Stan and Grace

  For the time being, Stan and his unit remain in Sicily, but what is happening in the wider Italian campaign? Montgomery crossed the straights of Messina on 3 September and a week later, the American army's 6th US Corps and the British 10th Corps landed in the Bay of Salerno, thirty miles south-east of Naples.  By 18 September the Germans had begun to withdraw to the north of Naples. As can be seen from the cutting below, from the Birmingham Daily Gazette of 2 October, the British press were being very positive about the progress being made in Italy, but behind the scenes there was still lack of planning and agreement about the purpose and direction of the Italian campaign.  On 20 September, Montgomery wrote in his diary: "One cannot get away from the fact that I was ordered to invade the mainland of Europe without being given adequate resources, and without even being given any object .... the High Command in this Mediterranean Theatre of War invaded Italy, and thus emb...

Nurses Home, General Hospital, Nottingham. 29-9-43      My Very Own Darling, It is now three weeks since I received an air-letter from you and it seems like three months!   I suppose that you will not be receiving my letters either.   I wonder how old this letter will be when it eventually reaches you. It is my day-off to-day but it is not a very nice day.   It looks as if there might be rain any minute.   It is also Kit’s and Jean’s days off.   We went looking around the shops this morning but there is nothing much that we can buy these days unless of course, one is a millionaire.   We shall most likely go out to the pictures to-night and that will be the end of our day off.   Yes, it certainly is a pretty miserable way of spending a day off but there is nothing else to do. Jean is lucky, her boy friend manages to come down about once every two or three weeks for her day off.   He comes usually when she is not able to...

 Over the last two or three weeks, Grace has been telling Stan about the deteriorating health of her Grandfather, John Walker.   John Walker was the father of Alice, Grace's mother.  He was born in 1864 in Cliffe Bridge, a small settlement just outside Barnsley, between Lundwood and Monk Bretton.  He started work as a miner, probably aged around 12, but in his early 20's he moved to work on the pit top, firstly as a labourer and later on the screens where coal was washed and sorted into size/grade.  By 1914 he had moved to work at Grimethorpe Colliery and became Screens Foreman, a job he held until his retirement. John married Elizabeth Ryder in August, 1887, and they had six children - Alice was their second child and the oldest of four girls. The photograph below was taken on Vera's 21st birthday on 4 July, 1936, in the back garden of 56 Brierley Road.  John is seated in the centre with his daughters Grace (left) and Alice and Hilda (right).  Jo...

2364226                                                                                                  60 . Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen Med Forces Sep 23 rd 1943      My Very Own Darling, Along came another letter from you last night dated 5 th Sept.   Your letters are taking quite a long time to get here just now, aren’t they?   There's a lot of difference between the 7 days it took a letter to get to Africa and 17 days to Sicily, but I suppose as ...

G.H.N. 23-9-43    My Very Own Darling, I was so pleased to receive a letter from your Mother this morning enclosing a letter from you which you had written on Sept 4th. I was getting so worried Darling as it is quite a while since I had an air-letter from you. Of course I was not really surprised that I had not heard from you, as I put the absence of your letters down to the recent events in Italy.   However, your letter to your Mother explained matters so my mind is at rest once again for a short time.   I am pleased to be able to write and tell you dear that the first part of that awful exam is over at last.   We sat the written part Wednesday but the worst part of the exam, that of the practical and aural I take three weeks to-day. We had the medical and surgical papers yesterday morning and commenced at 10 a.m.   We had a break for lunch and started again at 2 p.m. upon our nursing paper.   We finished at 4 p.m.   I could hardly mo...

 On 22 September, 1943, Grace took her final exams.   It was quite a marathon, as the papers show: the candidates sat two papers in the morning, of one hour each.  In Paper 1 candidates had to answer two questions, one of which was compulsory.  In Paper 2 candidates had to answer two questions, one from each section.  They then had a break for lunch. In the afternoon they sat Paper 3, in which the first two questions were compulsory and they then had to choose two more questions from three alternatives. The candidates had to wait a further three weeks before taking a practical 'viva' exam - and then a further wait for the results. #1940snursinghistory  #1940snurse   #nursing1940s   #Nottinghamnursinghistory

Firstly, Stan writes an air letter, which should arrive more quickly. 2364226                                                                                                  57. Sergt. S. Bristow Headquarters 15 L of C Signals Cen Med Forces 20 Sep 43              My Very Own Darling, Back at last & no less than seven letters waiting for me!   How grand it was to read again of your doings & feelings.   Reading your letters is the best tonic I know. ...