‘That’s good timing,’ he said. ‘The train should be here in five minutes or so. That’s if there haven’t been any delays.’ All the train stations had now removed the signs just in case the Germans invaded, but seeing as they were going all the way to the coast he didn’t envisage them having a problem in knowing where to get off.

Immediately the train entered the station they found a carriage where they could sit together and soon discovered that over half the men on the train were in uniform. Some of them were returning to their units after a precious few days leave, others were returning after recovering from injuries they had sustained in battle. One young boy in particular, who looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, caught Holly’s eye. He was huddled in a corner staring from the window and he looked terrified.

Harry had also noticed him and after a time he asked kindly, ‘Off to join your unit are you, son?’

For a moment he thought that the lad wasn’t going to answer but then he nodded. ‘Yes, I was sent home after an injury but the doctors think I’m well enough to be shipped back out again now.’

Harry saw that the poor soul was on the verge of tears. ‘Rough out there, is it?’

The boy gulped, making his Adam’s apple bob up and down. ‘It’s like being in hell on the front. Just before I got shot in my leg I saw my best mate blown up by a mine … Scattered all over the field, he was!’

‘I’m sorry.’ Harry patted the lad’s arm. There were beads of sweat on the boy’s forehead now as the terrible memories rushed back and he was shaking. He might have recovered from his physical injuries but it was apparent that he was nowhere near ready to go back mentally. It made Harry wonder if the lad would survive in the frame of mind he was in, not that there was anything he could do about it.

‘So will you be going back on one of the hospital ships?’ Harry asked.

‘Yes, they’ll sail tonight when it gets dark.’ The lad shuddered. ‘There’s less chance o’ bein’ attacked at sea that way. Then soon as we land they’ll be loadin’ the next lot of injured on board to come back here tomorrow night. Not that all of ’em will make it.’ He shook his head. ‘They’re packed in like sardines in a can an’ the medical staff do their best but they can’t work miracles.’

Angela looked truly horrified. She had imagined it was going to be quite an adventure working with so many handsome doctors and soldiers but now, if what the young man was saying was anything to go by, she wasn’t so sure. She quickly fumbled in her bag and grabbing her lipstick, she quickly applied a bright red layer in the hope of making herself feel better. Matron had strictly forbidden the nurses from wearing any sort of make-up while in uniform but she wasn’t there to see her now, was she? Angela reasoned.