Home Front Girls

not. Do I make myself clear? Second-best just will not do.’
    And so the weary staff carried on doing the best they could, although often by the time the patients were delivered to them it was too late to do anything other than draw a white sheet across their pale faces and wheel them down to the morgue or hold their hands and offer what comfort they could until the men drew their last breath. At first, Annabelle found it soul-destroying to see young men killed in their prime, but eventually she began to accept it. What other option did she have?
    The rest of the VADs and also some of the QUARNNs now regularly took the ‘floating bridge’ across the harbour from Gosport into old Portsmouth in the spare time they did have. From there it was only a mile into Southsea and they would go to dances at the Savoy, which was close to the South Parade Pier. It was popular with sailors and soldiers alike as it had many top acts playing there, including Vera Lynn, Tommy Trinder, Gracie Fields and Joe Loss. But up to now Annabelle had preferred to stay in the dormitory and read, and eventually the other girls, some of whom had formed close friendships, stopped inviting her along and she gained the reputation of being ‘a bit of a loner’.
    It was during such a night, when she was looking forward to going to bed early, that a senior QUARNN suddenly stuck her head round the door and asked, ‘I know it’s your night off, Smythe, but we’ve just been put on standby for another influx of patients. You couldn’t come and help us out, could you?’
    Annabelle’s hopes of a cosy night tucked up in bed flew out of the window. ‘I suppose so,’ she said wearily. ‘I’ll be with you as soon as I’ve got back into my uniform.’ She cursed as she quickly got dressed again. Perhaps she should have gone with the other girls, after all. But it was no use mithering about it now, so she set off for the front door where she knew the new intake would be brought. They began to arrive almost instantly, some of them supported by nurses, others on stretchers and trolleys, and she began to list their names, checking the dog tags of the men who were unconscious or unable to tell her their name.
    Looks like it’s going to be a very long night, she thought to herself as the next injured soldier was wheeled towards her – and then her heart missed a beat as she stared down into a face that she had often seen in her dreams. The young soldier was unconscious and covered in blood from his wounds but she would have known him anywhere, even after all this time.
    ‘Is there a problem, Smythe?’
    Madam’s sharp voice sliced into her shock, and flustered she answered, ‘N-no, Madam.’
    The woman swept across to her. ‘Ah, I see he isn’t wearing his dog tag.’
    ‘His name is Joel. Joel Ford,’ Annabelle answered before she could stop herself.
    Madam raised an eyebrow as she looked at the sheet attached to the end of his trolley listing his injuries. ‘And do you know this young man?’
    ‘Slightly. He is my friend’s brother,’ Annabelle answered, keeping her eyes downcast to hide her reddened cheeks.
    ‘Well, whoever he is, he needs to go to surgery immediately,’ Madam told her efficiently. ‘Take him straight down to theatre, Smythe, and inform the surgeons that he is an emergency case, then report back here. By the look of this lot we may be here all night.’
    ‘Yes, Madam.’ Annabelle quickly grasped the trolley and headed for the cellars, and all the way she was silently praying, ‘Please don’t die, Joel.’ It would be just too cruel if Lucy were to lose her brother so soon after losing her little sister and her mother.
    Once she had entrusted Joel to the theatre nurses who would prepare him for surgery, she hurried back upstairs to muck in, and the rest of the night passed in a blur as she and the other VADs registered the new intake of casualties. There was little time to wonder if Joel had survived until at last, early the next morning, Madam told the exhausted girls, ‘Go to your rooms now and rest for a while. None of you are any good to me if you are too tired to work. But be back down here for lunchtime. I fear we have a very busy few days ahead of us.’
    The girls trudged away, stifling their yawns, and then Annabelle finally had time to think of Joel again. She had glanced at his notes on the way down to theatre and three words had jumped out at her. Possible leg amputation? She hoped with all her heart that