大象传媒

Further Training
When time came for me to leave Bart鈥檚, I started at the Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and did midwifery for 6 months in the hospital followed by another 6 months at Reading on District Nursing. I enjoyed this time quite a lot. It was quite a new experience, going into people鈥檚 homes. Most babies were home births and only the trainee nurse went when we were first called. They then had to send someone (usually the husband) to phone for the trained midwife when things were coming towards delivery. Very much more friendly atmosphere and I enjoyed it a lot. We used to be able to buy broken biscuits from the shops at half price. These were all good 鈥楬untley & Palmers鈥� because of their local factory. In the spring we had bunches of radishes to chew as we cycled around Reading at all hours of the day and night on bicycles.
What next? 鈥� Well, I had been raised from army families on both sides and I felt awfully guilty when I asked my mother what she felt about me joining the army as a reserve. Bless her, she encouraged me. So, I sent in my application. While I was waiting for a posting, the Nursing Home at Pitchcome, which Auntie Maudie had started, asked me to go to them for 2 weeks to let their Nursing Sister have a holiday. So, I had a short interlude there. At that time it was strictly vegetarian and staff and residents sat down to lunches together. I remember vividly going into the dining room one day, there were plates laid out ready with a poached egg in the middle of all except mine. Vegetables and salad to help yourself and Maudie took the lid off a small tin of very lonesome 鈥榩ink meat鈥� and said 鈥淟et me see, you are a meat eater aren鈥檛 you?鈥� I felt about 2 inches high and wished I was under the table.
All residents and staff were lovely and at that time both my grandmother and Aunt Sis were residents. Sis had a fractured hip and as at that time nobody had heard of replacements, she kept to her room and hopped from bed to chair and back. She was a strict vegetarian. She grew grass on a tray on her windowsill, cut it when big enough and ate it in sandwiches. Grandmother, it was my job to put her to bed at night. The first time I think she was very embarrassed, she said 鈥淜itty dear, you will think me very old fashioned, I have a pair of knickers鈥� and she had. She had 2 separate legs of knickers, each threaded with a piece of tape and tied around her waist. I do wish I had had the cheek to ask her for a pair for the museum.
I had a few more weeks holiday before my orders came through to report to St Hugh鈥檚 College in Oxford which had been turned into an orthopaedic hospital for spinal injuries. Apparently they made a point of sending new recruits near their home. I shared a room with 2 other girls, one from Northern Ireland and the other from The South. We had to keep off politics.
While I was working at St Hugh鈥檚, the scientists who were working on the production of penicillin were only a couple of streets away. They used this very precious new drug in our hospital and it had fantastic results on patients with septic wounds. The orderlies had to collect all the urine from the patients it was used on, as it could then be reconstituted. The orderlies then had to return the urine in Winchester jars carried back to the scientists for salvaging. Penicillin had to be kept in a fridge and given by injection. This was an item that cropped up again when I was in India.
On the lighter side, one of the walking patients took a list of any others who wanted morning extras at mid morning. They then went to the N.A.A.F.I. to buy what was ordered, coming back with a tray full he shouted 鈥淎ny of you lot want hot 鈥淭arts鈥�?鈥� We always tried to be out of sight at the time.
In November 1943, orders came through for embarkation leave, but we were not told where we were to go. Tropical kit was ordered and camping kit issued. There was 2 weeks leave and Mother was marvellous. She encouraged me to go and geared up her own effort by driving the town ambulances. There was no pay in those days. All drivers were volunteers.
We had to report to Netley Military Hospital. We found ourselves quartered in one huge room. There was no heating and washing was on the veranda with a screen around. We were a group of about 30 S.R.N.s and all had tropical kit so the guess was 鈥淚ndia鈥�.
There was a story about Netley Hospital, that when it was built, so was one in India. Unfortunately the plans got mixed and the wrong one was built in each place. Most of the doors and windows at Netley were on the North side of the building and it was dreadfully cold, especially as we were there in November. The opposite happened to the hospital built in India which had all its windows on the hot South side.
