大象传媒

We had a plaster room where the senior staff nurse was in charge. And I was her nurse. We had to make our own plaster bandages in those days 鈥� you couldn鈥檛 go out and buy them. They were kept down in one of the big orthopaedic wards on a shelf, and one night I had to go down there and get my bucket of bandages for making into plaster. Off I went, and we had this slab where the miners could be washed 鈥� it was level with the sink; and this shelf was above this slab. I leaned on the slab to reach my bucket and it came away form the wall!

So off I went back to the ward with my little bucket, and I said to the sister 鈥淚鈥檓 sorry, but the slab's come away from the wall鈥�. She took one look at me, and ran around the corner to the Matron鈥檚 office. I was left standing in the middle of the miners ward; and they were all saying 鈥淥h, don鈥檛 worry nurse鈥�.

The next thing 鈥� she came running back and told me I had to go and see the matron, so off I went. She was very regal our matron and she wore a frilly hat. I went in and I said 鈥淚鈥檝e come to tell you that I鈥檝e pulled the slab off the wall in ward one鈥� and she looked at me and said in her very high fluted voice 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 know how someone as small as you could possibly breaks something as large as that!鈥� So I was let off.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Becky Barugh of the 大象传媒 Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Patricia Davies and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Pat's stories:

• 1) I suppose it was inevitable鈥�
• 2) Getting used to being on the wards
• 3) The unchanging rota
• 4) Othopaedic Wards
• 5) The Miners
• 6) Keeping coffee warm in the sterilizer
• 7) Mouth gags and tongue clips
• 8) Dear Flower Girl
• 9) Theatres
• 10) The Nurse鈥檚 Home
• 11) The 鈥楪uinea Pig Club鈥�
• 12) Mice in the washing and other tricks
• 13) Enamel washbowls on your heads
• 14) Extra Work
• 15) Shake and Shake鈥�
• 16) Little Nurse
• 17) A lot of things were introduced during the War
• 18) Only two nights off
• 19) Making and Breaking
• My visit to post-War Germany

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