Home Front Girls

other, she told Annabelle, ‘I’m Hilary, by the way. Hilary Slater. But me mates call me Hils. What’s your name?’
    ‘Annabelle Smythe.’
    ‘Cor blimey, that’s a bit posh, innit?’ The girl had a broad Cockney accent, but then they had no time to say more, for as the boat picked up speed they were too intent on clinging onto their hats and staying in their seats.
    As the pinnace bounced across the waves, Annabelle stared around the big harbour. There seemed to be everything there, from huge steel-grey battleships to small sailing dinghies, and there wasn’t a square foot of water that didn’t have a vessel anchored on it. She began to feel a little queasy but thankfully the journey took no more than a matter of minutes and almost before they knew it they had passed through the main harbour and turned into a creek with another small quay ahead of them.
    The seaman expertly drew the boat alongside of it and told them, ‘This is it then, ladies. Good luck.’
    Another sailor up on the quay helped them all to disembark before telling them, ‘The hospital is straight ahead. You can’t miss it.’
    The girls began to walk in a straggly line until they came to an enormous gateway.
    ‘Do you reckon this is it?’ the girl called Hilary asked nervously. ‘It looks more like some sort of stately bloody home.’
    ‘I suppose it must be,’ Annabelle replied as she marched on towards the enormous iron gates where two sailors holding rifles stood.
    ‘We’re VADs,’ Annabelle told them imperiously and with a nod they moved aside as the row of girls scooted past them. They were then confronted by a massive red-brick building with an arched colonnade.
    Hilary whistled through her teeth. ‘Phew, it’s bloody massive, ain’t it? How are we ever supposed to find our way about that place?’
    ‘I dare say we’ll manage,’ Annabelle responded. Hilary seemed to have latched onto her and she wasn’t sure that she liked it. She’d come to get away from everyone and to lick her wounds in peace.
    Once inside the building the new intakes were directed towards an office where a stern-faced woman in uniform was waiting for them. Annabelle felt as if she were back at school and being sent to the headmistress.
    ‘I am Miss Dewhurst,’ the woman introduced herself. She was standing behind an enormous desk and the girls formed a circle around it. ‘I am the Red Cross Commandant and during your time at Haslar you will all be answerable to me. You will address me as Madam at all times and should you have any concerns, I will always be available to listen to you and help wherever I can. However, you must all remember that you are here to work, you are not on holiday, and I shall expect the best of each of you. Initially, you will all be assistant nurses to the Queen Alexandra Royal Naval Nurses or the QUARNNS as we tend to call them. But of course if we have a sudden influx of patients, you will be doing real nursing. We shall provide you with proper training for this and as part of that training you will attend lectures given by naval doctors, QUARNNS and myself. You will all be addressed by your surnames whilst you are here. Are there any questions you would like to ask?’
    Miss Dewhurst looked along the line of girls and when all of them remained silent she told them, ‘Right, I’m sure you must all be tired and hungry after your journey and I still have another intake to greet yet. So I will get someone to take you over to the mess where you can have something to eat and then you’ll be shown to your dormitories and you can settle in.’
    When the woman stood up to dismiss them, Annabelle saw that apart from her stern expression she was quite attractive, with a slim figure and fair hair drawn back into an elegant chignon beneath her nurse’s cap. Madam summoned a QUARNN who then led them to the mess hall where they were served with a surprisingly tasty meal of beef stew followed by rhubarb and custard.
    ‘Blimey, I could get used to this,’ Hilary remarked with a grin, wolfing hers down. ‘At least we know we ain’t goin’ to starve.’
    Once the meal was over they were shown to a dormitory that at first glance appeared to house between twenty and thirty black iron beds spaced down either side of the room. On each of them was a white blanket with a blue anchor embroidered in the centre of it and a pillow. Between each bed was a comfortable chair and a locker where the girls quickly placed the few