Chapter Forty-One

Some other newly arrived nurses were also in the tent when they finally found it, along with a sister in a navy-blue uniform with a starched white cap, although she looked rather grimy to say the least.

‘Names?’

‘Farthing and Dewis, Sister.’

‘Ah yes, here you are.’ She ticked their names off the list in front of her before telling them, ‘I’m Sister Flynn, and you two are to come to the hospital with me now. The rest of you, get settled in, have something to eat and I shall return for you shortly.’

They followed her silently along what felt like miles of muddy duckboards, then turning a corner they saw an enormous tent ahead of them. This, they rightly guessed, must be the hospital.

As they followed her inside they both suddenly felt as if they had been transported into hell. Rows and rows of beds stretched down either side of the tent and in each one were men with wounds of varying degrees of severity. Some of them were rambling and crying like babies, others lay still, their faces deathly white, their eyes dead. Nurses were flitting about carrying bloodied bandages and bedpans, looking exhausted themselves.

‘You two.’ The sister signalled to the two nearest nurses. ‘Get yourselves off for some rest now. You’ve both just done fourteen-hour shifts. Report back for duty at six o’clock in the morning.’

The nurses nodded, only too keen to do as they were told. ‘Now, you two.’ Sister Flynn turned her attention back to Holly and Angela. ‘You will each be in charge of the beds on one side of the ward. Do whatever you can to make the patients as comfortable as possible and report to me immediately if you have any concerns. They will all need a bed bath and possibly bedpans. I will advise you on what medication each of them needs later in the day. The sluice is through that canvas there. You’ll find it somewhat primitive compared to what you’ve been used to at home but as you’ll soon discover, out here we can only do the best we can with the facilities available to us. ‘She pointed to a flap in the wall. ‘You’ll find all the patients’ notes on the end of their beds. Now run along.’

The girls instantly separated, Holly to the right, Angela to the left. Neither of them quite sure what they should be doing.

The first patient Holly came to was a very young man with a cage covering his bottom half. His eyes were closed and sweat stood out on his brow. She quickly read his notes and discovered that he had trodden on a landmine which had resulted in him having to have the whole of one leg amputated and half of the other one below his knee. He was marked urgent which meant that he would be sent back to a hospital in England on the first hospital ship that had a bunk available, if he survived that long. He had developed an infection and was now seriously ill and Holly’s heart went out to him. He was so young but even if he did survive she wondered what sort of future was in store for him now? He would never be able to run or dance again and it seemed such a pointless waste. Even now the distant sound of gunshots could clearly be heard and she wondered if there was ever any respite from it. With a sigh she quickly went to find the trolley containing everything she would need to bath him. It was only when she was about to begin that she realised there were no curtains about the bed. There was clearly no room for modesty here so she washed him as quickly and gently as she could and throughout it all he didn’t even open his eyes. Slowly she worked her way along the row, offering bedpans and comfort where she could.