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Memories of nursing life during the war Part 1

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I served during the last war- in the Territorial Army, Nursing Service - which was one of the reserve units of Queen Alexander's Military Nursing Service. We were known as QA's and TA's. The QA's being the regular army sisters who wore scarlet tippets or capes, while the reservists wore grey with-a wide band of scarlet, all of us wearing the same grey uniform.
In 1854 Florence Nightingale took 40 nurses to the Crimea, and from that beginning sprang the Army Nursing Service, with the difference today that all are trained nurses. Now one can train as a probationer in the Army Nursing Service and qualify).
Sisters hold the status of officers with the rank of Lieutenant, the Matron in Chief being a Brigadier.
The Army nurses could always be found wherever the Royal Army Medical Corps were, except in the active battle zone and like all members of His Majesty's forces, in comparative safety or great danger.
I was called up at the beginning of 1940 and reported to Leeds where I received my first introduction into Army forms and routine. Like all Government departments there were endless forms to learn about, and at the time I thought them ridiculous. But after doing service in a hospital in York run by the regulars, I could see the purpose and wisdom of them all.
Army nursing is quite different from civilian nursing: One had to get used to orderlies instead of Probationers, and patients able to get up helped in the routine running and cleaning of the wards.
One soon found that most of the orderlies knew very little about nursing, and many disliked the thought of looking after the sick. But it was amazing how they adapted when the occasion arose. I found tact was very necessary, as a great number disliked taking -orders from a woman, in spite of her superior rank. But I never asked an orderly to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Doctors, dentists and nurses are among I the few lucky ones that follow their own profession. We had orderlies as batmen; they called us with tea, cleaned our shoes and generally looked after our quarters. In fact it became quite a coveted job as time went on.

We stayed in Leeds for 6 months, getting fixed up with uniform and equipment and learning Army routine — plus trying to lecture the orderlies, but I'm afraid most of them slept and had little desire to learn.
It was great news when our posting orders for overseas came through. We all seemed quite bloodthirsty for action and anxious to get on with some real work.

We sailed from Scotland in a troop ship one of a large convoy. Everything- possible was done to make the voyage interesting, deck games, whist drives and sing songs were soon organised. Boat drill was a regular daily procedure and we came under the same strict discipline regulations as everyone else aboard.

Crossing the equator was observed with great gusto, Father Neptune and his satellites undertook the shaving and ducking, but the nurses were handled more gently than the men.

After nine pleasant weeks aboard having journeyed right around the coast of Africa, up the Indian Ocean Into the Suez Canal, we arrived in Egypt.
Our hospital was established a few miles from Suez, in a hollow in the desert, near the Cairo road. All one could see was dozens of tents of all shapes and sizes and sand, sand, sand.

The hospital was entirely under canvas, the wards had been fixed up by the orderlies ready for the reception of patients and we settled into our tented quarters. Each Sister is equipped with a camp bed, bedding, canvas chair, bucket, bath and wash basin and we and we all slept under mosquito nets to keep out the insects and scorpions.

Our first patients were mostly from neighbouring camps,' and ships disembarking troops. Dysentery and malaria were the most- common diseases, many cases of pneumonia and chest conditions 'aggravated by the sandy atmosphere and change in temperature at night. To most of us this type of nursing was entirely new, and it seemed to be a life of improvisation. But` we soon became accustomed to it, in spite of the blazing sun. During the first few days we had terrifying sand storms, and I realised how sensible the dress of the Arabs was. He could just wrap himself completely in his shirt like garment, head as well, and shield himself from the wind and sand. Sand got into everything and every part of you, the sheets and, blankets on the beds quite indistinguishable in less than no time.

About May the weather got really hot and one longed for the cool evenings. Like mad dogs and Englishmen we had to work In the afternoons which was the hottest part of the day. Elsewhere offices and shops closed and everyone took a siesta. We used to make a pot of tea after lunch and it would still be hot at 5pm.
Water supply at first was rationed, but it was amazing what you did with 2 inches of water. Washed all over, then washed your smalls!

It was not long before we started to receive convoys of wounded from Greece and Crete. They always arrived at night, so everything had to be done by a flickering hurricane lamp. Quite a number were so exhausted with the long journey they were fast asleep before an orderly could even give them a hot drink.
In a few months our numbers had risen from a few hundred beds to over a thousand occupied beds. As well as British and Dominion troops, Italian prisoners of war came under our care: Many of the Italians were a doleful crowd, adopted a sheepish attitude when addressed, but in spite of the language barrier, they always obeyed orders, mostly done in sign language and were a great help to us in the wards.

