大象传媒

This story has been submitted by Alison Tebbutt of the Derby CSV Action Desk on behalf of Lillian Moore. The author has given her permission, and fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

By 1942 a directive was made that only married girls could stay on in shop work. Not wanting to go on the buses as a conducteress I enrolled as a student nurse at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary after much heart-searching and protests from my father who thought I would not be able to stick the hard work.
Whilst at Woolworths I had, like many another, done voluntary work, this being to help out at the Police Station, being a 'WAPC' it was a very enlightening experience coupled with some hilarious episodes. One night a stick of incendiary bombs fell in the fields between Ripley Hospital and Sreet Lane; the capers of a certain local councillor would have rivalled anything seen in Dad's Army. At the Police Station my mangeress and I were very popular as we were able to tell the force when a consignment of chocolate was due and P.C's wives in Ripley did very well at that time for off-ration sweets.
My fiancee was called up in January 1942 and in April of that year I began my training at the D.R.I with 15 others, some of whom had a little experience. All had to get down to serious study and very hard work, be disciplined and suffer tribulation. But I am sure that they were the happiest years of my life. My day started at 6:30am with the ringing of a clangorous bell by the night sister, breakfast at 7:30, chapel prayers at 7:25 which were compulsory unless you were Roman Catholic. We were on the wards by 7:30am, doing beds, backs, bedpans, sweep, dust and polish. Staff arranged the flowers and by 9:30am everything had to be in perfect order. The rest of the day, snatching quick, short spells for a cup of cocoa, lunch and supper, attending lectures, going off duty if one was lucky at 8:30pm which sometimes streched to 9:30pm if things got hectic. The best hour of the day followed with a very hot bath, a milky cup of coffee made from milk filched from the wards and carried over to the Nurses' home under their cloaks. A gang of nurses would sit about in one bedroom swapping yarns, eating anything going, smoking their heads off (which was strictly forbidden) and tumbling into bed at 10pm, when Home Sister switched off the lights. Once Sister was out of the way we would get up again and continue with the fun!
We had one day off a week and a half day on alternate sundays. Should anyone be out later than 10pm reporting to Matron the next morning was usually the punishment given out by Night Sister. We avoided this by climbing over the locked gate in Osmaston Road and sleeping in a night nurses' bed on 'G' war and hoping to get back into the house unseen at 7am. We were paid 拢40 a year plus keep and a uniform but had to buy our won text books, black stockings shoes and pay entrance fees for the the exams. Some of our clothing coupons had to be surrended for uniform.
Days off were altered when the American Army arrived in Derby. We started at 12:30 one day to 4:30 the next, in order to avoid trouble in having to walk from the bus or railway station at night. The nurses found it very unpopular but not having a union to fight for us, there was nothing we could do about it. I made great friends at this time with Dorothy, a lady able to provide us with the only decent sausages we had during the rest of the war.
Two things I remember vividly were when a trainload of injured soldiers from the Middle East were sent to Derby in 1943. They varied from the seriously wounded and mentally disturbed to some convalescent boys, only too glad to be back in England. The nurses had some trouble handing them but were the envy of other nurses stuck on women's wards.
I also recall Rolls-Royce being bombed. All emergency plans which they had practiced many times were quickly brought into action and things went fairly smoothly except for Sister Tutor, a stickler for correct procedure, jabbling needles into everyone without scrubbling up.
I had to leave the D.R.I in 1944 for domestic reasons and despite trying other jobs i fretted. This was partly because my fiancee had landed in Normandy. I began to lose weight. Through influential friends I got a job at Ripley Cottage Hospital. In March 1945 I received a telegram 'Home 10th March, arrange wedding 12th Love, Albert.' I had just three weeks to arrange everything and people were so good to me, providing food for the reception, and drink, which I never asked from where it came. I was given clothing coupons, my wedding dress cost 拢4.00. We had three days honeymoon, then He went back to the Army and I to nursing.
On V.E. night I got drunk (didn't everyone?!) for the one and only time in my life, and eventually settled down into married life in peacetime.

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