AWM41 995 - [Nurses Narratives] Sister G M Larkan - Part 2

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stimulants other patients would collapse

their temperatures being anything up to 110⁰ F

or as high as the thermometer would

register. I had two orderlies & a ward

master to help me but found that staff

totally inadequate to administer to the 

very seriously ill patients We were carrying

however we could only do our best & I

must say Inairm was a [[?]] she took

the very worst cases from us upon deck

attended to them herself having no

rest night or day, she would lie down

in her clothes at mid night & be up

& on duty again at 3 a.m. to help night

Sister with the sponging for we only had one 

night Sister & 500 patients of hat

description was far too much for one

pair of hands I found say 150 as much

as I could manage.

Fortunately the Indians 

won't be nursed by Europeans & scorn

any outside of food prepared by any

one other than his own caste consequently

a Staff of native cooks & orderlies have

to be carried, the Indians were really

humurous as patients & as soon as one

feels ill he thinks he is going to die

so loses all inclination to get well &

many are on that way - as soon as

we get the Indians on board their turbans

and clothing are taken from them the majority

of which is fit for the furnace however

 

 

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in a very short time the towels given to them

for polutionary purposes are made into

turbans - the day before we arrive in 

Port every Indian is given a suit of

clothing relative to his caste & they

leave the ship looking like snow balls but

if one happens to meet them next day

their clothes wear a very different aspect.

We lost a lot of patients

that trip though we also saved a number

of very sick ones in many instance three

[[?]] heat stroke cases though they get

well are Idiots  Some we had were pathetic

one man had a camera without a film

& he spent his day snapping everything

with which he came in contact even

down the lift by which patients were

conveyed on deck.

On deck the Barometer

registered 120⁰ F we hoped to get one of

The Gulf in five days but as our

Engineers are nearly all down with

heat stroke [[?]] took two day [[?]] longer -

one of our worst  nights just as we were

about to get one of the Gulf [[?]] the ocean

we received a distress signal from another

 ship one of their Engineers was seriously 

ill so we got him aboard thinking he

would need immediate operation nut

such was not the case he too was a bad

case of heat stroke for days we didn't

expect he would get well but by the

 

 

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time we reached Bombay Harbour which

we were all pleased to see our patient

was quite out of danger.

That trip was the roughest

& the heat most severe for forty years

so we learned from our Captain.

We found the Tommies very 

good patients & most grateful for all we

did for them though at times we would

have given anything for a glimpse of the 

old [[?]] hats.

I was sent back to Colaba

for duty in August 1917 & was very 

pleased to get back to Miss [[?]]

I had charge of the Malaria ward of 

80 beds which were always full, the

monsoons were on & Malaria was more

prevalent after the rains, some cases

were very bad.

We treated the [[?Malprant?]]

type with Intravenous & Intramuscular

injections of Quinine & the B. T. Type

mostly with Quinine by mouth.

Some of my cases of Malaria 

turned out to be Plague Cholera & even

small pox so our experience of nursing

in India was very varied.

In January 1918 I received

orders for my transfer to Hislop War

Hospital Secunderabad Southern India

Most of the Sisters after a year in Bombay

were sent to cooler stations,

 

 

 

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The Hospital at Secunderabad was very

nice & contained about 200 beds previously the

buildings had been the barracks belonging

to the 7th Hussars - I had the Theatre there

but as the Hospital was mostly 

convalescent & only one regiment & the

[[?]] [[?]] stationed at Secunderabad

we didn't do much in the way of

surgery - were abscesses & appendectomies

being the principal cases.

We liked being at 

Hislop Hospital for many reasons the

main one being we were 7 miles from the Town, so were not bothered very much

with howling throngs of natives wanting

to sell their wares, though every day

the Box Wallah came with his goods

which he brought in Bullock [[?]]

from the [[?]] [[?]] Bazaar four 

miles away & displayed them on our

verandah We were always tempted

& bought freely of his Eastern Goods

until the prices began to sore up to the

clouds - sometimes a new Wallah would

come & his prices would be most moderate

Consequently he would have a field

day among the Sisters, but soon learned

the  tricks of others & would openly

declare Australian Sisters "plenty  money"

Our Bungalows ∧^were very

nice the officers of the regiment before

us had lived there with their families

 

 

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Five of us occupied "Liberty Hall" & we

had our own servants & were very happy

The wards were quite a 

mile from our quarters so we went on

& off duty in bullock [[?]] , we

preferred to walk in the mornings

as the Bullocks walked all the way

& took three quarters of an hour to get

to the wards, that was bad enough

[[?that?]] [[?]] when the day was too hot

to walk.

