WITH THE SERBS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3567, 29 September 1916, Page 3

WITH THE SERBS.

NEW ZEALAND NURSE'S EXPERIENCES.

DECORATED BY KING PETER

DUNEDIN, September 27

Sister Ethel Lewis, who nursed amongst tho Maoris at Otaki before the war, returned with the sick and wounded soldiers on tho Willochra today. She arrived in England on Soptember 1, 1914, and four days later was in 'Belgium with the field hospital organised by Colonel Hartnell Beavis. She spent nine weeks in Antwerp hospital, which was not evacuated till the enemy was almost upon them. Iloturning to England, the commander reorganisd tho hospital for duty in Serbia, and Sister Lewis again joined tho organisation, being attached to tho Serbian Second Army on the Bulgarian frontier. Sister Lewis did duty actually in the trenches, and received a slight shrapnel wound in the shoulder. She rescued a Serbian officer of high command, and for this King Peter personally conferred on her the Third Order of his Kingdom. When the retreat began tho plight. of the army and the British field hospital was terrible. Nish fell two days after Sister Lewis and her comrades had left with 400 patients. Early in the retreat the tyres of the motor transport wore out, and for a time the vehicles made slow progress on tyres packed with straw, but very soon the ears had to bo abandoned. The nurses pushed forward on foot through the mountain passes of Albania, often with snow no to their knees and with rations reduced to one slice of bread a clay, and no shelter at night except what they could find. They frequently slept in pigstyes. Patients died daily and. not one survived the retreat. One died on Sister, Lewis's back after she had carried him two miles. On one occasion Sister Lewis ato a piece of bacon rind picked up in the street of a deserted village. When the hospital staff reached safety their strength was exhausted and they had not a warm garment among them. Blankets had been thrown away long before. Sister Lewis was frostbitten on ono knee as the result of exposure. As soon as she reached England she went into harness again at Walton-on-Thames, where she unfortunately broke her arm, and caused some amazement amongst the staff by appearing for duty in that condition.