10th May 1916
My Dearest Mother
I’m afraid it is some time since you had a letter: I’ve been awfully busy but things are better now. Last week we had 2 nurses in a hospice here with hunrash, the Sister ill in bed, one nurse just married and left therefore, and two on ‘conge’ and 4 people trying to come out and being hung up by the endless formalities that have to be gone through now.
I don’t think I told you about the measles before: two of them went down with German measles within three days of each other and an orderly too, but only one or two of the men had it and no more of us.
They are out of quarantine now: one of them went England last night, as her leave was due and the other one is taking up her duty again. We have now got 3 out of the 4 new ones out and so are having an easy time now: only doing one’s own duty and not bits of other peoples as well, as I did last week.
The wedding was our disgrace and rage: we’ve had this nurse with us nearly a year: a common little widow who started life in suburbia and continued it in California, or some place like that, and all her time here she was always engaged in some intrigue or “affair” or sometimes two or three at once.
We were none of us at all approving of her ways and to our horror she suddenly announced one day that she was engaged to one of the orderlies here. He was a solicitor and fairly educated and spoke English, but a most fearful bounder and exactly like the large white maggots one finds in bad meat, large, dirty, white and puffy, ugh! Anyway it was an impossible thing to do, even if he hadn’t been an impossible man. He left just before the engagement was announced and came back to marry her about a fortnight ago and they’ve both gone for good, thank the Lord.
The garden up at Bonsecours is getting on top-hole.
I must dry upnow or I shall miss the post.
Best Love to you both
Your loving Dorothy
PS Did they allow you to know about the Russians?
About Alford 