HEROIC SISTER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1620, 5 October 1916, Page 4

HEROIC SISTER.

' . BACK FROM SERVIA. Among (he invalids who returned by the Willochra is Sister Lewis, who has attained outstanding distinction in the nursing sisterhood, particularly for work in Sorvia, where King Pc-ter personally conferred upon her the Third Order of his kingdom. Before the war she was in the service of the New Zealand Health Department, and nursed among (he Maoris of the Wellington district. While on her way to England on a trip war was declared. She arrived on September Ist, tbi t, and four days later was in Belgium as a. member of (he lield hospital organised by Surgeon-General Hartnell Beavis. She was in Antwerp for nine weeks, ami the hospital was not evacuated until the enemy was. almost upon them. Returning to England, the commander re-eqmp-]jfjd his.hospital for duty in Scrvia. Sister Lewis again joined. On reaching Servia, tin* organisation was attached to the Second Servian Army, which was then on the. Bulgarian frontier. There Sister Lewis did duly actually in the trenches, such as they were, and once received a slight shrapnel wound in the shoulder.

RESCUED A SUKVIAX OFFICER

Under the lire she rescued a Servian officer of high command, an 1 for this act of bravery she received the decoration mentioned. When the retreat began through pressure of both Austrians and .Bulgarians, the privations which were already severe became intense. With the enemy on their heels, food exhausted —all supplies from France had been stopped—the plight of the army and (lie British field hospital was almost without parallel. Nish Tell two days after Sister Lewis and her comrades had left it with their 400 patients, and this was usually the margin they had until they reached the sea and safety. Early in the retreat the tyres of mol or-transport wore out, and for n. time (ho vehicles made slow progress on tyres packed with straw, but very soon the ears had to he abandoned altogether. TERRIBLE PRIVATIONS. With courage and resolution which has astonished the world the brave nurses pushed forward on <foot through the mountain passes of Albania, with snow up to their knees. Often the rations were cut down to one slice of bread per day. There was no shelter at night except what they could lind. Patients died daily, and nut one survived the retreat. One actually died on Sister Lewis’ hack after she had carried him for two miles. So great was their hunger during those three awful weeks that Sister Lewis on one occasion ale a piece of bacon rind which she had picked up in the street of a deserted village. When the hospital staff reached safety they were at the last ounce of their strength, and hardly had a warm garment among them. To give an idea of their extremity, the men of the party had actually thrown away their binoculars so that (hey might travel lighter. When Sister Lewis arrived her sole possessions were a toothbrush and a small camera. She was frostbitten in one knee as the result of exposure, hut as soon as she reached England she went into harness again at Walton-on-Thames, where she had the misfortune to break her arm, and caused some amazement to the staff by appearing in her ward for duty in Tills condition. As a result of her Terrible experiences this brave nurse js in danger of losing her sight.