the best medicine by william webb

8/12/2019 The Best Medicine by William Webb

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About the Author

William Webb spent ten years as a radar technician in the RAF before becoming an

ICAO listed expert in communications and navigation Aids.

He spent more than forty years travelling the orld before using his experience to

rite his first three boo!s.

His latest boo!" The Best Medicine" as inspired by the gift of an autograph boo! of

a WW# voluntary nurse.

$revious boo!s%

&on fiction'

Been There, Done That, Got the T-Shirt

My Art Is Where the Ohm Is

Fiction'

Per Ardua Ad Ulcers


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(edications

)o my late dear friend Colin Hornsby ithout hose generosity this

boo! ould never have been published.

Also" to the many servicemen and nursing staff of World War

One hose names have been long forgotten but hose sacrifices ill

ever be remembered.


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Wil l i am Webb

T H E B E S T M E D I C I N E


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Copyright William Webb

)he right of William Webb to be identified as author of this or! has

been asserted by him in accordance ith section ** and *+ of the

Copyright" (esigns and $atents Act #,++.

All rights reserved. &o part of this publication may be reproduced"

stored in a retrieval system" or transmitted in any form or by any

means" electronic" mechanical" photocopying" recording" or otherise"

ithout the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person ho commits any unauthori-ed act in relation to this

publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims fordamages.

A CI$ catalogue record for this title is available from the ritish

/ibrary.

I0& ,*+ # *+122 312 ,

.austinmacauley.com

First $ublished 435#16

Austin 7acauley $ublishers /td.

32 Canada 08uare

Canary Wharf

/ondon9#1 2/

$rinted and bound in :reat ritain


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Frontispiece

$rivate Fr. Clar! 3,#;#1

3rd#,#*


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$rivate Clar!" (evon Regt" and )rooper =enables" Innis!illen (ragoons


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Foreword

Frances ?osephine Hamlyn :oodban served as a volunteer 4=A(6 nurse ith the

ritish Red Cross from October #,#1 until the >#st?anuary #,#,. 0he or!ed a

total of ##"3*; hours" largely in &orth (evon" for no pay at all. Hoever" she did

receive @#2 in expenses for her nine months spent at the ritish Red Cross

Hospital &etley" near 0outhampton" hich probably did not even cover her

travelling costs.

y coincidence" Agatha Christie also oined the Red Cross as a volunteernurse in (evon in October #,#1. Hoever" she later 8ualified as a dispenser of

medicine here she no doubt ac8uired her !noledge of poison hich featured

in many of her mystery novels. In contrast to &urse :oodban" Agatha Christie

only or!ed a total of >"155 hours.

For the duration of the ar &urse :oodban or!ed at various =A( and

ritish Red Cross hospitals. 0pecifically" these ere IlfracombeBs Westell

Hospital 4October #1th#,#1 until 7arch #2th #,#2" and October #,#+ until

?anuary >#st#,#,6 and arnstaple =A( Hospitals 4#,#2


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ere 2#, male detachments and #*2* female detachments registered ith the

War Office.

)he female detachments mainly consisted of a Commandant" a 7edical

Officer" a Duartermaster" and tenty to omen. Of this tenty to" at least

to ere trained nurses. Originally" the detachments ere scheduled to meet at

least once a month but most met ee!ly ith the participants or!ing toardsgaining certificates in Home &ursing and First Aid. In some areas the volunteers

ere alloed to spend time in local civilian hospitals to gain experience in

caring for the sic!. )he detachments ere originally intended to staff auxiliary

hospitals and rest stations in the E. Hoever" by the middle of #,#2" =A(

members ere being shipped overseas to augment the number of trained nurses

in military hospitals. Only =A( nurses aged #, G >5 ere considered for

overseas duty" hereas those from 3# G 1+ ere eligible to or! in the E%

hich included &urse :oodban.

On the commencement of the ar Red Cross and Auxiliary Hospitals sprungup all over the E. $ublic buildings" church halls" hotels" and even large private

houses ere commandeered and utilised to accommodate the thousands of

casualties being shipped bac! to ritain. )he proportion of trained nurses in

these establishments as very small so =A(s ere called upon to carry out the

bul! of the or!. In addition to mundane tas!s such as coo!ing" cleaning"

ashing" and polishing" they also dressed" undressed" and bathed the inured

patients. As most of the young omen involved hailed from elltodo families"

this as a huge step in their emancipation. 7ost ould never before have been

alone and unchaperoned ith an unrelated member of the opposite sex.

)he folloing is an extract from a message by atharine Furse"CommandantInChief" ritish Red Cross 0ociety WomenBs =oluntary Aid

(etachments" to =A(s proceeding on active service%

You are ein! sent to "or# $or the %ed &ross' You ha(e to )er$orm a tas#

"hich "ill need your coura!e, your ener!y, your )atience, your humility, your

determination to o(ercome all di$$iculties' %ememer that the honour o$ the

*AD or!anisation de)ends on your indi(idual conduct' It "ill e your duty not

only to set an e+am)le o$ disci)line and )er$ect steadiness o$ character, ut also

to maintain the most courteous relations "ith those "hom you are hel)in! in

this !reat stru!!le'

Be in(arialy courteous, unsel$ish and #ind' %ememer "hate(er duty you

underta#e, you must carry it out $aith$ully, loyally, and to the est o$ your aility'

%ules and re!ulations are necessary in "hate(er $ormation you oin'

&om)ly "ith them "ithout !rumle or criticism and try to elie(e that there is


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reason at the ac# o$ them, thou!h at the time you may not understand the

necessity'

Sacri$ices may e as#ed o$ you' Gi(e !enerously and "holeheartedly,

!rud!in! nothin!, ut rememerin! that you are !i(in! ecause your &ountry

needs your hel)' I$ you see others in etter circumstances than yoursel$, e

)atient and thin# o$ the men "ho are $i!htin! amid discom$ort and "ho are o$tenin !reat )ain'

Those o$ you "ho are )aid can !i(e to the %ed &ross Society, "hich is your

Mother and "hich needs much more money to carry on its !reat "or#, to their

Mother Society and thus to the Sic# and Wounded'

et our mottos e .Willin! to do anythin!/ and .The Peo)le !i(e !ladly/'

I$ "e li(e u) to these, the *AD memers "ill come out o$ this "orld "ar

trium)hant'

Do your duty loyally

0ear God1onour the 2in!

