Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915

Diary of a Nursing Sister on the
Western
by Anonymous

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Title: Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front, 1914-1915
Author: Anonymous
Release Date: July 26, 2006 [EBook #18910]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front
1914-1915
"Naught broken save this body, lost but breath. Nothing to shake the
laughing heart's long peace there, But only agony, and that has ending;
And the worst friend and enemy is but Death."

William Blackwood and Sons Edinburgh and London 1915

CONTENTS.
PAGE I. WAITING FOR ORDERS, AUGUST 18, 1914, TO
SEPTEMBER 14, 1914 1
The voyage out--Havre--Leaving Havre--R.M.S.P. "Asturias"--St
Nazaire--Orders at last.
II. LE MANS--WOUNDED FROM THE AISNE--SEPTEMBER 15,
1914, TO OCTOBER 11, 1914 33
Station duty--On train duty--Orders again--Waiting to go--Still at Le
Mans--No.-- Stationary Hospital--Off at last--The Swindon of France.
III. ON NO.-- AMBULANCE TRAIN (1)--FIRST
EXPERIENCES--OCTOBER 13, 1914, TO OCTOBER 19, 1914 65
Ambulance Train--Under fire--Tales of the Retreat--Life on the Train.
IV. ON NO.-- AMBULANCE TRAIN (2)--FIRST BATTLE OF
YPRES--OCTOBER 20, 1914, TO NOVEMBER 17, 1914 81
Rouen--First Battle of Ypres--At Ypres--A rest--A General Hospital.
V. ON NO.-- AMBULANCE TRAIN (3)--BRITISH AND

INDIANS--NOVEMBER 18, 1914, TO DECEMBER 17, 1914. 111
The Boulogne siding--St Omer--Indian soldiers--His Majesty King
George--Lancashire men on the War--Hazebrouck--Bailleul--French
engine-drivers--Sheepskin coats--A village in N.E.
France--Headquarters.
VI. ON NO.-- AMBULANCE TRAIN (4)--CHRISTMAS AND NEW
YEAR ON THE TRAIN--DECEMBER 18, 1914, TO JANUARY 3,
1915 143
The Army and the King--Mufflers--Christmas Eve--Christmas on the
train--Princess Mary's present--The trenches in winter--"A typical
example"--New Year's Eve at Rouen--The young officers.
VII. ON NO.-- AMBULANCE TRAIN (5)--WINTER ON THE
TRAIN AND IN THE TRENCHES--JANUARY 7, 1915, TO
FEBRUARY 6, 1915 165
The Petit Vitesse siding--Uncomplainingness of Tommy--Painting the
train--A painful convoy--The "Yewlan's" watch--"Officer dressed in
bandages"--Sotteville--Versailles--The Palais Trianon--A walk at
Rouen--The German view, and the English view--'Punch'--"When you
return Conqueror"--K.'s new Army.
VIII. ON NO.-- AMBULANCE TRAIN (6)--ROUEN--NEUVE
CHAPELLE--ST ELOI--FEBRUARY 7, 1915, TO MARCH 31, 1915
199
The Indians--St Omer--The Victoria League--Poperinghe--A bad
load--Left behind--Rouen again--An "off" spell--En route to
Êtretat--Sotteville--Neuve Chapelle--St Eloi--The Indians--Spring in
N.W. France--The Convalescent Home--Kitchener's boys.
IX. WITH NO.-- FIELD AMBULANCE (1)--BILLETS: LIFE AT
THE BACK OF THE FRONT--APRIL 2, 1915, TO APRIL 29, 1915
237

Good Friday and Easter, 1915--The Maire's Château--A walk to
Beuvry--The new billet--The guns--A Taube--The Back of the Front--A
soldier's funeral--German machine-guns--Gas fumes--The Second
Battle of Ypres.
X. WITH NO.-- FIELD AMBULANCE (2)--FESTUBERT, MAY 9
AND 16--MAY 6, 1915, TO MAY 26, 1915 273
The noise of war--Preparation--Sunday, May 9--The barge--The
officers' dressing-station--Charge of the Black Watch, May
9--Festubert, May 16--The French Hospital--A bad night--Shelled
out--Back at a Clearing Hospital--"For duty at a Base Hospital."

I.
Waiting for Orders
August 18, 1914, to September 14, 1914

"Troops to our England true Faring to Flanders, God be with all of you
And your commanders."
--G.W. BRODRIBB.

I.
Waiting for Orders.
August 18, 1914, to September 14, 1914.
The voyage out--Havre--Leaving Havre--R.M.S.P. "Asturias"--St
Nazaire--Orders at last.
S.S. CITY OF BENARES (Troopship).

Tuesday, 8 P.M., August 18th.--Orders just gone round that there are to
be no lights after dark, so I am hasting to write this.
We had a great send-off in Sackville Street in our motor-bus, and went
on board about 2 P.M. From then till 7 we watched the embarkation
going on, on our own ship and another. We have a lot of R.E. and
R.F.A. and A.S.C., and a great many horses and pontoons and
ambulance waggons: the horses were very difficult to embark, poor
dears. It was an exciting scene all the time. I don't remember anything
quite so thrilling as our start off from Ireland. All the 600 khaki men on
board, and every one on every other ship, and all the crowds on the
quay, and in boats and on lighthouses, waved and yelled. Then we and
the officers and the men, severally, had the King's proclamation read
out to us about doing our duty for our country, and God blessing us,
and how the King is following our every movement.
We are now going to snatch up a very scratch supper and turn in, only
rugs and blankets.
Wednesday, August 19th.--We are having a