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[Page 47]
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with my whole body shaking, and realised that my nerves had received a shock. The Doctor who visited our sick bay every morning, came to see me and ordered a day in bed. That only in part cured me and he arranged for me to have electric treatment, and each day for an hour I visited the Neuropathic Hospital with its up to date equipment directed by Major Webb Curtis, one of the leading specialists in England. In a few days I felt the benefit of the treatment, and was soon able to discontinue it.
I found of course, having fought my first disciplinary battle and won it, that my regime was established, and by taking every care not to issue an unnecessary order, those essential were more or less readily obeyed; and as time went on, meeting the difficulties as they came, I got through without undue worry, and I think a just claim for pride is that I never had to send a disciplinary case to higher authority.
When censoring letters on one occasion, I read "We have a new unit administrator who is an Australian. I can't say that I care much for these Colonials but there may be exceptions."
All sorts of requests for leave had to be carefully handled, for in some cases my sympathy would have been exploited. There were occasional applications to see a wounded brother, that, on investigation proved a Myth.
When enquiring into one of these, I came across one of the extraordinary coincidents of the War. Two brothers of one of my workers, were conveyed to the Etaiples [Etaples] Hospital in the same ambulance and had not met for three years previously.
By Xmas Day the weather was bitterly cold, and in the afternoon came our first big fall of snow. I awoke shivering with the cold, but with a hot cup of tea was brought in by my Orderly a bunch of Wattle (Mimosa it is called in France) and on the accompanying card was written, "To Australia from England, Scotland, Wales & Canada, and
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