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At the beginning
of January 1918 the battalion began a long march south. Williamson
was suffering from a swollen and infected ankle, and struggled
to keep up. He was finally transferred to No.6 General Hospital
and remained there until the end of February, taking on light
duties as a hospital orderly.
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Human
Sacrifice, 1918
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Letter
to his parents, 6th General Hospital, 26 January 1918
"Tomorrow
I expect to start a light job, instead of leaving hospital, namely,
to be in charge of the operating theatre stretcher-bearers. I
have to despatch them to fetch the patients to the theatre as
requested, to enter it in a book, & so on...."
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| 5 February
1918 "...I have got into the routine of the work, now. The
first thing I do after breakfast (7 o'clock) is to sort and count
all the things for the laundry. After, I draw clean sheets, pillow
slips, & see the correct number of pillows & covers are
ready in the [operating] theatre. There are three tables. There
are also seven stretchers to prepare. About 10.30 we finally begin,
& get instructions which wards to send for victims, patients,
I mean. Hereafter it is a bit of a rush often, as, if all the stretcher-bearers
are out, they are sure to call out 'poles' for the case to be carried
out. One has also to be on the look-out for the commencement of
bandaging, when it is time to send to the ward for an 'escort' back.
They are very quick. I think they could take you to pieces completely
in half an hour!" |
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September 1916
September
1916 - June 1917
July
1917
August
1917
August
1917 - December 1917
December
1917 - January 1918
January
1918 - February 1918
March
1918 - 1978
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