We were issued with khaki postcards and had to fill them in. They were to be posted to our homes after we left. After a few days we thankfully heard that we were on the move. We had joined an all-military train which was gradually filled up. There were no names on the stations so we were not absolutely sure which way we went from the south coast up to Birmingham, then up the East Coast Line and finally ended up at Glasgow! At each station Red Cross or W.R.V.S. were on the platforms with what in army language was 鈥渃har & a wad鈥� (tea & a sandwich, in English). They were very surprised to find a lot of girls on the train.
When we finally got to Glasgow we boarded The 鈥淪trath Eden鈥�, one of the peacetime best liners. Being S.R.N.s we were ranked as junior officers and had the first class cabins. The only change from peacetime was that single beds were each given a top bunk so that we were very comfortable.
In the middle of the night we started moving in open sea. It became pretty rough and not many people appeared for breakfast. However, we soon achieved sea legs and looked around us on the boat as well as the sea.
We discovered we were one of a convoy and had a barrage balloon attached to the rear of every ship to prevent the enemy dive-bombing! We seemed to be going west and after a few days saw seagulls and thought we were nearing America. Some of the convoy then disappeared and we, without seeing land, lost our sense of direction and turned east.
There were 2 destroyers with the convoy which moved about amongst the part of the convoy which was left and were obviously playing sheep dogs looking for enemy submarines.
Christmas was just on us as we saw land again and the chaplain held a service below deck for all ranks and as we came on deck again we discovered we were passing Gibraltar. Gib was blacked out but silhouetted against the Spanish mainland (Gib was British and Spain neutral) so we were thrilled to see the Spanish lights. In fact it turned out on the News Board that we were only the 2nd convoy to go through the Mediterranean since the North African Campaign which had closed it while fighting was threatening all shipping. The news board also told us that one of the convoy ahead had been sunk. Not a happy bit of News and it naturally heightened the tension. We did still have our barrage balloons, so although we did have some alarms we were not attacked.
We arrived at Alexandria on New Years day and all ships in harbour were sounding their sirens and little boats came out to sell fruit and it was wonderful.
On board all this time friendships had blossomed. There was a highland regiment on board and Harry Roy鈥檚 Dance Band. With so few girls on the ship we were vastly out numbered but joined in highland dancing and ballroom. However, we were then told that the ship was going back to England and we nurses and only a few of the men were going down the canal by train. It was very hot after the ship and we tried to open the windows but half the desert found its way in and we choked with the sand all over everything, so we had to accept the heat. It was an amazing sight to see big ships and masts of small ones apparently sailing up the other way when we couldn鈥檛 see water.
At port Tuffic at the southern end of the canal, we girls were put into tents which were enclosed in a high wire fence with a guard on the gate. There were no buildings in sight. We were incensed. However, one girl had been seeing a lot of a young lieutenant and he pitched his tent quite close, but outside our perimeter wire. The very first morning we discovered why the wire was there. The poor man woke to find not only his tent missing but all his belongings (including the camp bed he had been lying on) had vanished as well. They must have lifted him by the corners of the blanket he was lying on and removed the bed from under him.
We had several invitations to improvised dances organised by units that were out of sight, but really quite close by jeep. While camped at the south end of the canal we had several locals to do our washing for us, which was nice, except that it all dried very quickly. It needed damping down so it could be ironed. So, they kept a bowl of water handy and took a mouthful and then spat it out all over the dry garment. Not so good.
After about 10 days we boarded another ship which was much smaller than the Strath Eden and had enclosed decks which was a pity because the weather was much warmer. We stopped at Aden and we were joined by lots of Australians and New Zealanders going home after serving time or being wounded in N Africa. There were 2 NZ young officers going home with guitars which they played in the evenings making the atmosphere quite sentimental. They were all going home and felt very protective of us girls going towards the fighting in Burma. In fact one of them sent me parcels for several months after we landed in India.
The one destroyer used to come up quite close to us and we passengers shouted across. On one occasion it speeded away out of sight and we wondered why (submarine in Indian Ocean?). However, it came back after a few hours with its loud speakers blaring out a popular song (3 little fishes). Not subs, but whales, we discovered. So, relax. It took us about 10 days to arrive at Bombay 鈥淭he Gateway to India鈥�. What happened was that we discovered that Topies were not worn and the line towards the dock was dotted with these uncomfortable and unnecessary hats.

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