World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals, charities, etc.; World War, 1914-1918 -- Medical care
Mrs. T---- gave a grand concert to the men on the anniversary of the
opening of this hospital. Denries, from the Opera Comique in Paris, and
Madame Croiza, from the opera in Paris, sang. The Prince of Teck was
here and in my ward, he was so nice to the patients. We had French,
English and Belgian generals, colonels and officers of various kinds.
NO. 3 CANADIAN CASUALTY STATION,
July 31, 1916.
I got twenty-four hours permission and came out here to spend the night
with nursing Sister Margaret Hare, hoping to get some news of B----. I
have found out where he is and that he has been on rest and went back to
the trenches to-day. They are usually on duty eight days and off eight,
so Margaret is going to send him word when he next comes off to come
here and I will come over and meet him. I do hope we will be able to
make connection. It is so hard to be so near and yet not be able to see
him. If he is wounded he will have to pass through No. 10 Clearing
Station, which is right next to this. I have left my name and address at
the office, so if he should be brought in they will telephone to me and
I can get over to him in half an hour. The patients here are so well
taken care of. They have had a light day. I helped her a little in the
dressing room this morning, saw some of the men who had come in last
night, saw three operations. There is a very clever English surgeon here
and several McGill men. It is a scorching hot day.
My tetanus patient is quite cured, is beginning to walk about.
MOBILE NO. 1, August 14, 1916.
We have had a strenuous and exciting week. It began with a visit from
the King of the Belgians, who came to decorate three of my men who had
fought in the trenches with conspicuous bravery. He visited all the
wards and talked with the soldiers. Like all the royalty I have met so
far, he is extraordinarily simple--wore no decorations or distinguishing
marks of any kind. We were all presented to him in turn and shook hands
with him.
[Illustration: Nurse and Nephew. The meeting in France, one serving
with the French, the other with the Canadian B. E. F.]
The next day we got twenty gas cases and several badly wounded men--one
Canadian from Ontario and two English boys, one was a policeman in
London. I asked the Ontario man how he happened to get to our Ambulance,
he said, "he'd be blessed if he knew," he was working on the lines which
run right up to the trenches when the warning for gas was given. He
started to put on his helmet and the next thing he knew he was in a "Red
Cross" ambulance on the way to the hospital. He is getting on splendidly
but we lost four of the gas cases. It is the worst thing I have seen
yet, much worse than the wounded, and the nursing is awfully hard, for
they cannot be left a moment until they are out of danger.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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