A BRITISH MILITARY HOSPITAL –v- THE N.H.S.
As Remembered By Graham Horlington (ex: RAPC 1954-55)
As readers may recall, after serving in the Canal Zone I was posted to Libya.
Having recently had a couple of operations at both the City and Q.M.C. hospitals in Nottingham it got me thinking about my first time in hospital.
5th December 1955. I marched to work with my squad over the sand dunes within our camp, from our converted tank shed billet. About 9am I was sick, then several times more so I told our section captain that I needed to report sick. He told me to get the company 15cwt driver to take me to the British Military Hospital in Tripoli. The driver, an Arab, had just lit a fire to brew char and was reluctant to go but a couple of kicks from me and he got the message! The route to the B.M.H. was partly across the desert and I had to scream at him to slow down as the bumping around wasn’t doing me any good.
On arrival at outpatients treatment I was in trouble from the R.A.M.C. S/Sgt who told me sick parade was 6am not 10am. I told him that I was not ill at 6am and eventually I got seen by a R.A.M.C. Captain who told the S/Sgt he was admitting me. Suddenly the S/Sgt became very compassionate and helped me onto a trolley and I was rapidly transported to a ward.
Later that evening I had an acutely inflamed appendix removed. I was given a tick-box postcard to send home which I duly completed. Back home this postcard caused some panic since it merely stated that I was in hospital and would be unable to write for some time.
Post-op I am in a ward with other troops recovering from injuries such as accidental gun shot wounds etc. The bloke in the next bed had a grenade shrapnel wound, also accidental. Two R.A.S.C. drivers in the next ward were critical having suffered life threatening burns when their truck exploded in flames. The army flew out their next of kin.
The ward nurses were from Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps and were gorgeous to look at and much whistled after! However, a “Hattie Jacques” look alike ward sister threatened us with early discharge if we were well enough to whistle after her nurses! That shut us up for a while!
In advance of the doctors morning rounds, nurses would scurry round the beds. “In bed” cases had their bed sheets pulled so tight that every projection of a persons body was outlined, whilst one had to lay to attention. Those well enough to sit in a chair had to wear their battle dress top, white shirt and red tie, and to sit to attention. Likewise, those able to stand, stood to attention at their bedside.
After 10 days I am ready for discharge back to my unit. I enquired how I was expected to return to camp ….. answer, “thumb a lift from any passing army truck”!!!!
I duly returned to camp with my discharge letter signed by ‘Capt. RAMC, MO i/c Surgical Ward’ and was told to hand this to ‘Capt for O.C. RAPC, Tripolitania BFPO 57’. On reading this letter our captain exploded. “Do you know what this letter says?” “No, Sir” I replied. “It says light duties!, no parades!, no guards! or undue physical exertion of any sort!!!!” “What am I expected to do with a non-effective soldier?” – I didn’t know either!
Although I had already used up my Leave entitlement, I was immediately ‘sent packing’ away on Leave, arrangements made by Captain O.C.