Living Conditions and VE Day

Heroes Remember

Living Conditions and VE Day

Transcript

Well while we were in Bologna, we were in tents in a field, a muddy field, on the edge of an airport. And we had tents for patients and nurses as well. And we had no electricity and we had prima stones, stoves, hurricane lamps and a bucket of water a day, which was brought around by Palestinian water carts. And we had at this point mainly German patients. Interviewer: And what was that like? Well I had some feeling about looking after German patients. Interviewer: Did you? My brother had been killed at this time you know, and so I wasn't very happy about Germans, shall we say. But anyway, I got over that. And I guess at this stage I burned my face. We had little alcohol stoves you know and we heated eggs in our tents you know, and water and what not. And we used methadated spirits and flannel bandages for wicks and it flew up in my face so I burned my face. So I had a nice burned face for a while. So that was my casualty there. But the nice thing about that was I was given leave and I went to Venice. And spent a week in Venice and was well looked after by various troops you know. And then General Alexander, shortly after this, issued an order of the day saying that Germans had been defeated. And that was May 8th 1945, this is when we were in Bologna.

Description

Ms. Jamieson talks about living conditions in Italy, treating German patients and VE Day.

Louise Jamieson

Ms. Jamieson was born in Durham Ontario on August 27, 1915. After graduating high school, she commenced training to become a nurse. As her training was nearing completion, war had broken out, and a sense of adventure led Ms. Jamieson to join the service. She served overseas in England, South Africa and Italy. After the war, Ms. Jamieson went to University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing education. She went on to have a successful career, a highlight of which was a two year assignment in India with the World Health Organization.

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