´óÏó´«Ã½

We lived in a home which was the nurses home- it had the most beautiful sitting room looking out on to lawns and tennis courts and pine trees. It was a huge sitting room, and during the wintertime, we’d put cushions in the fireplace, and sit there. We weren’t allowed to smoke in there, nor in your bedrooms, nor in the corridors, nor the grounds — (although I’m not a smoker anyway). The only place people were allowed to smoke in was a little tiny room and smoke, and when you went past — the smoke all billowed out.

There was also what they called ‘the old nurses home’ which was where most of the nurses in training slept, and it communicated with what was the new home. When I went for my interview- the old home had got a beautiful bay which had been built on the end of it, but when I went a month later- the Germans had dropped a bomb on it! Fortunately nobody had moved in. My Mother was very uncertain whether she should let me go or not.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ 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…
• 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
• 11) The ‘Guinea Pig Club’
• 12) Mice in the washing and other tricks
• 13) Enamel washbowls on your heads
• 14) Extra Work
• 15) Shake and Shake…
• 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

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.