When the heavy fighting on the Somme began, the hospital increased its accommodation, and the demand on motor transport was so continuous that the drivers were obliged to work in shifts of eight hours on and four hours off, to enable the work to be carried on night and day. During the rush the girls were driving as much as one hundred and thirty miles a day, but the care of the cars was never neglected, and it was the duty of the off-going driver always to leave her car ready for the road. A V.A.D. officer inspecting the unit reported as follows: “At 5.30 a.m. we were awakened by an orderly reporting that a train would be in the local station in five minutes. In ten minutes the members were pouring out of the house to fetch their cars from the garage, and were at the station before unloading had begun. They drove very carefully, and we heard nothing but praise of them on all sides.” It needs little imagination to realise the demands such work makes both on mind and body; for a girl must have her full share of self-control and nerve to be able to drive a load of wounded men across twenty miles of difficult road at night as well as by day, when she knows what an error in driving might mean to them, and that the slightest want of care on her part might cause them unnecessary suffering. After the patients are safely deposited comes the hard work of cleaning and keeping the cars in order--a vital necessity for motor ambulances, for wounded men must not run the risk of delays on the road. In January, 1917, Mrs. Graham Jones was mentioned in despatches for her devoted service and the success with which she had run her unit during many months. Not the least important of the principles which she instilled into her fellow-workers was strict and unquestioning obedience to Army discipline. She quickly realised that, in order to be of real help, one must fit into one’s place in the great machine. It is because women have learnt during the war how important this question of discipline is, that they are being employed for the first time, and in ever-growing numbers, on active service. Nurses who, throughout their training, have always worked under strict rules adapt themselves naturally to war conditions, but for women who have never been accustomed to a disciplined life unquestioning obedience is far harder. Writing of women’s service in France, Mrs. Graham Jones says: “It is not that women would be afraid of danger: it is that after one has worked on active service for some time one feels so much that one wants to do work only where the work is wanted, one just wants to help in ever so small a way just where the help is needed, and in no case where extra trouble or responsibility is thrown on those in authority.” This is surely the essence of helpfulness, and this is the spirit in which Mrs. Graham Jones and many others like her are working for their country to-day. [Illustration: A MOTOR AMBULANCE DRIVER _To face page 128_ ] XXV