1915 Letter 43
Lemnos
Dec. 4 - [1915]
Dear Mother -
I am ashamed of myself for not having written oftener for looking in my book I see the last was Nov. 19 - I wrote two then - and I think one since - Cabled you last Monday - Your cable of Nov. 20 arrived Nov. 30 - posted from London- so it isn't very satisfactory. We are allowed to send cables about our health free of charge now and I shall do so every week.
Have been awfully busy all week opening a new hut - It's like making bricks without straw. All last week the weather was as cold as Nov. at home - frightful gales flurries of snow or rain - and ice half an inch thick on the water pails. We have been issued with waterproof capes, rubber boots, British Warms (3/4 length khaki coats - men's but warm and exactly what we need) - & cardigans. We have oil stones in our huts and in spite of the cold I never saw the girls look so well. I am "in the pink" as the Tommies say - and have had the first cold in months - and then only for 3 days and not bad at that. Pretty good for me, isn't it?
I am feeling tired just now and have been on duty every night till 9 or after, so I really hadn't a minute to write letters.
Last week on the Pen. was terrible. The trenches run through nullahs and ravines surrounded by cliffs. The rain collected and then suddenly poured down in a torrent drowning dozens of men before they could get out of their dug outs. Ever so many of our friends have come back sick and chance sent them here - Their stories are pathetic. Most of my patients have frozen feet in all stages from chillblains to gangrene. The trenches are full of water and rubber boots are useless as it is 5-6 ft deep in places.
The business of opening huts is my idea of purgatory. You walk in to a long shed as bare as a barn - this time the patients had come in during the night and mattresses and blankets had been drawn for them but they weren't washed or fed. There were mugs & plates & spoons - and you do the rest - you write thousands of "chets" (a nice English word) asking for things and find they are "not obtainable so you worry and curse and rage for days till finally you get things in shape. I had my hut nicely fixed up - as I wanted it when I was stuck on night duty & now I have to begin again.
But I like excitement and I'm getting it these days - really it isn't exciting just the daily round but the patients are new and one doesn't have a chance to get fed up with them. To-day I got them all washed and clothed etc. the whole 48 - when 15 of them were sent to another hospital - all the mild cases - and at 7 pm 15 new ones straight from the Pen. were landed in. Starving and half dazed - frostbitten and miserable. You feel like swearing but you can't in the face of such misery - you just pile in and do what you can -
Will write again to-morrow. Hope to go to lunch on the Blenheim. Was there on Wednesday - They are absolutely the best hearted people imaginable - must send you their picture. You owe them a lot for they saved our lives those first days by being nice to us and giving us a good time.
Your letters are coming through but none of the parcels. Have ordered a box for Eric from the Stores and our mess is well stocked so don't worry if your things don't come in time. We are awfully well fed. Have been stooping over all day doing dressings & my back is "broke" so Good-night.
Yours always,
Helen