A WAR NURSE'S DIARY

SKETCHES FROM A BELGIAN FIELD HOSPITAL

New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1918


The Building was a large Catholic College

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CONTENTS

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PART I

I - THE START

Joining Up–The Personnel–Folkestone–Ostende –Journey to Antwerp–Welcome.

II - ANTWERP

The Grammar School–Settling In–The Rush of Wounded–Kind Neighbours–Hard Work–Malines–The Fortifications–Winston Churchill–Rumours–"Ragtime"–The Cafés.

III - THE SIEGE

Fall of Walaem–The Water Supply–The Last Boat–Twenty-Four Hours' Notice–Midnight–Removal–In the Cellars–Next Morning–The Faithful Cook–The Tommies–The Gas Fails–London Buses–The First Convoy–Card-Houses–Pet Dogs –"Bombe"–Howitzers.

IV - THE RETREAT

More Buses–Packing in the Patients–The Passengers–Down the Valley of Flames–The Wait at the Bridge–The Highway of Sorrow–St. Nicolas –The Warning–The Track in the Dunes–The Constant Question–Agony–Death–Anxiety–The B. E. F.

V - GHENT

Arrival–Disposal of Patients–The Search–Found! –Breakfast.

VI - BRUGES

More B. E. F–Hope and Activity–The Joy–Ride –The Croix-Rouge–Two A. M.–Flight–Philip Gibbs.

VII - OSTEND

A Cold Reception–At Work Again–The Patients –La Plage Hotel–Responsibility.

VIII - THE EVACUATION

Tuesday Night–Midnight Visitors–Halt, Lame and Blind–The Garde Civique–Fugitives–The Warning–Commandeering Steamers–The Man Who Never Came–Good-bye Bombe–Panic–Tragedy–The Transport–Old Friends–The Ambulance Train–Dover–London Again–The Dispersal–Good-bye.

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PART II

IX - FURNES

The Telegram–St. Malo–A Lively Reception––L'Ecole Episcopale–The New Staff–Our Orderlies–The Old-World Town–Seeing Life–The Munro Ambulance Corps–Our Chef–The Kitchen –The Dining-Hall–The Menu–Darkness–The Rush–Miss McNaughton–Furnes Station–The Soup-Kitchen–The Midnight Ambulance-Train–A Sabbath Day's Journey–The Versatile Parson–The Rush–The Battle of the Yser–Taubes–Flight! –Poperinghe–The British–The Cuirassiers–The Convent Refuge–French Troops–The Horrors of War.

X - FIRING THE "SOIXANTE–QUINZE"

From the Ends of the Earth–Two Brave Englishmen–The French 75–The Trench Dressing-Station–The Belgian Soldier––Homeless–Bereaved–Desolate–The Suspense That Kills–The Operation Theatre–At Work and Play–The Barber's Shop–The Sitting Room.

XI - CHRISTMAS

Visit to Dunkerque–Xmas Shopping–Hotter and Hotter–Optimist v. Pessimist–Christmas Trees–The Christmas Sacrament–The Huns' Christmas Cards–Hide and Seek–Mistletoe–An Interruption to the Christmas Feast–The Aftermath–Christmas Night–The Orphans' Party.

XII - THE BOMBARDMENT

In the Cellars Again–The Underground Theatre–The Shell That Arrived–An Unhealthy Spot–The Shell That Killed–Flight–The Widow–The Stowaway.

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PART III

XIII - HOOGESTADT

The Alms–House–The Attic–Bedroom–Mud–The Farmyard–A Patriotic Chef–Four Heroes, Joseph, Eugene, Ernst Handschutter, Jean Lassoux, V. C., Hero and Poet–Winter Passes–Daffodils–Spring.

XIV - THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES

April, 1915–Albert, the Orderly–The Spring Offensive–Hospital, a Shambles–Theatre, a Slaughter House–The Stretchers–Gas Shells–Understaffed–Over-Worked–Belgian Surgeons.

XV - A MILITARY HOSPITAL

The Huts–The X-Ray Department–Madame Curie–Summer Heat–The Tent–Air–Planes–Respirators–Our Garden–The Band–Entertainments–The Captive Balloon–The Barn Theatre –Horse-Riding–The Premier Guides–Bray–Dune –A Joy–Ride–The Picture-Gallery–Garden Banquets–The Blue Cross–More Riding–Out of Bounds–The Officers' Ward–Moonlight Meals–The Street That Is Called Straight–The Crosses in the Harvest–Field–Visits from the King and Queen–The Canadians–The General–The General's Room–General Joffre–King Albert–The Victoria Cross–Blackberrying in Flanders–A Country War Picture–The Orchestra–The Great Warrior–The Curtain Drops.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


Part One