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
A young monkey, badly wounded in hand and throat (lighting a
cigarette--the shatter to his hand saved worse destruction to his
throat, though bad enough as it is), after we'd settled him in, fixed
his eye on me and said, "Are you going to be in here along of us all the
way?" "Yes," I said. "That's a good job," and he is taking good care to
get his money's worth, I can tell you.
Some of them are roaring at the man in 'Punch' who made a gallant
attempt to do justice to all his Xmas presents at once. There is a
sergeant-major of the Royal Scots very indignant at having been made to
go sick with bad feet. Any attempt to fuss over him is met with "I need
no attention whatever, thank you, Sister. I feel more like apologising
for being in here. Only five weeks of active service," he growled.
The latest Franco-British idea is to Arras the Boches till they Argonne!
_Sunday, January 31st._--We did go on to Rouen. B. is full to the brim.
We have only unloaded at B. three times since Christmas.
I'm beginning to think we waste a lot of sympathy on the poor wounded
rocking in a train all night after being on it all day. One of mine with
a bullet still in his chest, and some pneumonia, who seemed very ill
when he was put on at Merville, said this morning he felt a lot better
and had had the best night for five days! And my fidgety boy with the
wound in his throat made a terrible fuss at being put off at Boulogne
when he found he was the only one in his compartment to go and that I
wasn't going with him.
I had the easy watch last night because of my cold, and went to bed at
1 A.M.; got a hot bath this morning, and lay low all day till a stroll
between the Seine and the floods after tea (Sotteville). There are four
trains waiting here, and the C.S.'s have been skating on the floods. We
move on at 1 o'clock to-night. No.-- A.T. had a bomb dropped each side
of their train at Bailleul, but they didn't explode.
The French instruction books have come, and I am going to start the
French class for the men on the train; they are very keen to learn,
chiefly, I think, to make a little more running with the French girls at
the various stopping places.
Two officers last night were awfully sick at not being taken off at B.,
but I think they'll get home from Rouen. One said he must get home, if
only for ten minutes, to feel he was out of France.
_Wednesday, February 3rd._--Moved on last night, and woke up at
Bailleul. Some badly wounded on the train, but not on my half.
On the other beat, beyond Rouen, the honeysuckle is in leaf, the catkins
are out, and the woods are full of buds. What a difference it will make
when spring comes. On this side it is all canals, bogs, and pollards,
and the eternal mud.
We found pinned on a sock from a London school child, "Whosoever
receives this, when you return conqueror, drop me a line," and then her
name and address!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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