Series 01: Anne Donnell circular letters, 25 May 1915 - 8 July 1918 - Page 244
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[Page 244]
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"Campbellfield"
St Albans, ENGLAND
1st May 1918
My dear friends,
I wonder will it be a pleasant surprise to you to receive another long letter so soon after the other. You see I was so far in arrears that I feel I must now I have the time make hay while the sun shines, and even though the letter was the longest sent, there is yet a lot I haven't told you.
You know I really do enjoy telling you everything for you seem very appreciative and interested, and I hope overlook mistakes in spelling and punctuation.
I think I'll begin with the C.C.S. and get it off my chest but please don't conclude that all C.C.S.'s are alike – I can only speak of my own experiences and some of those are fading now with the lapse of time so that it will mean taking some bare extracts from my dairy while other things will stand out most vividly as long as my memory lasts.
You will all know that C.C.S.s hospitals are the nearest to the front lines. The wounded first pass through the field dressing stations and then usually come by ambulance to the C.C.S., and then close to the C.C.S. is a rail head and from there the hospital trains take the patients down to the various bases. It is usual for two C.C.S. to be close together and work in conjunction with each other. Our next door neighbour was 21 C.C.S and we received the patients alternately, perhaps 2 hrly, or 4, or 12 just according to how fast we were admitting or how many. For some days after the so-called Cambrai victory the majority of patients from here pass through these 2 C.C.S.'s.22 To say we were busy would be too mild an expression. I know for myself I was intensely lost in the work. I was put in charge of the evacuating section which consisted of 9 large marquees (3 ordinary marquees which consisted of a 9 large marquees being one), that including chiefly the walking cases, gas and post anaesthetics. It was to the latter I gave most of my attention. They were called the less serious cases (surgical) that had had operations, but they were mostly big and varies, but were considered fit to take the train journey, and we were always glad to get them away for the sooner they could be made warm and comfortable in a bed at the base so much the better for them, for until