大象传媒

Trained as a nurse - R.S.C.N. registered as a Sick Children's Nurse. Evacuated from Vincent Sq, London to Old Windsor - worked in wooden huts. Ward Sister was very strict - very particular about appearance.

As a young inexperienced probationer, I was very scared of her. One day I came rushing out of the sluice carrying a bowl of water only to be pulled up in my tracks by her. I stopped with such a jolt that the water fell from my hands covering her, soaking her through to the skin! She was furious, referring to me by surname only, no 'nurse' a sure sign of her displeasure!

We were short staffed - no-one had time to explain how things were done. As soon as a child came in, their hair had to be fine-tooth combed for nits, then treated with some ointment and a cap put on.
Babies with Gastro-Enteritis were put on a saline drip. There was no other treatment and they quickly wasted away.
TB Meningitis was not uncommon - arched backs - no treatment. Parents could only come and look at them from a distance - it was thought that to come closer would upset them too much!

Food here was monotonous - stew and then some sort of milk pudding everyday. We were accommodated in a convent in curtained off cubicles. I remember being permanently hungry so we went to the kithens & were given bread and jam which did help.

When I had time off, I would cycle from Windsor to my family home in Farnborough. For part of the journey I would hang onto the back of a lorry, my other hand on the handlebars!

Here the diet was much better as my father kept hens, and so we were able to have fresh eggs. Occassionally he would kill one and so we also had fresh chicken. My mother used to boil up the scraps to feed the hens. She also used to make brawn - pressing it down with a small flat iron.

My parents ran a guest-house and there could be a knock at the door at anytime of day or night. Upon aopening, a policeman would be stood there with someone in desperate need of temporary accommodation. They had to be taken in! As a family we never had a room to ourselves, always sharing with any number of family members. We grew vegetables in the garden. Milk had to be kept cool by standing the bottle in a bowl of water with a damp cloth over the top. There was also a cold stone in the pantry, which was supposed to keep things cool.

Finally, I remember going, with others as a sort of volunteer to peel potatoes for those in the Services!

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