And only the Master shall )raise us, and only the Master shall lame'

And no one shall "or# $or money, and no one shall "or# $or $ame'

But each $or the oy o$ "or#in!, and each in his se)arate star,

Shall dra" the thin! as he sees it $or the God o$ thin!s as they are'

A P%AY3% BY %A&13 &%OWDY'

.ord, "ho once ore your o"n &ross shoulder hi!h to sa(e man#ind, hel)

us to ear our %ed &ross Banner hi!h, "ith clean hands una$raid'

To those "ho tend the "ounded and sic# !i(e health and coura!e that they

o$ their store may !i(e to those "ho lie a"a#e in )ain "ith stren!th and coura!e

!one'

Teach us no tas# can e too !reat, no "or# too small, $or those "ho die or

su$$er )ain $or us and their &ountry' Gi(e unto those "ho rule a !entle usticeand a "isely !uidin! hand, rememerin! .Blessed are the Merci$ul/' And "hen

)eace comes, !rant neither deed nor "ord o$ ours has thro"n a shado" on the

&ross, nor stained the $la! o$ 3n!land/'

45ote6 The line 7Gi(e unto those "ho rule a !entle ustice and a "isely

!uidin! hand8 seems totally ina))ro)riate "hen one considers the (ast numer

o$ shell-shoc#ed soldiers "ron!ly e+ecuted $or co"ardice9'

&urse :oodban appears to have commenced collecting for her boo!" hich

contains entries from more than one hundred of her patients" hilst at the

arnstaple =A Hospital in #,#2 and continued until she finally left the Red


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Cross on ?anuary >#st#,#,. It is possible that the autograph boo! may originally

have been a gift to her from some of her grateful patients.

Hereith are excerpts from the boo! hich are testament to the high regard

in hich she as held by those ho benefited from her care and attention. &ot

all of her patients ere gallant arriors ounded in action% some ere

ignominiously shipped home suffering from dysentery" trench fever" or trenchfoot but it is evident from the entries in her boo! that all her patients received

the same level of devotion. )he various entries on the pages display not only the

gratitude felt for &urse :oodban but also the mood of the ritish )ommy at the

time. (espite the indescribable horrors that many had itnessed an

unmista!eable air of humour and optimism prevails throughout the boo!.

Hoever" there is evidence that not every patient as ithout heartache% there

are to poems hich ere obviously inspired by bro!en romances 40ee page

>16.


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CHAPTER ONE

AR&0)A$/9 7I//9R I&0)I)E)9


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)hen a chap may as! you

WhatBs that honour forJ

Wearing slac!s in artime

Ought to stop his a.

0ilence may be golden

And searing indiscrete

0till they donBt draft angels

)o the ritish Fleet.

)hough they donBt draft angels

)o the ritish FleetFrom Admiral to 0notty

)heyBre all G ell" simply seet.

With !indest regards and best ishes to &urse :oodban

Corporal R 7 urn

This man descries himsel$ as a cor)oral, "hich is not a na(al ran#, and yethe "rites aout the British 0leet and ein! 7on oard8' Maye he "as a marine:

I as ounded in france a place call Hooge ounded in the right fore arm on

the ; of uly #,#2 i have been out there since last 7ay #,#1 and ounded once i

as sent out of the trenches don to the dressing station I as there for one

night and then sent to )rypots from there sent to 9xeter ear i resied 4)ossily

.recei(ed/ ; author9many than!sfrom the nurses and the 0ister and then sentto the Red Cross Hospital arnstaple ere i resied every bit of !indness from

the nurses.

$rivate : 9 0amell.

#stRoyal Foresters


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Wounded at the (ardanelles. A small ord G ith a large earing )han!s

#3thOctober #,#2

$rivate =ictor 9llood

(u!e of Wellingtons

Invalided home from the (ardanelles ith (ysentery and &euralgia as

transferred from $lymouth to arnstaple Institute here I am almost got ellagain. est ishes to all the nurses there and good luc! to all.

$rivate H Haylett

#


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:reater love hath no man than this" that a man lay don his on life for his

friends.

Wounded at (ardanelles on 3+th ?une #,#2

From Kours Aye ?oc!

Rifleman )homas Ferguson 3353

40cottish Rifles6 Cameronians.

Wounded at 0ulva ay" (ardanelles August #>th #,#2.

$te :ordon A. rone

#


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7y /ittle Wet Home in the )rench

7y little et home in the trench

)hatBs the place here e fright ith the French

)he :ermans they !no" so you have to !eep lo"

In my little et home in the trench.

)here is noone to visit you there"

For the place is so muddy and bare"

ut IBve got one good friend I can trust to the end

In my little dugout in the trench.

7y rifleBs the only defence"

If that should refuse" then perhaps I might lose

7y little dugout in the trench.

ut still I should never say die

For my comrades ill alays stand by"

)he shots they come sift

ut still none of us shift

From our little dugout in the trench.

the best medicine by william webb

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