by Sheila Riley
‘Outa the way, Nurse.’
‘Sorry,’ Anna said, dazed, finding it difficult to string two thoughts together. ‘I don’t know if I’m upside down or inside out at the moment.’
Suddenly, someone took her arm and dragged her outside the huge tent that served as a makeshift hospital. The place where they tried desperately to save the dying or move the less seriously wounded to more secure establishments.
‘Follow me.’ The voice behind the thick dark beard was commanding. ‘We need help over here.’
Anna followed at a run, flinching at the sound of shells bursting overhead, but continuing, nonetheless. The noise was terrific now as guns, bombs and missiles flew in every direction. The sky was crimson with shellfire, bodies everywhere.
‘Here, catch hold of his leg, I think this one is still alive.’
Anna helped the doctor pull a young half-drowned soldier from a water-filled crater. The orderlies, blown to smithereens, had previously done the same job.
Anna did not have time to feel revulsion, or fear. Instead, the adrenaline that should have made her want to run accumulated to a rage of invincibility as they got the soldier who had already lost his fight and put him on the wayside. And she was not at all surprised when somewhere over her shoulder she heard a weary wag singing, ‘Oh, oh, oh, what a lovely war…’
Nevertheless, her interest was short-lived when she saw another man lying unconscious in the mud. Her first thought was that he was dead. However, her instincts told her he was not.
‘Move it, nurse,’ the doctor roared, but Anna was transfixed by the warrior clad in a Canadian uniform, his face unrecognisable and caked in mud, lying unconscious only feet from the ambulance. She could have sworn she saw his chest move.
‘We have to save that soldier, sir. He’s alive.’ Anna could not leave him lying there.
‘He’s clearly dead,’ the doctor shouted, ‘and we will be too if we don’t get a move on.’
‘No, sir, I don’t think he is.’ Anna could not put into words what was drawing her to the young soldier, but she knew she had to save him. She had seen signs of life. Surely. It was only a tiny movement but… Crawling on her stomach, Anna edged closer, knowing she would not be able to live with herself if she did not try to save his life.
‘Come back here this instant, nurse.’
Anna, ducking bullets and ricocheting shrapnel, could hear the fury in the senior medic’s voice. Nevertheless, she did not intend to leave this man. When she reached his apparently lifeless body, she felt for a pulse at the side of his throat. It was weak. Still, there was a pulse.
‘Over here,’ Anna screamed, relieved she had not left him to die. His pulse, almost too faint, told her this soldier might not see out the night, but it would be through no fault of hers. Praying now, she knew she would never give up. She must save his life.
‘If you do not move, nurse, you are looking at a court martial for disobeying an order’.
‘I don’t care,’ she called, looking down at the young soldier. She put her hand behind his head and, pulling down his lower jaw, she coiled her fingers right into his mouth, scooping out the thick, choking sludge from his throat and she listened… Nothing. Pulling him closer to her, his head resting in her lap as she knelt in the mud wiping the filth from his face with her apron, Anna was met with the unmistakable face of her brother.
‘Sam,’ she cried. ‘I let you go one time before,’ she told her unconscious brother, ‘but I am not going to do it again.’ Picking up his dog tag, Anna’s suspicions were confirmed: Captain Samuel Cassidy, C.A.M.C. ‘Hold on, Sam… My darling boy, hold on.’ Looking up to the heavens, the rain mingled with her tears. ‘Please God, don’t let him die, too,’ she said, stroking the unconscious face of her younger brother. ‘Doctor, over here, hurry. He’s alive.’
The doctor came hurtling back. Bending close now, he listened for the faintest of breath. Anna could not imagine a God so cruel as to give her back the most precious thing she had in the whole world, and then immediately take him from her. Sam must live. She would do everything in her power to help him. A vivid snowy picture of bygone times entered her head. She was cradling a small, lifeless body that night too.
‘No, please Lord. No.’ She grabbed the lapel of Sam’s khaki jacket, and instinctively shaking him with such force, it dislodged what mud was still in his throat, and Sam coughed out a huge plug. Suddenly his body gave a shudder and she stopped.
