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
Must go to bed.
_Tuesday, March 16th._--We loaded up very early this morning with 316
Indians, and are just getting into Boulogne. I expect we shall be sent
up again this evening.
One of the Sikhs wailed before, during, and after his hand was dressed.
A big Mussulman stuffed his hanky between his teeth and bit on it, and
never uttered, and it was a much worse one. What was he to do with
crying, he said; it was right for it to be done. May God bring blessings
on my head; whereas it was full of pain, lo, now it was atcha.
_Wednesday, March 17th._--I didn't tell you that yesterday a kind I.M.S.
colonel at the place where we took the Indians on showed us a huge pile
of used shell cases near the station, and we all had some. I've got a
twelve-pounder and a sixteen-pounder, like my pom-poms, only huge. Next
time he's going to get us some Gurkha's kukries. On the way down a
little Gurkha happened to get off the train for a minute, and when he
looked round the train had gone past him. He ran after it, and perched
on one of the buffers till the next stop, when he reappeared, trembling
with fright, but greeted with roars of amusement by the other Gurkhas.
We had some more to-day, including twelve with mumps, and one who
insisted on coming with his mumpy friend though quite well himself!
We woke this morning at Merville, one of the railheads for Neuve
Chapelle, and loaded up very early--guns going as hard as ever. Mine
were a very bad lot--British (except the twelve native mumpers),
including some brave Canadians. They kept me very busy till the moment
of unloading, which is a difficult and painful business with these bad
ones; but the orderlies are getting very gentle and clever with them. I
had among them eight Germans, several mere boys. One insisted on kissing
my hand, much to the orderlies' amusement.
(A truckful of pigs outside is making the most appalling noise. 11 P.M.
I am writing in bed. We generally move up about 11.30 P.M.)
Every journey we hear thrilling accounts, rumours, and forecasts, most
of which turn out to be true. We have had a lot of the St Eloi people.
There were several versions of a story of some women being found in a
captured German trench. One version said they were French captives,
another that they were German wives.
In one compartment were five Tommies being awfully kind to one German;
and yet if he had a rifle, and they had theirs, he'd be a dead man.
The hospitals at Boulogne are so busy that no one goes off duty, and
they are operating all night.
We had time for a blow across the bridge after unloading, and I happened
to meet my friend S. (who was at Havre). She is on night duty, and they
are grappling with those awful cases all night as hard as they can go.
Four were taken out of the motor ambulances dead this week; the jolting
is the last straw for the worst ones; it can't possibly be helped, "but
it seems a pity."
In all this rush we happen to have had nights in bed, which makes all
the difference.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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