大象传媒

My War by Margaret T Lees-Barton, Bodmin, Cornwall
This story was submitted to the peoples war site by, Peter Nicholas, of Link into Learning, Cornwall County Council. It was recorded by Link into Learning and Age Concern, Bodmin, on behalf of Margaret Lees-Barton and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs. Lees-Barton fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was on holiday with a school friend when War was declared. We were called downstairs to hear the announcement by Mr Chamberlain at 11 am. There were about half a dozen fishermen crouched down by the radio listening intently. They then got up and immediately went off to report for duty as they were all retained Merchant seamen.
Our father spoke on the phone and decided my friend Jean Chatham could not now come down from Salcombe to Lostwithiel to stay with me. We did meet up again at school in Exeter where we formed an Army, digging trenches and shelters for our boarders in the vegetable garden. Wood was lined up and seating put in. The earth was put up over the top and vegetables were still grown over the top. We had to buy lilos so, if we had to sleep down in the trenches, it would be more comfortable than just a rug down with us.
One time when we had a practise during the night I was so sound asleep that I didn't hear our fire bell. When someone woke me I grabbed my flannel and rushed out, putting my foot in the slops bucket, getting it wet, then forgetting my dressing gown, rug and towel. We had lanterns and our torches down in the trenches so singing was always heard until the all clear was sounded. As it was really too dark to read we all learnt to knit, and on four needles, socks for the troops.
My father decided that it wasn't safe in Exeter, as we weren't far away from the barracks, so I had to leave, and before my School Certificate. Not a good idea caused me problems later trying to apply for a nursing course in London.
While I was waiting to go to hospital I was lucky to join St John's Ambulance in Lostwithiel. As they didn't have a first aid course going at that moment I joined up with the Red Cross at Boconnoc.
At home I was learning to make do in cooking with Mother. We picked elderberries for currants and cut up beetroot into cubes, baked in the oven, for sultanas, which were both excellent in a boiled cake recipe. I learnt to make an egg and bacon pie go further by chipping some potatoes into it -I still do that. Then I had to fill up my brothers and cousins who came regularly to play in the school holidays. Having a small holding with a large vegetable garden, a cow and chickens it was easier to feed them. We were allowed to keep our gardener (who also milked the cow) as we supplied an Army contingent near by. We also kept our tennis court as the grass mowings went to make silage for the cow and chickens. That meant we had molasses for Black Jack for Christmas puddings. We were allowed petrol for our electric and to pump up the water from the well.
We had an evacuee from Lambeth, who tore her dresses from the waist everyday and went through all my brothers and sisters, shoes as well as her own. I was kept mending until I went off nursing.
I went to Worthing General Hospital. They had already had the Gas Works and the Hospital Annexe bombed, but I was lucky nothing quite so near after. We nursed many soldiers of different nationalities. The Canadians were the worse, they queried everything. We were able to transfer them to their own hospital in Surrey . We, at the time, told the patient nothing. Now everyone is told what is going on. The Canadians were well in advance of us. While the Canadians were in town, we had to go out in twos or more, and they stopped the Scottish coming into town because of the fights. They had to have alternate nights off. The Americans were mostly in with 'trench feet'. They were not used to walking. The Russians were real fun, especially the Mongolians who had a lovely sense of humour and lovely laugh. The interpreter never came the same day as our doctors so the white Russians with stomach trouble wouldn't drink their hourly milk. And I can remember going to help on another ward and asked to give an enema to their Private Patient Russian. And, of course, he couldn't speak any English. He must have had one before so I got on OK. He didn't faint like lots of the other men with their needles and bedpans.
We were given fairly good food. I enjoyed horse and whale meat, but the chef couldn鈥檛 make a Cornish pasty. We had carrot in it with mashed potato and gravy. My mother posted me up some pasties for my 2Ist birthday. I was able to give the chef one. Uncle sent up a birthday cake with gaudy pink icing and no decorations. I had to go out and try and buy some. The nurses on the ward gave me a lovely silver bracelet.
We were able to go to the Home Sister and get the key for the chalet on the beach. She didn't realise that it was out of bounds, under barbed wire, at the top of the beach. The first jet engine aircraft had their measured mile just off the beach so we were used to jets before they came into service.
Because of the young doctors going to war, the old boys were brought back to take over the hospital -I have a large appendix scar to show for it. I even had to go on the ward I was working on through a side ward.
We did have hospital dances and invited the firemen from the station just around the comer. That is where I met my future husband, at one of the fancy dress parties. He gave me some white peonies that night.
Later, on my days off, I went in the fire service Austin towing vehicle to places like Midhurst Fire Station with equipment. We drove through Cowdray Park but we stopped too near the lake and got stuck. Luckily a party of ltalian Prisoners of War, who'd been tree felling, were able to get us out. And we washed the vehicle at Midhurst Fire Station.
I was luckily picked to represent the South Coast Student Nurses to visit London to see the new film, 'Student Nurse', at Kingsway Hall. The Princess Elizabeth came in her ATS uniform. Later I went to another hall for tea with the other nurses not able to get into the hall to watch the film. When we got back it was to see the films, just made by the American and British, of the rescuing and opening of Belsen Camp. They were horrendous.
By then we had a great many soldiers back from the Eight Army. Desert Sores were awful but I had a shock when taking one soldier's temperature. The mercury was nearly off the thermometer-I06.8 0. The poor man had Meningitis and Malaria. I'm pleased to say that he got better and was discharged from the Army with only a slight limp.
My worst time was when I had sun burn and a gravel rash, having got the handlebars of my bike entwined in another as I was pulling along a friend. The junior Night Sister came to give me an injection of penicillin suspended in oil and she gave it to me in the wrong place, catching my Sciatic nerve and leaving me with problems today. I told the Ward Sister, who told the Matron and the Senior Night Sister, and it turned out that she had falsified her certificates. She had come from Malta to work and was not a trained nurse.
All this time there were tanks and carriers up and down all the streets. I was lucky to be on night duty, on an army ward, when D Day came. The sky was black with planes and gliders. The noise was terrific - nobody on the ward slept that night. A soldier who was discharged that day was sent over with the invasion, jumped out of a truck in France, and fractured his' leg. We had him back the next day. The married nurses said their husbands went up on the South Downs to look over Southampton to see the thousands of ships go out.
Being on the children's ward was nice at night, my boyfriend was able to come in the window - being downstairs - to chat for a time. I found it very tiring. Parents weren't then allowed to stay with their children. Some parents were emigrating to Canada but couldn't take their children or babies with them as they had skin complaints - until they were cured.
Some of the soldiers made teddy bears and we were able to take them to the children. They also made ice cream out of custard flavour with jam. It went down well with them that had had their tonsils out.
Worthing has the best reported weather in Britain. The other nurses could not understand me taking all my leave at once and in the spring. More chance of fine weather on the South Coast. Grand for tennis, especially when I won the cup!
The prisoners of war from Singapore were also brought home and we had some in our hospita, but most were in such a state they didn't get better.
Though the train ride home was packed, I learned to sleep standing up, especially when just going home on my nights off. The other nurses couldn't make out how I managed to save enough money for the trip of 拢2.3.4d, as we only got half a crown a week and board, which in today's money is I2 陆p. But soon after I started it went up to 7/6, which would be about 30p today. You didn't get 拢1 until you had passed your finals, which we went to Brighton to take. I鈥檓 pleased to say that I passed and was able to come home, having completed 3 years and 3 months, to get married. Then, like now, it was difficult to find anywhere to live.

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