IN HOSPITAL AT MALTA.
A Peninsula trooper, writing home, gives the following description of St. Andrew's Hospital, Malta: —
"Malta, St. Andrew's Hospital, 21th July. 1915
I am still undergoing the feeding up process The nurses are very good here, and according to the diet scale you are gon all sorts of nice things that are given, but just at present 1 am eating ohiefly milk puddings and so forth. The matron, who ranks as Lieut'Co'onel, comes round every day, and everyone that can do sa without inconvenii ence stands at attention beside their respect' ive cots. The lieutenant colonel is a benign looking lady with green glasses and wears two ribbons—on the two oocasions on wbich I have been "inspeoted"—feeling far from easy in a pair of odd pyjamas (pink trou, blue jacket): The first time I was -a psrfeot lamp post,' and the second time "we must fatten you up,' so 1 am already dreaming of oatmeal, stout, and chickens. The doctors seem wonderfully clever: A colonel, evidently a specialist, examined a young chap in hero yesterday who had had a bullet through bis arm-it's entrance about three inches above the elbow and exit three inches below. The arm was useless, but the way that surgeon examined the arm was wonder: ful to see, He put a battery on it, and took about six photos of it in different positions. When any case looks doubtful a specialist is called in to attend to it Tha people here are also extremely good to us. 1 won't oall them Maltese, as the latter are a very oraf ty treacherous race, bat 1 mean the white residents, and they arrange one long round of concerts, parties, etc, for the convalescents in addition to visiting the hospitals and leaving all sorts ot gifts—tobacbo, ohooolates, papers, eto—for us.
The Allies 'base' ia a place which may now be classed as one ol the world's wonders —big warahipß ot three navies, huge trans, porta (there must hare been 150 to 200 ships of big size lying snugly behind tbo.e sub" raarine proof net. in a peifect expanse of blue water) and tro ps always coming and going. The big liners Mauretania and Aquitania, each with about 7000 men came in within a few days of each other t) rend their quota ashore Thousands of marquees and tent3—Australian hcspitals, NZ hospitals, Tomm'es' hospitals, placed in order of merit Over there en those far tills t n'.s and more tents, here '.est' camps wb-re the •convalescent' toils, there a camp of 30,000 or thereabouts—Tommies bound for tbe Caps and Achi Baba in tbe morning, The .ol dier from home nearly always calls here before he faces the music and gives it"
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Bibliographic details
IN HOSPITAL AT MALTA., Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LXXV, Issue 3493, 5 October 1915
Word Count
454IN HOSPITAL AT MALTA. Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LXXV, Issue 3493, 5 October 1915
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