大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the site by the 大象传媒's Peoples War Team in the East Midlands with E M Hindles permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

Because of my interest in nursing and first aid, I joined the order of St John soon after leaving school. When World War two broke out, I volunteered my services to help in my spare time to assist in any capacity at my local city hospital. There was no way you could avoid making beds or cleaning the wards in a special way or hurrying around the wards or passages, unless it was an emergency. The matron was very strict and believed in discipline.

My first experience of the dangers in wartime came, when a German plane flew over my head at the beginning of Haydon Road, with guns blazing down at the ground, even flying under the bridge which has now been demolished.

My father got me a job at a manufacturer of coffee and chicory extracts where he worked and the chief chemist and director was Mr Wilson Moulds who was also the corp superindentand of St Johns. Although I worked in his department he made me the factory nurse. Many of us helped to raise money to buy an ambulance and I became the ambulance sister.

Running a national savings club to help the war effort brought me into contact with many of the local people and when the air raid siren went I had to assist people into an air raid hut across from my house and then patrol the area with a senior warden.

When survivors from Dunkirk arrived by train in Nottingham they were transferred to the city hospital where I assisted in helping carry some of the injured on stretchers to the wards and finding accommodation for some others.

One night whilst out with my father the air raid sirens sounded. We hurried home to the sound of Ack Ack guns and almost stumbled over a Royal Marine lying in the gutter. He was bleeding heavily from a shrapnel wound to his head. I ripped my underskirt off and with my St John training bandaged the head to stem the bleeding. Luckily a lone motorist came by which I stopped and said 鈥淚 am commandeering your cart to take this man to hospital鈥�.

I learned later I had saved his life and was given 19.6.43 an award for service signed by General Clive Liddell, Chief Commissioner of the St John Ambulance Brigade.

My local church, St Augustines which I attended, had a young peoples union where we packed bandages and other things for the troops. We also had to do fire watching 3 nights a week and learn the use of a strirrup pump in case of incendiary bombs dropping.

Every civilian had a duty to give aid in some form or other towards the war effort.

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