World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals, charities, etc.; World War, 1914-1918 -- Medical care
Wednesday night they announced the arrival of a train of wounded, for
the next morning at half-past five, but did not tell us how many to
expect. We all went to the Ambulance at half-past five and got
everything ready for dressing and beds prepared for thirty. At seven
thirteen arrived,--all convalescents, and no dressings at all to do. The
last time forty came, and all in a dreadful state of infection, so we
never know what to expect.
I am not sorry I came back to Divonne for I feel that I have been able
to help more here than in Paris; there they have many to help and here
very few.
I am sending you a photo of three of my patients--Chasseurs d' Alpine or
"Blue Devils" as the Germans call them--they are the ones who have done
such wonderful work in Alsace.
[Illustration: Three Chasseurs d'Alpine called by the Germans "Blue
Devils."]
April 19, 1915.
I have had quite a busy week, for my men have been coming and going. The
paralyzed man has been sent to Bourg, the two Chasseurs d' Alpine have
gone and I have six new ones--this lot is ill, not wounded. There are
three officers among them,--one is a cousin of Madam B----, the French
lady who helped establish this Ambulance. Her husband came on Thursday;
he has eight days leave. He is very interesting, for he has been all up
through the north of France. He is adjutant to one of the generals and
travels from eighty to one hundred miles a day in a motor, carrying
despatches. There is a French aviator here, but he has not got his
machine, so I am afraid there is no hope for me.
April 25, 1915.
They took down all the stoves in the Ambulance last week, and the day
after it snowed; we had to put some of the men to bed to keep them
warm. We have been very busy all week, new patients coming every day
till now we have forty. Most of them are not wounded. Poor fellows, they
are utterly done out; some have pneumonia, others rheumatism, one
paralyzed and all sorts of other things. This is a wonderful place for
them to come to and most of them get well very quickly. They are talking
of increasing the number of beds in the hospital and of making it a
regular military one. In that case they will send a military doctor here
and the whole thing will be re-organized. They want me to promise to
take charge of it, but I do not think it would be a wise thing, there is
so much red tape and so many things about the military organization I do
not understand, that I am afraid I would get into hot water at once.
I am sending you a circular of Mademoiselle de Cauomonts' lace school.
They do lovely work and need all the help and orders that they can get.
They will be glad to execute orders by mail for anyone writing them to
Divonne-Les-Bains, France.
May 2, 1915.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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