Nursing Through Shot and Shell: A Great War Nurse’s Story

by Beatrice Hopkinson, Vivien Newman (Editor)

This recently discovered memoir gives an intimate glimpse into the Great War service of Beatrice Hopkinson, a Territorial Forces Nursing Service Sister, who remained steadfastly and true to her profession as she nursed through shot and shell.

Dr Vivien Newman's meticulously researched Introduction brings Beatrice's world out of the shadows, juxtaposing her war service against the background of the Army Nursing Service, where dedicated, professional nurses worked closer to the Front Line than women could have ever previously imagined doing. Beatrice was selected for the most onerous type of duty in the bitterest phase of the war. She had arrived in St Omer in the summer of 1917 when the town was being continuously bombed. With her hospital under nightly attack, Beatrice simply got on with the job she had come to France to do: saving the lives and easing the dying of soldiers on the Western Front.

For Beatrice, spring 1918 was marked by a 'sea of blood'. Caught up in the British Army's headlong retreat when hospitals and patients risked being captured by the enemy, she and her 'rapid response' team were rushed between several Casualty Clearing Stations in France and Belgium. They operated on thousands of soldiers wounded in Germany's final attempt to win the War. As the fortunes of war finally turned in the Allies' favor, Beatrice advanced through Belgium, a land destroyed by war and enemy occupation. This diary gives rare insight into the realities of Front Line nursing through the eyes of someone who had never anticipated working for the Army but who, when her country called, willingly and steadfastly answered.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2015

Reviews

[Alison vallee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much trivia and not enough about the brave soldiers she nursed

I was quite disappointed with this expensive book which neither told me about the nursing techniques employed at the various CCS nor any details about the soldiers nursed. The discourse seemed more like a travelog of her tour of duty

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting account of nursing during WW1. I was moved to tears several times while reading about the bravery and suffering that the soldiers went through.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing people who endure unimaginable circumstances emerge from their experiences with a rare wisdom. More so, I believe, when it is done with a heart that maintains its compassion without bitterness. It really is a remarkable human achievement to love when one has every seeming right to not do so. Beatrice (what a name!) charms from within her memoir through her sincere experiences caring for both allied and enemy soldiers. She recounts frequent bombing raids and mass casualties with a matter of factness, for her "boys" as she called them she managed to always maintain a calm demeanor while, she confesses, her knees shook uncontrollably under her skirts. I often try to imagine myself in the circumstances featured in whatever biography or autobiography in my hands and find that what I think I would do is much different than Beatrice does. Where I become easily overwhelmed without having to meet endless streams of horribly injured soldiers almost daily for some few years and with very little sleep...Beatrice meets this task as a duty that she does not insert her will into beyond the scope of her duty. For example I woke up today and thought wow, what if this was my millionth day at the front working around the clock (oh, and note that when things slow down it is normal for the sisters, as the nurses are called, to have three hours off a week) and days off are pretty unheard of. Yeah, I thought, I'm kind of a tenderfoot I'd say. It is remarkable how unselfish she and others like her were. One other small example: She lived for some time with only the water in a hot water bottle she took to bed. This was the custom of all the nurses in her location. They would empty the bottle into a bowl to wash and then back into the bottle it went until bed when it was heated again...repeat for several days. That is all they got for hygiene in order to save water for the patients.

She was one of few nurses deployed very close to the front. Her experiences are often very intense yet she conveys it without much drama. I found this trait striking. In fact the only time she seems to lose herself to any type of emotion was in describing a beautiful scene of nature shortly after the war ends...she contrasts this with the carnage of a then emptied no man's land in which she again does not manage to convey that she is lost to the scene of destruction she conveys tragedy certainly but her point of view seems to retreat somewhat. Her tendencies are interesting and speak to her way of viewing the world. In fact she begins her memoir by an event that illustrates her deeply held Christian beliefs.

As for the format of the book-it is divided into a first half written by the editor of the memoir who felt it would be beneficial to offer context before we read Beatrice's experiences as she relates them. I found it extremely interesting and helpful.