大象传媒

I suppose it was inevitable that I should choose nursing as my career. My mother had a midwifery practice in Shrewsbury and my father was a dispenser with a Dr Urquart. I was born in the barracks in Shrewsbury where my father had been a dispenser, probably the only one in Shrewsbury. I didn鈥檛 think it was a good thing to do my training in Shrewsbury because I thought everyone would know me and know my mum and dad and they鈥檇 tell them if I did anything wrong! So I thought 鈥渞ight, I鈥檒l go away鈥�.

I had done a preliminary nursing training course at Shrewsbury Technical College on one of the first such courses in the country. The principal there, a gentleman named Mr White, put so many subjects in the course; anatomy, physiology, chemistry, physics, cookery, needlework, geography, history of medicine 鈥� but I enjoyed it. It was very nice. When I had finished, we took the examination and I passed (fortunately) and I applied to the North Staffs. Royal Infirmary in Stoke-on-Trent.

August 13th 1940 鈥� the great day had arrived! I commenced my training at the North Staffs Royal Infirmary. My salary would be 拢1 7s 6d a month 鈥� the 6d would be expected to be put in the collecting box held by Home Sister for 鈥榚lderly nurses鈥�.

At my interview we had been shown a superb extension to the Nurses Home with a balcony overlooking pine trees and tennis courts. Alas a stray Germ bomb had sliced off the balcony 鈥� it was never replaced. It would be a long time before I would set foot in the part again as I soon found out it was for Senior Sisters.

My mother ran me to Stoke-on-Trent. I don鈥檛 know how she got the petrol, but she did. As soon as we got there, we had to say goodbye to our mothers or fathers, whoever had brought us and immediately they started calling us Nurse. They took us into a little sitting room and on the wall was a poster with a poem on it 鈥淲ho is the most important person in this hospital鈥� and every verse finished with 鈥渢he patient鈥�. That made a very big impression on me.

When they鈥檇 said hello to all of us, they took us up to our bedrooms. Our parents had to buy our uniform 鈥� you didn鈥檛 get it supplied. You had twelve aprons, three dresses and six pairs of sleeves that buttoned up onto your shoulders for when you were working, it had to be twelve inches from the floor, or something like that, a pair of lace-up black shoes and black stockings. So they took us up to our bedrooms and we had to get into our uniforms and immediately they started calling us Nurse, which sounded a bit odd. Then they showed us how to make these pleated caps up. We all looked a bit funny because we couldn鈥檛 get them fitted on our heads.

We were given numbers 鈥� mine was No 2 assistant to No 1 鈥� the cook for breakfast. (Unfortunately she couldn鈥檛 cook!)

We spent three months at the training school where we were taught all about the basic care of patients, like making beds, changing bottom sheets side-to-side, changing bottom sheets top-to-bottom, cleaning door brasses, and polishing floor of classroom where I learnt how to use a very heavy polisher 鈥� called a 鈥榙ummy鈥� (excellent for the waistline). And we learned other things like getting patients out of bed and feeding them. I remember very clearly the tutor telling us 鈥渉ot food must be served on hot plates and cold food must be served on cold plates鈥�. We had lectures on anatomy and physiology, etc. and at the end of it we had a small examination, it wasn鈥檛 very much, but I must have done well.

We had fun and I enjoyed my training. I wish though we had had disposables 鈥� no emptying and disinfecting sputum cups, no cleaning and disinfecting catheters, no cutting gauze and wool for dressings, no washing and ironing masks and no scrubbing mackintoshes.

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:

• 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
• 20) My little bucket and I
• My visit to post-War Germany

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