They are very keen on getting a good bag here, e

ar-worn, dirty but cheerful French troops entraining for their Front. They have been all through everything, and say they want to go on and get it finishe

at you sent came in handy. They went in to the town to buy grapes for us in return. This place is famous for

ny sick or wounded anywhere. One of the trains has taken Ind

othing doing anywhere. It is a blessed relief to know that,

round the Cathedral with me that day the guns were banging. I often wonder where the Belgian woman is who showed me the way and

day. We are dry-docked about five

nd from there he motored in front of us to all our places. Where we went, they said, "

erhead like bees, and dropping coloured signals about. Only filled up my half of the train, both wounded and sick, including some very bad enteri

quickly, and hope to

h.-In siding at Boulog

leul at 8 a.m. Heard at St Omer of the

renchy; said the train was like heaven! It is lovely fun taking the sweets round; they are such an unexpected treat. Th

e getting rather rushed again, and the men say we shall have a lot coming down in the next few days. A hundred men of one regiment got separated from their supports and came

d a typically plucky lot of Tommies. One of the best of their many best features is their unfailing friendliness

s my turn for a whole night in bed. Not that this means we are having many nights up, but that when the load doesn't require two Sisters at night, two go to bed and the other two divide the night. After unloading we had a poke round

in

e often go to bed here, and wake up and ask our soldier servants (batmen), who bring our jugs of hot wat

when they were joining us up to go out again. They put an engine on to each end of one-half of the train (not the one our car is in), and then did a tug-of-war. That wasn't a succes

e damaged trucks, and took the opportunity of getting some good walks ye

ad to pack her off this morning. The staffs of the trains (which have all been

ooden crosses, in a field agai

ur or skin sleeves, just the skins sewn together; you may see a grey or white coat with brown or

Funny thing, it seems in this war that for many departments you are either thoroughly overworked or entirely hung up, which is much worse. In things like the Pay

han was at first supposed. Five bombs were thrown and nine British soldiers an

at H. on

up 300 at Merville, a place we've only been to once before,

journey's end. We are unloaded to-night, so they will soon be well seen to, inste

s bagpipes, and we had him up after dinner to play

ht. "Three trains wanted imm

m., but they didn't move us till 5 a.m. Went to same place as yesterday, and cleared the Clearing Hospi

ud and floods are appalling. The Scotch regiments have lost their shoes and

iments have got rheumatism-some

are all more or less under wat

s he saw in it to-day besides a khaki supply column passing through were one cat and some goldfish. In one villa a big brass bedstead was hanging through the drawing-room ceiling by its legs, the clothes hanging in

er told me not to move him till dark, because of the sniping; but his face was blown off by an explosive bullet, and I didn't think it would do the chaps who h

es the other day; they would go and try and get some of their household treasures. Two were kil

th of Boulogne and across country, instead of up by Calais. We came back this way with patients from Ypres once. It is long

arming with grey touring-cars and staff officers. Headquarters of every arm labelled on different houses, and a huge church the same date as the Abbey, with some good carving and glass

eing fired at,-black smoke-balls bursting in the air. Heard that Hartlepool and Scarboro' have been shelled-just the

hting in our advance south-

nd; even the emergency amputations and trephinings and operations done in the Clearing Hospitals are septic, and no one who knew the conditions would wonder at it. We shall all forget what aseptic work is by the time we get home. The anti-tetanus serum injection that every wounded man gets with his first dres

No. 7 Pretoria. We were very pleased to see each other. I fitted him out w

a parcel. Just as he finished a shell came and killed his sergeant and corporal; if they hadn't had their heads out of the trench at t