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
Last night at dinner our charming debonair French garcon was very drunk,
and spilt the soup all over me! There was a great scene in French. The
fat fatherly corporal (who has a face and expression exactly like the
Florentine people in Ghirlandaio's Nativities, and who has the manners
of a French aristocrat on his way to the guillotine) tried to control
him, but it ended in a sort of fight, and poor Charles got the sack in
the end, and has been sent back to Paris to join his regiment. He was
awfully good to us Sisters--used to make us coffee in the night, and
fill our hot bottles and give us hot bricks for our feet at meals.
Just going on now to a place we've not been to before, called Chocques.
The French have to-day given us an engine with the Red Cross on it and
an extra man to attend to the chauffage, so we have been quite warm and
lovely. We ply him at the stations with cigarettes and chocolate, and he
now falls over himself in his anxiety to please us.
The officers of the two Divisions which are having a rest have got 100
hours' leave in turns. We all now spend hours mapping out how much we
could get at home in 100 hours from Boulogne.
_Wednesday, November 25th._--Arrived at 11 P.M. last night at a
God-forsaken little place about eight miles from the firing line. Found
a very depressed major taking a most gloomy view of life and the war, in
charge of Indians. Pitch-dark night, and they were a mile away from the
station, so we went to bed at 12 and loaded up at 7.30 this morning, all
Indians, mostly badly wounded. They are such pathetic babies, just as
inarticulate to us and crying as if it was a creche. I've done a great
trade in Hindustani, picked up at a desperate pace from a Hindu officer
to-day! If you write it down you can soon learn it, and I've got all the
necessary medical jargon now; you read it off, and then spout it without
looking at your note-book. The awkward part is when they answer
something you haven't got!
The Germans are using sort of steam-ploughs for cutting trenches.
The frost has broken, thank goodness. The Hindu officer said the cold
was more than they bargained for, but they were "very, very glad to
fight for England." He thought the Germans were putting up a very good
show. There have been a great many particularly ghastly wounds from
hand-grenades in the trenches. We have made a very good journey down,
and expect to unload this evening, as we are just getting into Boulogne
at 6.30 P.M.
_Thursday, November 26th._--We did a record yesterday. Loaded up with
the Indians--full load--bad cases--quite a heavy day; back to B. and
unloaded by 9 P.M., and off again at 11.30 P.M. No waiting in the siding
this time. Three hospital ships were waiting this side to cross by
daylight. They can't cross now by night because of enemy torpedoes. So
all the hospitals were full again, and trains were taking their loads on
to Rouen and Havre. We should have had to if they hadn't been Indians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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