Monday, 3 August, 1942

The Nurses Home

General Hospital

Nottingham

3.8.42

 

My Darling Stan,

 

I was so thrilled this morning to receive two letters from you.

 

I was sorry to hear you have such a dreadful cold.  I wondered how I had caught my cold but now I have come to the conclusion that you posted some of your cold bugs in your letters to me and so transmitted your cold to me.  I suppose you will say it is improbable and well, maybe it is and maybe it is not.

 

As I write this the “Alert” is on and a Jerry is hovering in the clouds.  He is becoming a much too frequent visitor these days.  The siren went during the night and I was on fire watching duty, which meant that I lost an hour’s sleep.

 

So you are having a busy time in Scotland.  Sorry they are keeping you so busy but maybe it is a good job, you know how the old proverb goes – “The devil always finds something for idle hands to do.”

 

Now I am making horrid remarks but you know that I do not really mean them and that I do trust you Darling, it will soon be the 6th of August.  Does it mean anything to you?

 

The weather has changed a great deal since Saturday.  It is wet and cold and really horrid.  Talking or maybe I should say writing about the weather being wet reminds me of the bit I read in your letter about you putting on a wet coat!  Really Stan – you are certainly asking for trouble.  I was pleased to hear that Major Foot is looking after you.  I wish I could change him places.  By the way, you are a lucky person – having quinine, it is treasured more than gold in this hospital.  It is terribly difficult to obtain and they have to keep our small stock for malairial treatment.

 

I am glad you got my letter last Tuesday.  I have posted two more to you since – to your old address – so I suppose they will be waiting for you on your return.  I hope you receive this one alright.  This also does seem a peculiar address.

 

I will close now my dear.  Now do not forget – look after that cold as so many things start with the common cold and you sound to have a pretty bad one.

 

All my love darling.

 

Grace  xxxxxxx

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment. I will post it on the page as soon as possible.

Popular posts from this blog

Grace's Friends

Image
  From time to time Grace mentions her colleagues in her letters to Stan, so who are these people? On the wards, all the staff refer to each other by their surnames only, and some of these become shortened into nicknames.  "Goodie" and "Bunny" both trained with Grace at the King Eward VII Hospital for Sick Children in Rivelin Valley, north of Sheffield.  It would seem that the three of them then came to train in Nottingham together. "Goodie" is Jean Gooderson, who came from Thorne near Doncaster.  "Bunny" is another Jean - Jean Warren.  'Laughton' is also mentioned, but so far I have not found a first name for her. Grace's closest friend at Nottingham, constantly mentioned in the letters, is Kit.  It seems that Kit did not train at Rivelin, as in the 1939 Register (a 'census' taken at the beginning of the war for the purpose of producing ID and ration cards) Kit, listed by her full name Kathleen Gwillym, is at home with her fa
Read more

Tuesday, 6 October, 19942

The Nurses Home General Hosp Nottingham Tuesday         Dearest Stan, I suppose that you will be settling down in Norfolk.   In your next letter I hope to have a long account of your journey and of how life is lived in Norfolk.   Are you in the wilds again or are you in town? It is a pity you had to move this week as I hope to go home next.   I would have liked my day-off Tuesday or Wednesday but as I have a lecture Tuesday evening I am afraid it is out of the question. I am going to try and get half day Wednesday, day off Thursday but that may also be improbable as we start “taking in” on Wednesday for a week.   I think that I have explained before that it means admitting to our ward all the female surgical emergencies for that week.   If Sister will not let me have Thursday I shall have to wait till the week-end of the following week. It seems ages since I was home last, so I am looking forward to going.   I only wish you could manage it too. Everyone is feeling ver
Read more

Monday, 28 September, 1942

Image
  The Nurses Home General Hospital Notts. 28.9.42        My Darling, I suppose I ought to start my letter by apologising for this “good linen note-paper”.   I happen to be writing this in the lecture room whilst Sister-Tutor is chittering away about blood grouping.   As I want to catch this evenings post I have no alternative but to write this now; not that I mind missing any of the lecture as we had the same subject at least six times before.   It was kind of you to write Saturday night after you had worked so late and I do appreciate your special effort. I was so thankful to hear that you are staying with your unit and I am not going to pry for “official secrets”. Rather unusual for you to be working Sunday, it is such a lazy day for you normally. You certainly made me feel envious, reading about your dinner.   I am so glad that you enjoyed yourself though.   Jean is sitting near me and just before we came into the lecture we were reminiscing.   Do you realise that
Read more