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NURSING IN LANARKSHIRE

In 1940 I was 18 and working in an office — I hated it. I knew I was likely to be called up so I decided on nursing as a career.

I worked in a hospital in Lanarkshire which was built specially for injured service personnel. In the beginning there were not too many patients but that soon changed and we became very, very busy. Our day on the wards started at 7am when we would clean and polish the wards before we went for our breakfast at 8am. We were allowed an half hour to get to the dining hall, which was quite a long walk, eat our breakfast, and be back on duty for 8.30am, we then did our nursing duties until 8pm. It was very dark at night so we had to use flashlights, there were only lights on in the wards. We lived in accommodation in the hospital, which was adequate, but only just and we had to be in bed with the lights out by 10.30pm. We had one half day off a week and one full day off a month but if we worked nights it was just one night off a month.

There were real shortages, bandages were re-used, washed then sterilized. Sphagnum moss was used instead of cotton wool and there was very little in the way of medicine and supplies, just aspirin and M and B tablets to help with the healing process. No operations were carried out on Sundays but nurses who worked in the theatre had to clean everywhere with Lysol and a mop and bucket until the theatre was absolutely spotless. The instruments were washed with baking soda and then sterilized. Life was full of hardships but we learnt to just get on with it. We had a matron and if we dropped say a thermometer we had to report to her and we would be on the carpet. We would be given a lesson on how to take a temperature, she forgot we had to take the temperatures of 40 people in one go! No make-up was allowed whilst we were on duty.

We were quite near to an Air Force base and a dance was held once a month which we were allowed to go to but we had to ask for a pass and be back in by 11pm! It was not a relaxed life like it is nowadays.

I left the hospital when I married in 1943. My husband was in a reserved occupation so did not have to go into the services but he did fire watching duties etc. We lost friends in the war but had to carry on and try not to let it get you down.

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