Page 15 - QARANC Vol 14 No 10 2015

having full daily clinics even on weekends. Lt Col Baker and Dr Hunter were also in the medical centre even on their days off to help other colleagues and if required in the night were only too happy to help.
Whilst I was in Canada I took the opportunity to visit a few places, which is highly recommended as having three days off between shifts could become tedious and boring, due to the fact there is not much to do on camp other than watch TV or go to the gym. On one of my three days off myself and four other colleagues visited Banff. It is located in Alberta’s Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 126 km west of Calgary and 58 km east of Lake Louise. Well worth a visit, I only wish we had longer to have a good look around as the scenery was beautiful.
The nearest town to Suffield is Medicine Hat where you will find a wider range of stores and bars and eating faculties. By car it’s a 45 minute drive away and a taxi will cost you around about $120 (£65) for a return journey, so it’s probably better to share with a few other people. Just for an extra few dollars you could visit one of Canada’s larger cities Calgary, which takes about 90 minutes to get there. If you are lucky enough to get a Saturday off then there is a bus service costing about £5 one way. Even though this is a lot cheaper the service can be a bit hit and miss so have the taxi fair to hand just in case.
All military personal are entitled to one week’s adventure training, but it’s advisable to put in your application as soon as you arrive as the places are taken very quickly. Some of the events you can do are sky diving, horse trekking and rock climbing, one of the doctors (Capt Kerans) even went ice climbing.
During my four months in BATUS I enjoyed working in the medical centre, however working and living in such a confined space could make it difficult at times and I had to ensure I remained professional and ensured discipline was maintained at all times. I also feel BATUS is the perfect place for student nurses and Class two medics, for they will get exposure to injuries and illnesses they may not have come across and it is a very good environment for learning. I would recommend any Primary Health Care Nurse to volunteer as I did, you won’t be disappointed.
My advice for anyone going to work in BATUS medical centre would be to club together with your work colleagues and buy a cheap car. This will save you money, give you freedom to travel and you can get some money back when you sell the car on leaving. Make the most of your time in BATUS for it is an amazing experience and time goes fast when you are having fun.
Letitia Ethel (Jean) Shield nee Jarrold
I am almost 99 years of age and still have wonderful memories of my time serving as a nurse in the Queen Alexandra Imperial Nursing Service in the 1940’s.
I was born in London and educated at Mitchem Western Road School and upon leaving I was employed as a ledger clerk in London but at the outbreak of war my father was unhappy about me working in London and requested I leave. I had the choice of going into nursing or joining the ARP, so I chose the former and trained at The Wilson Hospital, Mitchem. There I met May Kirkham and we remained good friends throughout our training.
After qualifying as SRN’s we were informed that there were no vacancies at The Wilson Hospital so were given two options – either do Midwifery training or apply for a Commission in the QAIMNS and both May and I elected to join the Army.
Following several weeks training, we went to Salisbury, Wilts for injections as we were to be posted Overseas immediately. We travelled by train to Southampton and boarded a troop ship bound for the West Coast of Africa. The journey took three weeks and the ship had to take a wide berth on several occasions to avoid the German U-boats patrolling the seas. Upon reaching The Gambia, my friend May disembarked and sadly we lost touch and never met again. I travelled on to the Gold Coast and upon reaching land, the ship was too large to dock, so we had to scramble down rope ladders into smaller boats and once on shore were taken to the 37th Field Hospital at Takoradi which was only a few minutes away and we had reached our destination.
As a 2nd Lieutenant I worked on the general ward nursing injured soldiers and those also suffering from Malaria and other tropical diseases - the native soldiers suffered a type of worm under their skin. It was nursing I thoroughly enjoyed and very different to the nursing we had carried out in England.
Some 200 miles away was another hospital – I think the 32nd Field Hospital – and on one occasion I travelled by bus to visit this hospital, carrying a bottle of whisky from one of the Sisters for a friend. En-route, when getting off the bus for a break, the bottle of whisky disappeared from my bag. I was very disappointed that this had happened but to compensate me Major O’Toole the CO, later put me on a Lancaster Bomber to return to my hospital and it was a wonderful experience.
Sometime later, I met George Shield (who played the bagpipes). He was involved in a programme of experiments on the spray killing of mosquitoes which was being undertaken at an area between Axim and Takoradi with a Prof Buxton. George and I were married in Accra on 9th December, 1944 and after completing my Commission, I returned to England and left the QAIMNS - George followed soon after, having served two periods of Service in Africa.
Upon leaving the Army, George went on to design and build aircraft and flew from Doncaster Airport. He later became Headmaster at Mexborough and was the youngest Head Teacher to form a 6th Form College in Yorkshire and was awarded an OBE for his very varied work.
THE GAZETTE QARANC 13