‘Well, when I think of it, I expect you’ll be able to do it.’
His congratulations and advice were most friendly.
‘You must insist upon one thing,’ he said. ‘They must give you good warrant officers. Otherwise you’ll have awful trouble with your discipline.’
‘We never have had any trouble,’ said Dr. Flora Murray.
‘I know you haven’t,’ he answered. ‘We have often spoken of it, and wondered how you managed; for you have never come to us for help. But now it will be different. You’ve always been ladies; now you’ll both be colonels, and you’ll see what a difference it makes.’
There remained only the final arrangements to be made. The requisitioned articles were returned and the house was handed over to the maire, who remarked regretfully that he had never made so little out of any one before! The farewell calls were paid, a farewell dinner was given, and the Belgian staff was paid off and disposed elsewhere.
On the day when they were ready to cross the morning boat was not running; for the Germans had just announced their submarine campaign in the Channel. The night boat, however, was sailing; and quite late, with the connivance of the purser, the little party, which included Dr. Garrett Anderson, Dr. Flora Murray and two others, managed to get on board, and lay very low in a corner. But at 11.30 the Transport Officer came stamping through the saloons, shouting that all civilians and ladies were to go ashore, and they were hastily turned out on to the muddy quay in the pouring rain. After a delay of forty-eight hours places on board a hospital ship were courteously placed at their disposal, and they finally arrived at Dover on the 19th of February 1915.
On reaching London they learnt that Sir Alfred Keogh had made public his intentions with regard to the future of the Women’s Hospital Corps the day before. Speaking at a meeting at Sunderland House, in favour of the extension of the London School of Medicine for Women, on the 18th of February 1915, he said:
‘He had received numbers of unsolicited letters from Paris and Boulogne, which stated that the work of women doctors at the Front was beyond all praise; it was an example of how such work ought to be done. So impressed had he been that he had asked two of the staff from Paris and Boulogne to come here and do bigger work. He had asked them to take charge of a hospital of 500 beds and, if they pleased, of a hospital of 1000 beds. (Cheers).’—The Times, 19th February 1915.
The audience, which was composed largely of people interested in the development of the work of medical women, received this announcement with every sign of pleasure and approbation. Sir Alfred Keogh was cordially congratulated by the other speakers upon the wisdom and courage with which he had made himself responsible for an innovation of such magnitude and importance. His action was destined to lead subsequently to that extensive development of Women’s Services which proved so valuable and so necessary in the conduct of the war.