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There was a great deal of discussion as to where we were going, especially after over hearing a Colonel remarking to Matron that it would be very cold 'over there'. 'Over there' - was it Poland? If so, how would we get there?
We sailed from Southampton on September 10 1939 to dock at Dieppe. The casino and golf club were taken over by No 1 G Hospital. No 2 G Hospital was destined for Offranville. In Dieppe we had temporary accommodation in the Hotel des Etrangers on the sea front. We were allowed the use of the local church which was on the sea front, next to a tobacco factory. We had no organist but thanks to my schooling as a young girl when I was taught the use of a tuning fork, I was able to pitch the right note.

Then I was sent to Offranville where we were lodged at various houses in the village. As I was the youngest Sister in the unit I was given a room in Matron's house, which in normal times was the Mayor's house. My room was furnished with a canvas camp bed, a canvas bucket, a canvas washbasin on a tripod and a small square canvas bath. We became expert at keeping ourselves clean in difficult circumstances.

No 2 G Hospital had 1200 beds and was housed in tents which each held 20 beds. The heating consisted of a small 'Beatrice' oil stove and there was one blanket for each bed. Initially we nursed pneumonias and many common ailments, eg 'pains in legs'. Many of the Reserves had been sent to France in the first rush of troops without careful selection. As the weather turned colder the troops succumbed to bronchitis and pneumonia. There were no antibiotics available in those days: we had to rely on M&B 693 together with kaolin poultices and inhalants. Not easy in tented wards during a very cold, severe winter. Then there was the mud! And the snow! Coal burning stoves replaced the little Beatrice oil stoves but these were of little use in cold, draughty tents.

The situation changed daily. We did what we could for the men before sending them on their way. I was treating a leg injury and not knowing his next destination I used a whole roll of elastoplast to support him. For this, one of the Regular Army Sisters in our unit reported me to Matron. She accused me of being 'too kind' to the soldier. The Medical Officer, the head of the hospital, spoke to me about this along with Matron. My reply was that when we passed our final SRN, it was routine to go to Matron's office to receive the new style of head-dress and belt to which our qualification entitled us. When I went for mine, Matron remarked to me that, apart from professional knowledge, HUMAN KINDNESS was of EQUAL IMPORTANCE. The Colonel saluted me and walked away!

I came home for 10 days' leave and then returned to France on a troop ship where I was the only female on board. I was taken to look all over the ship as we sailed to Cherbourg. This was on May 10, 1940, the day Hitler took Belgium and Holland. Now we had moved into very large huts holding 100 beds and three sisters as well as men from the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) staffed the ward. Casualties were being sent down from the Casualty Clearing Stations to Base hospitals. The roads were blocked with refugees from Belgium: old people, women and children pushing prams and handcarts heaped with household goods, motor vehicles with mattresses on their roofs, toddlers on small tricycles. They were constantly dive-bombed by German planes as they were an easy target. It was heart breaking to see and I still remember the scenes vividly

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