The Nurse's Promise by Rosie James

Author:Rosie James [Rosie James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-05-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

18th November 1916

Autumn came early that year, accompanied by endless rain, which meant that the hundreds upon hundreds of wounded soldiers arriving were always plastered from head to foot in thick brown mud, their life blood mixed up with the filth.

The very worst thing for Angelina was seeing the rows and rows of dead piled up in the mortuary which was always full to overflowing. There was little time or opportunity for much dignity, and each body was merely covered by a single blanket, and with bare feet sticking out. To her, that was the saddest sight because these soldiers were now beyond her help – she was useless to them. There was no more chance to relieve their suffering, and it felt like a personal failure, as if Nurse Green hadn’t got to them quickly enough.

But Angelina soon managed to quell her morbidity because she knew such thoughts were silly. She worked tirelessly all day, and many nights with little time off, and would go on doing so until she dropped. She was 16 years old … 16? Time, and the experiences which had gone with it, had made her grow up very quickly, and inside, she felt that she was at least 60!

Early one morning, Dr Lewis sent word to all the nursing staff that that they should report to him immediately, and Angelina and the others quickly got into their uniforms. What now, they wondered.

They, and other nurses, arrived at the doctor’s office which was the small tent at the entrance to the hospital where they had received their first instructions. How long ago that seemed now, Angelina thought. Dr Lewis came straight to the point.

‘We have been informed that fighting this particular battle has now ceased,’ he said, his voice expressionless. ‘Of course, it does not mean that we shan’t be receiving any more casualties – far from it, because there’ll be a massive backlog, but—’

Angelina couldn’t hold back. ‘I’m sorry, do you mean the war is over?’ she said incredulously. And for the first time that morning she suddenly realised that the relentless booming of guns had stopped, making it feel comparatively peaceful. That hideous din had become so much the norm, she hadn’t even noticed it was no longer there.

‘No, I’m afraid the war is certainly not over, Nurse Green,’ the doctor said, ‘but the battle of the Somme has been halted because it has reached an impasse, and apparently it is thought a stand-off is the more sensible decision.’

There was a stunned silence as they all took in this news, then Jane said, ‘So all the men who have lost their limbs and their lives have done so for absolutely nothing? That this … this ghastly bloody mayhem has been a complete waste of time?’ Her voice trembled with emotion and there was a general murmur of agreement at her words. A fight that nobody won? How could that possibly be?

Dr Lewis shrugged. ‘It must look like that,’ he said slowly, ‘but

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