A Nurse's Life in War and Peace

by E. C. Laurence

There I found my friend of the Nile still talking to the Secretary, and the Secretary turned to me with a frown, and asked me what I meant by coming down to the War Office without an appointment, instead of sending for the application forms in the usual way? So I told him I did not intend to apply in the usual way, and risk being sent to some home station. I had too good a berth in England to give it up for that, but that if I found they would give me a chance of service at the front I would be glad to go and do what I could; that I knew South Africa, and knew what to expect in the way of climate, and knew how to manage the native servants, and so on.

Then he melted a little, and said, "Well, this gentleman has been most liberal in offering us a complete hospital, which we are going to accept, and he has asked for you to go with it, so if you will send in your papers and testimonials in the usual way you will stand a very good chance of success." Did you ever hear of such a piece of good luck? If I had not gone down personally to the War Office, I should never have met my friend of the Nile, and if I had even gone five minutes later I should never have met him; and afterwards, if I had seen in the papers about his giving a hospital, I should never have thought of applying to go with it, as, when we met on the Nile, I barely knew his name, and should never have connected him with the hospital.

I asked him the other day what made him give me this chance on the spur of the moment, and he told me that he did not wish to leave the appointment of the staff entirely to the Government, and he did not personally know any fully-trained nurse whom he could ask, and he thought if I had a quarter of the brains he knew my eldest brother to possess I should be a good help to him.

I have had heaps of congratulations, as every one says that, though many sisters and nurses have gone from our hospital, this is the best appointment of any that has come our way.

I sat up most of that night filling up papers required by the War Office, and copying out testimonials to send in with them; also writing home, as I had not even told them I was applying to go.

For the next day or two my ward was very heavy with bad cases, and took up most of my time and thoughts; but on the third day I was sent for, and told I was not only accepted but had been appointed Lady Superintendent, and was to select five sisters to go with me, and send their names in for approval. They hoped we should sail in about three weeks.

Then followed a very busy time; the authorities of my hospital were most kind in being willing to let me go, but the fact that so many sisters and nurses were leaving for the front was causing a great scarcity of seniors, so I felt obliged to stay as long as I possibly could, only going home for a long week-end to say good-bye.

There were shoals of letters (sent for me to deal with) of nurses and others wishing to go with us. Some of them were amusing: one was from a viscountess, another from a member of a theatrical troupe; a large proportion of the applicants had had no training, but were "willing to learn"; some offered to pay their own expenses if I would only act as their chaperon—they seemed to think we were going out for a picnic.

However, there were plenty of applications from well and fully-trained nurses, and the chief difficulty was to know which to leave out.

I had to attend at the War Office for an interview with the Selection Committee. Princess Christian was one serving on this committee, and she came and shook hands with me and was most kind.