Hello SWH1,
Thought you would be interested in the following article.
'Hamilton Advertiser' - Saturday, 25th December, 1915.
Holytown Nurse In Serbia.
Miss Jean Bell, daughter of Mr Duncan Bell, sen., Newhouse, Holytown, a nursing sister attached to the Scottish Woman's Hospital Unit, has just arrived home after some thrilling experiences following the devastation of Serbia by the Austro-Germans and the Bulgarians. Nurse Bell was stationed at Sazarevas, in Northern Serbia, till October 19th, when she went to Krushevatz, where she remained till November 5th, when with members of the unit she commenced a 5 weeks' journey from Krushevatz to Podgoritza. The first 3 weeks of the journey was hazardous enough at all costs, but the last fortnight, spent in traversing the mountains from Ipek to Podgoritza, baffled all description. Accompanied by two friends, Nurse Bell undertook to reach Veliko, which they were told they could do in about two hours. Continuing her account of the experiences, Miss Bell says: -
"We climbed up a high mountain and got lost in the snow. We had to spend the night in a hut which had no roof or door, and we had neither blankets nor fire. An old Serbian woman had taken refuge there with two donkeys laden with her household goods, but we had not a scrap of food between us. We huddled together to keep warm, and in the morning some Serbian soldiers in rags came past and guided us to Veliko, where we met our comrades who had skirted the mountain. We had to walk in the soldiers' footprints in the deep snow. Each day during all that 5 weeks we plodded on, having a little bread with tea and coffee in the morning, eating any bread we might have in our pockets during the day, and eating if we were lucky, a fowl or a piece of pork at night. We were so faint and weak sometimes that we could hardly drag ourselves along. Torrents of rain drenched us over and over again. We slept in barns or stables if we could, but often on the rocks at the roadside. We never slept in a house, and as we did not sleep in Brindisi or Turin or Paris, but hurried through as quickly as possible, I have not slept in a bed since I left Krushevatz. We reached Podgoritza on 9th December, and the worst days of all were at the beginning of December. Often our feet and fingers were frostbitten, but there were no serious casualties, except a fatal accident to poor Mrs Toughill, who was killed when the carriage in which she was riding fell over a precipice near Mitrovitza."
Plucky nurses indeed! Hope she had a warm, cosy Christmas with her family.
Regards, Dod.
