Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915Anonymous
History
Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915
Anonymous
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals, charities, etc.; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
One officer saw the enemy through a periscope sniping at our wounded.
4 P.M.--In bed. It seems quiet to-day; there are so few guns to be
heard, and not so many ambulances coming. All except the hopeless cases
will have been evacuated by now from all the Field Hospitals. There was
a block last night, and none could be sent on. The Clearing Hospitals
were full, and no trains in.
Those four Sisters from the base had a weird arrival at the barge last
night in a car at 11 P.M. It was a black dark night, big guns going, and
a sudden descent down a ladder into that Nelson's cockpit. They were
awfully bucked when we said, "Oh, I am glad you have come." They buckled
to and set to work right off. The cook, who had been helping
magnificently in the ward, was running after me with hot cocoa
(breakfast was my last meal, except a cup of tea), and promised to give
them some. One wounded of the Munsters there said he didn't mind nothink
now,--he'd seen so many dead Germans as he never thought on. As always,
they have lost thousands, but they come on like ants.
They have only had about seven new cases to-day at the O.D.S., but two
of last night's have died. A Padre was with them.
They had no market this morning, for fear of bombs from aeroplanes.
There's been no shelling into the town.
_Tuesday, May 11th_, 6.30 P.M.--In bed. I went to bed pretty tired this
morning after an awful night (only a few of the less seriously wounded
had been evacuated yesterday, and all the worst ones, of course, left),
and slept like a top from 10.30 to 5, and feel as fit as anything after
it.
The fighting seems to have stopped now, and no more have come in to-day.
Last night a stiff muddy figure, all bandages and straw, on the
stretcher was brought in. I asked the boy how many wounds? "Oh, only
five," he said cheerfully. "Nice clean wounds,--machine-gun,--all in and
out again!"
The Padre came at 7.30 and had a Celebration in each ward, but I was
too busy to take any notice of it.
One of these officers was hit by a German shell on Sunday morning early,
soon after our bombardment began. He crawled about till he was hit again
twice by other shells, and then lay there all that day and all that
night, with one drink from another wounded's water-bottle; every one
else was either dead or wounded round him. Next morning his servant
found him and got stretcher-bearers, and he got here.
I don't know how they live through that.
_Wednesday, May 12th_, 6.30 P.M.--Slept very well. I hear from Gabrielle
that they have had a hard day at the O.D.S.; no new cases, but all the
bad ones very ill.
My little room is crammed with enormous lilac, white and purple, from
our wee garden, which I am going to take to our graves to-morrow in jam
tins.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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