大象传媒

During the war,Eileen Cook worked as an auxiliary nurse in a clearinghouse, where wounded soldiers were taken to be assessed and cleaned up before being sent on to hospitals to be treated. During the war, a Polish luxury liner known as the Pulsudski was used by Britain to transport troops to the continent. One night while Eileen was on duty, they heard they were to be receiving some wounded men, but were unaware of where they were coming from. The Pulsudski had been approaching the Tees from the DLI to pick up troops, when it had been bombed.

A young man aged around late twenties to early thirties was brought to Eileen to be cleaned up as he was covered in oil from having been in the water. He was in a full state of shock, something Eileen had never seen before, and his eyes were brown and dead. All he did was grip a rubber torch. She tried to reassure him by telling him 鈥測ou鈥檒l be alright鈥� but he made no reaction. So she spoken to him in German, 鈥渉aben Sie Frau und Kinder?鈥�. With this, the life returned to him and he replied 鈥淛a鈥�. He remained, gripping the torch, conversing little, while Eileen cleaned him from the head downwards. She was wondering if he had been injured at all, when she reached his feet. They were embedded with glass. On discovering this, she passed him into the care of the doctors, and signed off duty.

The next day, she signed in for duty at 6am. Another member of staff told her that there was something in the Clearing Room, where she had treated the young man the night before. It was the torch. It was at that moment she wept.

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