In June/July we left our tents and gradually moved the hospital into huts. To be housed in a building with a firm roof, made us feel it was now a real: hospital. Each ward was complete with its kitchens, running water and paraffin refrigeration.
As the heat increased so did the cases of heat exhaustion. Many were admitted with temperatures of 106° or more. In attempting to reduce their temperatures by sponging, we found the perspiration poured off us and not the poor patient.

All types of cases both surgical and medical were treated with good results, and now the operating theatres were housed in buildings, more major operations could be undertaken. Some patients were in hospital for many months and only those unable to return to their-units such as amputations and TB were evacuated to South Africa and eventually home.
As you can guess laundry facilities were not easy, everything took on a yellowish tinge. Our caps were starched with rice-water and the smell at times was unbearable.
You must not think life was all work, we had 3 hours a day off duty, one half day a week and two whole days every month. We mostly hitch-hiked to Cairo then and stayed at Shepherds or the converted hotels and wallowed in luxury. The joy of being able to pull a lavatory chain and have a real bath was heaven. We had two weeks leave a year which we spent at one of the many leave centres in Palestine. There was always plenty to do and plenty of people to entertain you.
The patients enjoyed cinema shows and occasionally ENSA would visit us and those allowed up were given passes into Suez. I remained with this hospital until January 1942 and then returned home to be married

My married life was of only 6 weeks, so in June 1942 I found myself back in the Army again. I was posted to various hospitals in this country but found it difficult to settle and so applied for overseas posting again.

In December 1942 I joined the 95' General Hospital in Scotland and about the middle of the month I sailed once again from Gourick far North Africa. The first 7 days of the voyage was a nightmare, rough seas and seasickness. However, once we arrived in the Med and calm seas I began to enjoy the trip. This was short lived; about 2 am an December 20th, 24 hours before we were due to arrive at our destination we w ere torpedoed. There was a
terrific crash, I was flung from my top bunk onto the dressing table. All the lights went out and there seemed to be confusion-everywhere. In a few, minutes, emergency lighting was established and my cabin companion and I collected our life jackets and made our way to-our boat station on A deck: The ship soon started to list, and the Captain ordered all hospital cases: and Sisters to abandon ship.
Life boats were lowered, but some proved untrustworthy and overturned on reaching the water. Everything possible was done to pull the unfortunate ones out of the water, but it was amazing how quickly they drifted away. If you are seasick on a large ship, you will be seasick in a small boat; the hours spent in the open boat remains somewhat vague, apart from me being continuously sick into my tin hat. We were picked up by a destroyer after drifting for 8 hours and I don't think any of us will forget the kindness of the Royal Navy.

The attack happened just off Oran, ships were sent out to take the remaining troops from the torpedoed ship before she sank. We were taken into Oran, a roll call was made and it was found .that 5 sisters and 120 men were missing. We only possessed what we stood up in, a brassiere, pants, coat, hat and shoes. We were given a good meal and supplied with working things by the Red Cross (like the bags still being made up now)
What a joy to clean ones teeth.

We continued our journey by train to Algiers and were eventually housed in a small school. We were given a couple of days to recover from our ordeal and then the problem of fitting us out with clothes. Being the first women to arrive in this area of the front there were no clothes and none could be bought. So we were supplied with a complete outfit of private's uniform, including Army boots. Like most Army issue uniforms they were anything but a good fit and caused quite a sensation when we attended service at the English church on Xmas Day.

Nothing could be bought in Algiers, as everything was tightly rationed. The French were hostile towards us and we were not allowed out unless with an armed escort. Our hospital was housed in a French school and the orderlies and equipment had arrived safely an the previous convoy. It was much easier nursing in buildings, but there was plenty of dirt to be removed before it could be classed as a hospital. Having got used to our khaki uniforms, we found it a most suitable dress for jumping over stretchers and from the laundry point of view. It was eventually adapted by all Sisters in forward units.
Our hospital grew very quickly in size and from the few hundred beds housed in the buildings we expanded to 1500 beds, the remaining being in tents. This is known as a base hospital. Work here is hard and often monotonous. Only spinal cases, bad head injuries, amputations and special medical cases were evacuated home in the hospital ships .to England.
The hospital had its own theatres, X-ray units, physiotherapy, 11 pathological and eye departments and a large psychiatric unit. It was the hospital that Professor Florey came to try out the wonder drug Penicillin and I unfortunately or fortunately was one of the guinea pigs, having developed septicemia.
The Sisters were housed in 2 bedded tents and during the Winter of 1943, it was hard work trying to keep warm, with snow half way up the tent sides. Even our hot water bottles froze, but we remained. Healthy, apart from chilblains.
Life here was much the same as in the Middle East, there were always plenty of parties and entertainment from officers in the unit stationed in the vicinity. (No need to be a beauty). Being a restless person I applied for a posting to a more forward unit.

Continued in Part 2 A5812157

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