1915 Letter 22
France
June 3rd, [1915]
My dearest Mother,
I cabled this morning having heard from Eric a day or two ago. I handed in the message here about 11.30 am. so let me know when you received it, so I'll have an idea of how reliable they are here. It has to be censored by the British and then sent by the French so it is not very satisfactory.
Well, Mother, there isn't very much going on here, but it is simply "scanjalous", as Jessie Jenkins would say - how little time I seem to have for letter writing. We have only 13 patients on our line and none of them need much attention. Then we have a lot of Queens nurses at present and therefore we are not overworked. Miss Galt and I are together here with two "Queens" and we have been taking half days - sleep in and come on at 12 one day and the afternoon off next day. We'll lose enough time when we are busy again.
Every one is greatly incensed over a book by Harold [Begbie] - on the war in which he compared our nurses to the British - not favourably . He says our uniform is a caricature of a staff officer's uniform, and that we "breathe the gaiety of our high heeled spirits" and a lot more. I said everyone was incensed well we all were at first-reading but on second thoughts we mostly were able to laugh and not feel so [sat as] as Mr. B. intended that we should.
Ida Smith who is our authority in all matters, is writing him a little note asking for the date on which we ceased to become British subjects. She saw him often during the winter as he was at the Hotel du Louvre in Boulogne and she says it is just what she'd expect from a man of his appearance, and that it won't meet with any favour in nursing or military circles, as our nurses have all received most favourable reports from both Matron-in-chief McCarthy and the English surgeons.
The English nurses are openly jealous of our uniform and every day we notice little changes they are making in order to look like us - and imitation in this case is certainly flattery. They all say "Your uniform is so becoming and ours makes us look like maids". And when he talks about heels - no English women can criticize Canadian feet - our girls are much better shod. They all wear heavy tan boots while the English affect strap slippers with French heels - and usually run over at the ankles.
This is the first time in history military nursing has been tried out on a large scale and there is bound to be criticism, especially from the women who are not trained nurses and who have not pull enough to get them over here with the Red Cross, and officers' wives who are not allowed in France.
And of course the anti-suffragist element resent the fact that we wear two stars and rank as officers. We have no second lieutenants in Canada while in England they have and those boys hate us.
At first - we used to pity the English nurses but now we find out that they get as much and a few pounds a year more than we do. They do not receive as much actual cash but they have allowances for everything under the sun that brings their salary up to ours.
We all like our uniforms and so do the English with a few jaundiced exceptions.
But it is funny to hear all the girls' comments. Meiklejohn who licks the boots of any one English, wept most of the night. Blewett who has no mind of her own copied Mickie. Myra Goodene dismissed the author as a mental case and therefore not worthy of attention and Ida Smith thinks it a huge joke except for the fact that he isolates us strictly, not allowing us to even consider ourselves as British - only beastly colonials. She thinks he has probably regretted his outburst by this time - after having been made to realize that but for the Canadian army the Germans would have been in Calais April 23rd.
Another objection he has to us is that we look as if were enjoying ourselves. The English have been here since August and are fed up. We are new to the country and therefore we go around more and see all there is to be seen. But it's a case of oil and water and we're better kept apart. Our ways are not their ways -
I am so glad Don is back in Winnipeg again and I imagine he'll appreciate it more than he did before. He spoke of seeing Aunt Teddy a couple of times and that she was well and very busy.
Later.
I went over for tea and found a pile of mail from Papa, you, Aunt Teddy, Aunt Hattie, Mrs. Hardy, Mrs. Thomson, Bessie Price and a card from Eric written the 30th, and papers from Papa - a bundle of Globes from Mrs. Thomson - bless her Grit soul - and pads from Papa and Bessie Price.
I have distributed the pads and envelopes and the men are busy writing letters of thanks. I gave the papers to Capt. Gwynn who is laid up with a broken leg and very blue. He has lived for years in Baltimore U.S.A. and said he had no one to send him Toronto papers.
I had some very [ ] moments as Aunt Hatties letter was wonderful - just as if I were "a regular person" to use a slang expression. You people all have such an exalted idea of our work. Dear woman - we worked far harder in civil hospitals for there we had always the continual feeling of restraint and here we are absolutely on our own and use our own judgment at every turn - besides no patients in private life could be like the Tommies.
I'll close now and answer some of the other letters - I'll write Mrs. Jamieson too. The 48th are heroes believe me - Love to Papa-
Yours always,
Helen
[fragment]
I am keeping track of Alan Townsend and send him a box every time I sent Eric one. I can get quite a few things here- such as matches, oxo, and send them good cigarettes and anything I can think of at the time. I had a card from Alan so I know he is getting the parcels.
I wrote to Harry Cumming and sent him some things after Ypres - but have heard nothing from him.
I can't locate George either, but have written him again c/o Can. Headquarters. Am sending Everett candy to-day and try to look after him too.
Find out Alan Munro's number Regt. etc. and Stuart [Laziers] and all of our friends. And I'll add them to Mrs. Gardners list of my
[page(s) missing]
Good bye now - mother dearest. You are always in my thoughts. Oh - as I look at the time which is 5.30 pm. I must not forget to tell you about my only bargain - at least my first. A gold wrist watch - a thing I've always wanted for the magnificent amount of 59 francs about $11 - second hand. Every girl in the camp has begged me to sell it to her. It is a perfectly good watch and the jewellers value it about 125 francs- $25. My only extravagance.
Helen