Fanny goes to war

1919·18.3 MB·English

by  Washington, Pat Beauchamp

FANNY GOES TO WAR(cid:13)
PAT BEAUCHAMP(cid:13)
E A.N.Y(cid:13)

FANNY GOES TO WAR(cid:13)
To T. H.(cid:13)
FANNY GOES TO WAR(cid:13)
BY PAT BEAUCHAMP(cid:13)
(FIRST AID NURSING YEOMANKY)(cid:13)
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY(cid:13)
MAJOR-GENERAL H. N. THOMPSON,(cid:13)
K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O(cid:13)
LONDON(cid:13)
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.(cid:13)
1919(cid:13)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED(cid:13)
INTRODUCTION(cid:13)
I EAGERLYa vail myself of the Author's invitation(cid:13)
to write a foreword to her book, as it gives me an(cid:13)
opportunity of expressing something of the admira-
tion, of the wonder, of the intense brotherly sym-
pathy and affection-almost adoration-which has(cid:13)
from time to time overwhelmed me when witnessing(cid:13)
the work of our women during the Great War.(cid:13)
They have been in situations where, five short(cid:13)
years ago, no one would ever have thought of(cid:13)
rinding them. They have witnessed and taken(cid:13)
active part in scenes nerve-racking and heart-
rending beyond the power of description. Often it(cid:13)
has been my duty to watch car-load after car-load(cid:13)
of severely wounded being dumped into the reception(cid:13)
marquees of a Casualty Clearing Station. There(cid:13)
they would be placed in long rows awaiting their(cid:13)
turn, and there, amid the groans of the wounded(cid:13)
and the loud gaspings of the gassed, at the mere(cid:13)
approach of a sister there would be a perceptible(cid:13)
change and every conscious eye would brighten as(cid:13)
with a ray of fresh hope. In the resuscitation and(cid:13)
moribund marquees, nothing was more pathetic(cid:13)
" Sister," with her notebook, stooping(cid:13)
than to see
over some dying lad, catching his last messages to(cid:13)
his loved ones.(cid:13)
vi INTRODUCTION(cid:13)
Women worked amid such scenesf or long hours(cid:13)
day after day, amid scenes as no mere man(cid:13)
couldl ong endure,a nd yet their nervesh eld out;(cid:13)
it may be becauseth ey werei nspiredb y the nature(cid:13)
of their work. I have seen them, too, continue(cid:13)
that work under intermittent shelling and bombing,(cid:13)
repeatedd ay after day and night after night, and(cid:13)
it was the rarest thing to find one whose nerves(cid:13)
gavew ay. I have seeno thers rescuew oundedf rom(cid:13)
falling houses, and drive their cars boldly into(cid:13)
streets with bricks and debris flying.(cid:13)
I have also, alas! seen them grievously wounded;(cid:13)
and on one occasion, killed, and found their comrades(cid:13)
continuing their work in the actual presenceo f their(cid:13)
dead.(cid:13)
The free homes of Britain little realise what our(cid:13)
war women have been through, or what an undis-
charged debt is owing to them.(cid:13)
How few now realise to what a large extent they(cid:13)
were responsible for the fighting spirit, for the morale,(cid:13)
for the tenacity which won the war! The feeling,(cid:13)
the knowledge that their women were at hand to(cid:13)
succour and to tend them when they fell raised the(cid:13)
fighting spirit of the men and made them brave and(cid:13)
confident.(cid:13)
The above qualities are well exemplified by the(cid:13)
conduct and bearingo f our Authoressh erself,w ho,(cid:13)
when grievously injured, never lost her head or(cid:13)
her consciousnessb,u t through half an hour sat(cid:13)
quietly on the road-side beside the wreck of her car(cid:13)
and the mangledr emainso f her late companion.(cid:13)