The Flaming Sword in Serbia and ElsewhereStobart, M. A. (Mabel Annie)
History
The Flaming Sword in Serbia and Elsewhere
Stobart, M. A. (Mabel Annie)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
men to build one for us in our camp, and later in the afternoon this
was done.
Meantime we returned to the station, to bring out the convoy. The
Colonel and Major Popovitch met us on the road and helped us to choose
a site for the camp, about half a mile away from, and on a hill
above their Headquarters. It was necessary to protect ourselves from
aeroplanes by sheltering as much as possible near trees, and we found,
on a reaped wheat-field adjoining a vine-field, a gorgeous site which
gave us the protection of a hedge and of some trees, with a view to the
east over a valley which divided us from Pirot, and the mountains of
Bulgaria beyond.
From over these mountains we might at any moment hear the sound of guns
telling of the outbreak of hostilities between Bulgaria and Serbia.
The Allies had played into the hands of Bulgaria, and, by refusing to
let Serbia strike at her own time, had given Bulgaria the advantage of
striking at her time, chosen when support from Germany and Austria on
the Danube front, would make the position of Serbia hopeless.
The Colonel had hospitably invited us all to lunch with him, but we
couldn't burden him to that extent; and the camp work had to be done.
Eight of us, therefore--the doctors, two nurses, two chauffeurs, the
secretary, and myself--took advantage of the hospitality, and enjoyed
an excellent lunch in a cottage which the officers were using as
mess-room.
By the evening our first camp was installed, and next day, Monday,
October 4th, Major Popovitch and various officers from Pirot came
up, while the nurses were busy preparing dressings and cleaning the
surgical instruments in the hospital tent, to see the arrangements.
They seemed much pleased. The Pirot officers came up in an English car
made in Birmingham.
We only had as patients a few sick soldiers, but there was plenty to
do otherwise in arranging the men's routine of work and meals. The
soldiers always did what they were told, but they needed constant
prodding. In the morning early, for instance, I went to see if the
horses and oxen were being properly fed, and I found that the hay and
oats sent was insufficient; there was not enough to go round. Though
the men knew this, they had said and done nothing, but had tethered the
horses on barren ground, and left the oxen foodless in the same empty
field. They were surprised when I told them that they must take all the
animals to a pasture.
But they were quite as careless with their own food. They had eaten no
hot meal since we left Kragujevatz; but, even now, when they had the
chance, they were contenting themselves with bread and cheese, because
the cook was too lazy to prepare hot food, and I had to insist on a
meal being cooked. I made them light a fire, clean a big cauldron, and
stew sheep and potatoes, with plenty of paprika or red pepper; then I
told them I should come and taste it later. This I did, and the stew
was excellent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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