16) Little Nurse

I remember when we were on eye block there was a very nice consultant named Mr McMurray. He used to have one pocket full of apples, and the other pocket full of sixpences. He used to stop you as you went along in the ward, and he would say “little nurse — answer this question and it’s worth an apple” and if you answered the question correctly — he’d give you an apple. Sometimes he’d say “this question’s very difficult. Answer this little nurse and you’ll get sixpence and an apple”, and so if you answered that one correctly he’d be true to his word and give you the apple and the sixpence.

We had to go into theatre, and he’d ask you exactly what he was doing and why, and if you answered him correctly he’d say “that’s worth two apples and two sixpences” — so that was wealth indeed because we only got one pound seven and sixpence a month!

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the BBC Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Patricia Davies and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Pat's stories:

• 1) I suppose it was inevitable…
• 2) Getting used to being on the wards
• 3) The unchanging rota
• 4) Othopaedic Wards
• 5) The Miners
• 6) Keeping coffee warm in the sterilizer
• 7) Mouth gags and tongue clips
• 8) Dear Flower Girl
• 9) Theatres
• 10) The Nurse’s Home
• 11) The ‘Guinea Pig Club’
• 12) Mice in the washing and other tricks
• 13) Enamel washbowls on your heads
• 14) Extra Work
• 15) Shake and Shake…
• 17) A lot of things were introduced during the War
• 18) Only two nights off
• 19) Making and Breaking
• 20) My little bucket and I
• My visit to post-War Germany

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