Still, for a moment, Anna listened. Then, her brother took in a huge gasp of damp, summer air, and although his eyelids remained closed, he began to draw in small breaths. But when she felt his pulse, it was racing.
‘Stretcher over here,’ the doctor yelled, all the while checking for other injuries, applying pressure when he found a huge gaping wound in Sam’s stomach. ‘Quickly We’ve got to get this kid on the table now.’
Two orderlies hurried forward.
‘Good work there, nurse,’ the Canadian doctor said. ‘Your keen observation may have saved this kid’s life…’
‘He’s my brother.’ A dry shuddering sob rocked her body, but no tears came, she would save them for later. ‘I swore I would never let him down.’
It seemed like an eternity before they managed to get Sam to the clearing station just a few yards up the road.
‘You are English…?’ the doctor called over his shoulder, with Anna following at a run.
‘And so is he,’ Anna replied, ‘until he was taken from us.’ Orderlies, all around, were busy heaving dead bodies out of the way so that the doctors could concentrate on the wounded still alive.
‘You are not assisting in this procedure, nurse,’ said the doctor with a fierce determination, then he ordered another medic: ‘Take her to the nurses’ station where she can get cleaned up.’
‘But I want to stay – I need to stay,’ Anna cried above the noise of the guns.
‘We do not care what you want or what you need, nurse,’ he barked, ‘you just take yourself out of here and I’ll come see you when I’ve finished.’
‘Come on, sweetie,’ Ellie who had appeared at her side, gently took her arm. ‘Let the doctors do their job.’
‘Take cover,’ shouted the orderly over his shoulder. Suddenly there was a loud bang, and Ellie landed at the bottom of a greasy pit. Almost instantly, Anna was on her feet, dragging her out of the crater. She did not intend to lose a friend.
‘You have a quick recovery time,’ said the orderly.
‘It comes with plenty of practice,’ Anna said, looking round to make sure Ellie was in one piece. She had never lost the survival instincts honed on the dockside streets of Liverpool. And Anna smiled for the first time that day when she saw Ellie, who was obviously enjoying the attention of another doctor, was having her ankle checked for broken bones and whooped with delight when they put her on a stretcher.
‘We think it’s just a sprain, but I’m going to have it X-rayed to make sure.’ Ellie waved as she was taken to the casualty clearing station, ‘Toodle-oo for now.’
‘How are you supposed to get any rest in this godforsaken place?’ Anna prowled the farmhouse that doubled as staff accommodation. ‘And how can a compassionate God ever let this happen, to men who have no argument with anyone?’ She was angry. There was no respite from the fear gripping her heart.
Not allowed in the operating room, as she insisted, she should be, and ordered to take some time off, Anna was invited to sit with a group of nurses at the table drinking much-appreciated cocoa. They welcomed her even though she was filthy in mud-caked clothing.
‘Here, nurse, have my seat,’ one of the orderlies said, rising from the long form. ‘I’m going back now.’
Anna, grateful, slumped onto the wooden bench, and a cup of something steaming was put before her. She drank the hot sweet cocoa without even tasting it.
‘How much longer is this awful war going to last?’ she asked, staring into the smoke-filled kitchen where medics of every shape and rank took a much-needed, s
eldom sufficient rest. ‘How many more lives will be taken before those back in the safety and comfort of their Whitehall offices decide that enough is enough?’
‘They are doing everything they possibly can for Sam,’ a kindly nurse said when she came to find Anna later. ‘He was lucky that medical treatment was started almost on the front line.’
‘I wonder if it was quick enough, though,’ Anna said, unable to rid herself of the fear he might not see the night out. He was holding on by a thread when they rushed him towards the hospital. Sam was so close. Yet now, Anna felt they could not be further from each other.
‘He’s copped a Blighty one,’ the nurse said, her eyes filled with compassion. ‘If he survives the night, he will be on the next hospital ship home.’
Anna’s lips pressed together to stop herself from saying something trite, knowing these were the words they used when there was little hope. The nurse was trying to help, but that was impossible.
