大象传媒

NURSING TRAINING IN THE BLITZ
In the Autumn of 1939 I began my SRN training at Mile End Hospital and was later sent to a much larger hospital in N21 to have a break from the blitz. At Mile End there was a skeleton staff really; once patients were in any shape to travel they were shipped off to N21 on converted Green Line buses.
We had a relaxation room for when we were off duty; we read poetry to each other, told jokes and shaggy-dog stories and played billiards and ping pong. One night Matron and as many of us as possible got under the ping pong table when the bombing started. Every day we would take our matresses from the nurses` home to the X-ray department on the ground floor which was thought to be the safest place. I would lie there in the raids saying my prayers and thinking, 鈥淚s this a land-mine?鈥� and, 鈥淚s the next one for us?鈥� But on the whole I managed to sleep pretty well.
One of the closest hits was Charringtons Brewery; we could smell the burning hops when we took our matresses back in the morning. We also smelled the cargoes that went up when a ship in the docks was hit; My most vivid memory was that of burning sugar.
What was so wonderful was the spirit of everyone. We had to push the patients` beds into the middle of the ward if a raid was imminent and any of the lovely cockney men patients who were able insisted on helping us. When we made the beds there were 鈥渧olunteers鈥� - and you can imagine the jokes that were made! Bethnal Green Hospital was
hit, and it did affect us - but people were depending on us so we just got on with the job.
As far as shopping was concerned, on our salary of 30/- a month we were always hoping for bargains and Petticoat Lane was our main place for clothes. We got black market stockings there. When I had time off I and a great friend used to buy a packet of seeds and feed the pigeons in Trafalgar Square and go to either St. Columba`s or St Martin`s in the Fields and have lunch at Joe Lyon`s. Often people in uniform, as we were, were pushed to the front of the queue. Once a woman gave us her whole sweet ration for a month. We ate fish and chips and ice cream - there were lovely puddings. David Shepperd preached at St Martin`s so we had food for the mind as well as the body.
We loaned things to each other - clothes, including hats, of course, if someone was going on an important date. We were strictly chaperoned by Matron, of course. We had to be in by 10 o`clock, though we could get a special pass till 11 and if we were late we had to explain why to Matron or the Dean or the Superintendent the next day.

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