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[Page 8]

with all dispatch. This entailed an enormous amount of work on account of the state of the recent site of activities and of the sick bay which was flooded with water from the fire mains.

The muddle below was unavoidable owing to the lack of space and the speed with which one had to work, so it took some time to sort out things and have everything conveyed back & arranged in the sick bay.

Besides this, there were many interruptions due to requirements of the cases, and all through the afternoon and evening German sailors were being picked up from the water, some of them in a very collapsed condition. One man had been in the shark infested sea for nine hours, and he was brought round after much trouble. Next day he was no worse off for his immersion.

It was found impossible to do any operative surgery until the following day for numerous reasons, nor was it considered advisable on account of the condition of the wounded. The sick bay staff were too done up to get the theatre ready, with instruments and dressings sterilized for the first day, and neither Surgeon Todd nor myself were in a fit state to undertake operations until we had rested. Until midnight we were attending to the wants of the patients, doing dressings, giving hyperdermic injection, passing catheters, Etc. The two sick berth ratings were sent to bed at 10 p.m., thoroughly exhausted, and Surgeon Todd & myself took four-hourly watches from midnight. The first aid party and volunteer nurses under Tilbrook and Holly [Holley]

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