CARE OF THE WOUNDED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16904, 17 July 1918, Page 8

CARE OF THE WOUNDED

EVERYBODY THOUGHTFUL.

AUCKLANDER'S TESTIMONY.

The care and attention shown to wounded soldiers in their conveyance from French battlefield to English hospital are described in an interesting manner in a letter written by a young Devonport warrior to his parents. The writer was one of some 300 wounded men, who were brought to Etaples one day towards the end of March and taken in a girl-driven ambulance to No. 20, General Hospital, and who was then ticketed for England. " Never," he says, " have I seen women work harder than the sisters did in my ward at No. 20. If possible they dressed everybody every day—in itself a big jobbut there were so many fresh cases continually arriving that needed attention that that was not always possible. . . One day the sisters had not time to walk up and down the ward— had fairly \ to run. I thought 13 hours of that was a. good enough day's work for anyone. | Operations and X-ray examinations were: continually taking place, which meant work in looking after the patients coming round, etc. Tho ward sister told mo once, 'I've got the giggles to-day, and I'm so tired that I can't stop.' But they were, always cheerful and bright. My sister was a cousin of Mr. J. H. Gunson, of Auckland." Of the journey from Etaples to Loudon the soldier says:—"We were placed in; ambulances, and each of us was given a Cardigan jacket and a cap comforter before leaving the ward. The girl driving our ambulance pulled back the slide before she started off. and asked, ' Any of you , very bad?' Someone answered, 'No.' I 'All right,' she said; 'it's a good long' way to go, but I'll drive slowly, and as carefully as I can.' . . . Bounding a corner she pulled back the slide again, i and asked, 'All right, boys?' . . On) all these train journeys a sister and a; doctor came round, asking each patient how he was, etc., and if any dressings ori anything were needed they were done. | They gave us breakfast before we got off i the train, and at 7 a.m. on March 30, they started unloading us off the train and carrying us to the steamer. Gorman I prisoners did the work. They carried us to our own bunks, and we left Calais at 11 a.m. Wo got dinner on the run over. "On arrival at Dover at 1.30 p.m. all colonials wore taken off first. We were, carried off the gangway, and placed on' wheeled stretchers and wheeled along to | our train. They gave us any amount to i eat and drink, and laJies came through with cigarettes and odds and ends. Our train was side-tracked at Walton, and we' were taken from station to hospital in ambulances. On being placed in the wards tea and bread and butter wero again brought round. ... The one thing that struck me from the time I. was wounded till the timo I' reached Walton was how considerate, careful, and kind everybody was. Nothing was any! trouble to them—they were never impatient' or annoyed. From the fellows on the field to the sisters in Walton, they were all the i same." J