Monday 18th December 1939 I am back at the Chateau and it is difficult to believe I have been away. Sitting with Lydia in a draughty Nissan hut late on Saturday afternoon, waiting for the plane to land, I felt I would have done almost anything to stay with her and not return to the […]

Friday 8th December 1939 I’m not sure how I got through yesterday, given the trauma of the previous night – though writing it all down helped.  Thankfully, it was quiet, although that usually means that the Enemy has decided to raid another part of the country, just for fun, and send streams of patient to […]

Wednesday 6th December 1939 It must have been about three am when I was shaken awake by a very young – and panicking – junior nurse in a German uniform that looked as though it had been left over from the Great War.  She stood the candle she had been holding on my bedside locker. […]

Thursday 23rd November 1939 We had a bad air raid today that damaged one of the first floor rehabilitation wards.  We felt the force of the explosion even in the cellars, where I was operating.  Thankfully, though, the patients and staff had gone to the shelters, so there were no injuries. Later that afternoon, I […]

NOTE. This entry was not included in the published diaries. Thursday November 23rd 1939 Archie reached his limit today. We were doing a laparotomy – Kay was assisting and Archie was anaesthetist. The lower cellars, as I think I’ve said before, are deep ones with vaulted ceilings, built as a stronghold for the chateau’s wine […]

Sunday 12th November 1939 It was Sunday and promised to be a sunny, even warm day, despite being mid November. Holly and I had planned a picnic – once I returned from Matins. (Although devoid of its stained glass, the local church is still a peaceful place to be and I attend services whenever I […]

It has been horrendous enough to see the effects of war on people one doesn’t know. This morning was in some ways even worse, because it came closer to home. Graham and I were “off duty”, which meant in reality that we were sitting in the mess, writing up patient notes. Rosie and Kay were […]

Saturday 4th November 1939 I am forcing myself to make time to write this entry after six weeks’ silence, for fear the truth of what is happening here will otherwise be lost … Since we set up shop, there has been an almost never-ending stream of casualties. The fighting is close; we can feel the […]

Friday 29th September 1939 (Dover) We should have made our way down to Dover by train, but there was a signalling fault on the main line, plus a broken down train just outside Carlisle (they don’t do things by half in the North) so alternative transport had to be found. Unfortunately, this turned out to […]

Sunday 3rd September 1939 So we are at war. We only found out when changing trains at Carlisle, though of course it wasn’t exactly a surprise. In some ways, Chamberlain’s decision is a relief – better than sitting on our hands while the Bear ravages Europe. But it still feels unreal. Thursday 7th September 1939 […]