We were very sorry to

leave Secunderabad when our Hospital

closed on Sept 8^th 1918

I was transferred back 

to Bombay for duty reporting at the

[[?Freeman?]] Thomas War Hospital than

the Australian Headquarters. The 

Hospital was very fine quiet in a dome

shape & all the wards named after

persons by whom they had been endowed

My ward was Nicholson which over

looked the sea, the blankets on the beds

were green. We had no counterpanes,

the native Ward boys wore white suits

green turbans, & green belts & our brass

vases & [[?jardmers?]] were very[[?]] & also

the [[?]] & pot plants which thrive well

in India & need little attention or care.

The Influenza in Bombay

was very bad during Sept & October

My ward of 80 beds & extra beds on the

 

 

 

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balconies were all occupied by  Influenza

cases most of them with Malaria as well

so our death rates was very large

In Bombay alone the average

number of deaths was 700 per day - it

was ghastly to drive pass the Crematorium

truck loads of wood were piled on the

foot paths waiting to be burned & the

odour of burning flesh was awful - 

by night one would think the whole of

Bombay was on fire to see the flare from

the Crematorium Grounds - the natives of

course suffered worst from the epidemic

I hear more died than in those awful

days of the plague but as they live 

in such bad conditions 10 & 12 often in one

room & are very badly nourished

it is not to be wondered at.

Most of us while in India

were able to visit the Taj Mahal at

Agra, a most wonderful piece of

architecture comprised entirely of white

marble the carving of which is beautiful

it took 40 years to build & cost some

thousands of pounds the  exact amount

I don't exactly know.

The Fort at Agra too is

well worth a visit the Palace therein

is very free. We were shown the Queens

bedroom the wall of which is  studded

with real stones such as emeralds, rubies

etc & remain there to this day, we also

 

 

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saw her bath of white marble in the 

centre of which is a rose water foundation

with a spray.

From Agra we went by 

the Himalaya Mountains which were

very beautiful & very steep we were

carried in chair size arrangements known

as [[?]] with a pole back & front

& carried by four [[?coolies?]] in front & four

behind, a distance of 7 miles to a place

known as [[?]]  a beautiful  hill

station where we were to spend our leave 

there were hundreds of monkeys in the trees

& baboons many with long beards

the walks though the Hills were very

pretty & most interesting we had

Rickshaws from which we could view

the surrounding country if we wished

In Nov 1918 we learned with

delight we were to be transferred from

India to the United [[?]] for duty

in many ways we had regrets leaving 

India but after two years there most of us

feel a change would be most acceptable

as a great majority of us suffered

with that dreaded disease Malaria

we sailed by the H. M. T.  Royal George

on Nov 18^th & after 4 days at sea we got

a wireless from Aden to proceed back

to Bombay - none of us knew why but

numerous rumours went about  the Ship

however we learned on our arrival in

 

 

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the Harbour that we had the wrong labour

corp on board, we were anchored in the

stream for ten days then sailed again for

Suez arriving there Dec 12^th we did hope

to tranship & continue our journey but such

was not the case. We were sent to Cairo

for duty 8 of us went to the Citadel Hospital

so we were able to see something 

of Cairo, we visited the pyramids [[?]]

& different places of note sailing again Dec 28

by the H. M. T. Kaiser I. Hind arriving at

Marseilles Jan 3^rd 19 we entrained there

spending a day at Paris & one in Havre

which were most interesting we landed

at Southampton from there to London by train

where we were met by Miss Couyers all 

feeling terribly tired cold & untidy

we were sent to various Hospitals for 

duty I was detailed with twelve others

for Harefield we arrived there about

1 a.m. & made most welcome by the night

staff & given supper to which we all did

full justice, I remained at Harefield 

until it closed, then transferred to Sutton

Veny. 

Though we feel the cold 

keenly arriving in England we realized

it would be more beneficial to our health

& loved getting into Australian Hospital

once more with our bright & cheery 

lads.

 

G. M. Larkan

Sister

 

[[?M?]]. I. A. G. N.

Sutton Veny

 

 

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