‘Where is his home now?’ Anna asked eventually, hoping that Sam, still a British citizen, would be sent back to Blighty, knowing he was far too ill to fight any more. Nevertheless, fight he must. His battle now was to stay alive.
‘He may be sent back to Canada.’
The thought sent terror shards shooting through her heart. Anna could not bear the thought of seeing Sam go away again. She had spent too many years pining for the brother she thought she had lost for good.
‘Leave it with me,’ Ellie said, her ankle miraculously pain-free, and with not a limp in sight. ‘I know someone who knows someone who can help.’
‘Do you really?’ Anna knew if Ellie could not pull the rabbit out of the hat, then nobody could. She was a genius at being able to persuade the commanders to see things her way. Anna could only marvel at her successes. The other day she managed to procure the bandages they had been begging weeks for. Although Ellie did not say where she got them from, and Anna did not ask. As long as they had supplies for their men, it was good enough for her.
‘I will see you later,’ Ellie said as she headed towards the exit. ‘I have a few egos to massage.’
Anna gasped at her audacity. Ellie was as bold as Aunt Ruby.
Later that day, Anna went to see the commander in charge, whose office was situated midway between the front line and base camp, about five hundred yards from the river, and saw the injured men being transported via horse-drawn or motor ambulance.
She wanted Sam away from the battlefield and on a hospital ship as soon as was humanly possible. The company commander told her that the only way to do that, given his wounds, was via the hospital boat, which meant being sailed down the river with a full-time nurse. In addition, the next boat was not leaving for Canada until next Friday.
‘We could get him back to the First Western at Fazakerley, it’s the hospital for Canadian soldiers and it is leaving tomorrow!’ Anna told the Commander. ‘And I would like to take him home.’
‘I don’t give a monkeys cuss what you would like to do, Sister,’ said the tough-talking commander. ‘We cannot spare you, Sister,’ He had to be firm and fair to all nurses, Anna understood that, but surely, he could see she was desperate to take her brother back home after all these years. ‘Your brother will be in good hands, whomever is assigned to take care of him.’
‘Yes, Sir.’ Anna was devastated that she could not accompany Sam, although she had to be glad her brother was still alive and she must rejoice in the fact that his war was over. However she was determined that he would be going back to Liverpool where he belonged.
Ellie had managed to pull some strings so Anna was able to tell Sam the good news.
‘I have made arrangements for you to be taken to Ashland Hall once you are well enough to leave the hospital in Fazakerley. I will be home in a few weeks, time,’ Anna told him when she went to see him later that day. Still very weak, he squeezed her hand and smiled when she told him that Aunt Ruby and Archie would spoil him something rotten, which was no more than he deserved.
‘Who is Uncle Archie and Aunt Ruby?’ Sam asked. ‘The people who took you in after the fire?’
Anna nodded, there was so much catching up to do.
‘I sent a telegram…’ Anna explained, ‘although I imagine Ruby will have kittens when the Post Office turn up, and will expect the worst kind of news, but she will forgive me, I’m sure.’ She noticed Sam’s eyelids close, and she decided it was time to let him rest. ‘As long as we are still alive, and get back in one piece, that is all that matters.’ She could see he was losing the battle to stay awake. ‘I will come back tomorrow, get some rest…’ Even before she left his bedside, she knew Sam was sleeping.
The farmhouse door opened and Ellie, her face covered with a scarf in case of a gas attack, blew in on a gust of howling wind.
‘Put the wood in the hole,’ a collective cry went up, and Ellie closed the door quickly and headed for the stove.
‘Those doctors are performing operations that are nothing short of a miracle,’ Anna said before the fierce wind drowned out the rest of her words as the door opened again. Turning, Anna was pleased when she saw Daisy in all her finery.
‘Daisy,’ Anna rose quickly from the table, ‘where the bloody hell have you been? You were there one minute and gone the next.’
‘I’ve been a bit busy,’ Daisy let out her customary hoot of laughter that caused Ellie to scowl, ‘I’m getting ready for the concert.’
