A war nurse's diary : sketches from a Belgian field hospital . e detach-ment of soldiers was quartered, sleeping on strawon the stone flags. We used to watch them at dawncome out in the deep snow to a horse-trough, and,breaking the ice, strip to their waists and dusk we saw them marching in from thetrenches in their ragged blue overcoats, caked inmud, carrying piles of accoutrement on their backsand spades and guns over their shoulders. No warm home-coming for them, no fire to drytheir clothes by, no hot meal ready. Just the dark,cold church. These men had no bundle of lettersfrom h
A war nurse's diary : sketches from a Belgian field hospital . e detach-ment of soldiers was quartered, sleeping on strawon the stone flags. We used to watch them at dawncome out in the deep snow to a horse-trough, and,breaking the ice, strip to their waists and dusk we saw them marching in from thetrenches in their ragged blue overcoats, caked inmud, carrying piles of accoutrement on their backsand spades and guns over their shoulders. No warm home-coming for them, no fire to drytheir clothes by, no hot meal ready. Just the dark,cold church. These men had no bundle of lettersfrom home to cheer them; all they had to face wasa desolated country, desecrated firesides, ruinedhomes, starving penniless families, violated women-folk and suspense—not just for weeks or months,but for years, without news of all that life held dearfor them. Do you wonder that they hate the Ger-mans? In return they were paid three-half-penceper day. A few weeks ago I received a letter from In the sacred precincts of a ruined church a lone hgure kneelsat vespers. All they had to face was a desolated country and ruined homes FIRING THE SOIXANTE-QUINZE 69 a Belgian Captain whom I had nursed. He writesDear Sister, do you realize that it is now threeyears since I have received any news of my wifeand three little ones? Are they alive or dead?The suspense has made an old man of me; at thirty-five my hair has turned grey with anxiety. Most of our operations occurred at night, as thewounded travelled through the danger-zone withless risk of being fired upon after dark. Duringthe day we performed operations on patients whohad been in the wards for some time. Our doctorsand nurses had no cosy sitting-room to rest in whenoff duty. There was only the busy kitchen stovefor warmth; so we used to gather them in the theatrewhen there was no case to prepare for. What jollytimes I remember in between the rushes of work!Our stove was always going, with a big kettle ofboiling water ready for emergency
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookid0111, booksubjectworldwari