‘What concert?’ Anna and Ellie chorused.
‘The one I am doing tonight, for the troops, to boost morale.’
‘Right,’ Anna said a little perplexed and vaguely wondering where they were going to hold a concert, but no matter now. ‘There is something I want to talk to you about.’ Anna beckoned her over to the table. Pouring tea from the huge pot on the stove, Daisy looked from Anna to Ellie who shrugged. When all three girls settled, Anna took a deep breath and said without ceremony, ‘How would you like to go home?’
‘Home?’ Daisy’s fine brows pleated. ‘Where’s home?’
‘To England…’ Anna could feel the thrill of excitement rise, knowing that she was about to offer Daisy something which she had longed for every one of the last seven years. ‘To Aunt Ruby’s place on the shores of the River Mersey.’
Daisy’s eyes widened until they formed tears as she said: ‘Does that mean I have to tell your Aunt Ruby I’ve come back in your place? She will batter me.’ All of a sudden, they were laughing, and crying, and hugging each other. Humour, Anna knew, was their way of coping, staying sane in this mad war.
‘I want you to take someone home for me,’ Anna said when she could be heard over Daisy’s excitement.
‘Who?’ Daisy’s eyes looked almost fearful with anticipation.
‘Come on, I will show you.’ Anna looked to Ellie and winked her eye. It was only right that Sam and Daisy should return to their homeland together, after all these years.
‘You have found my Sam!’ Daisy did not wait for an answer. She was off. Quicker than a bullet from a gun. When she came back after getting short shrift from Sister, she danced. ‘I managed to see him for a moment, but I hardly think he realised it was me.’
‘He will remember, Daisy,’ Anna said, smiling. She was glad Sam was going home with the girl who escorted him from England.
‘I will put on the performance of a lifetime tonight, girls, you see if I don’t.’
29
Tallulah Starr applied a slick of ruby lipstick to her pouting lips. Any moment now, she would be out there on the stage, doing her best Marie Lloyd, singing her heart out for the troops, knowing she would finish with a song that would break their hearts and have them baying for more. However, tonight would be different. Tonight, she would sing with hope in her heart, imagining her Sam could hear her from his hospital bed. Every song was for him.
Some of the injured lads were recovering in the annex over the road, on the mend and almost ready to go back to the trenches somewhere. They would make the most of the concerts. Tallulah
was going to make it one of the best nights of their lives. After all, she had much to be glad about now.
During the day, she was Daisy Flynn, the VAD who ragged the ambulance through the mud-spattered fields, collecting wounded soldiers. By night, she sang rousing, risqué songs, raising the spirits of the brave Tommies, at the Front.
Back in Canada, her life had been one of work and drudgery. Not many Home Children were welcomed with open arms as far as she knew, tolerated at best, and unloved, except when she sang. The only male who had ever shown her any consideration was Sam Cassidy. Her Sam, as she thought of him. Now they were going home, where they belonged.
‘You’re on next, Miss Starr.’ Out of her khaki uniform, Daisy heard the call that came from the corridor outside. Her dressing room was the medical storeroom, while the ‘concert hall’ was the oblong first aid hut, erected by the soldiers.
She took one last look in the rust mottled mirror and sighed.
‘On with the show’ she whispered, ‘this one is for you, Sam.’
Tallulah Starr sashayed onto the stage, arms wide open waving to her boys. Accompanied by a military brass band, who doubled as stretcher-bearers on the battlefield, she could hardly hear the music for the thunderous clapping and the stamping of heavy, newly polished boots.
Almost deafened by the appreciative applause, Tallulah laughed, raising her hands in pleasure. Lapping up the adoration, which, she was sure, had little to do with the silk dress in pillar-box red, and edged in black swansdown, which provocatively showed off her silken shoulders. The dress had belonged to her last employer.
When Daisy became Tallulah, she felt, for the first time, as if she mattered.
Looking out at the eager crowd showing their enthusiasm with whoops and whistles, her eyes were drawn to the skylight, above the audience’s heads. She could not fail to notice a vivid orange glow in the vermilion sky.