NEW ZEALAND HOSPITAL SHIP.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1915, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND HOSPITAL SHIP.

WORK ON- THE MAHENO. "> A member of the staff writing \t> friends in Dunedin says:—"l will never forget that first night. They came off in barge loads all night ,long—the poor broken boys. No one went to bed that night. The whole ship's crew were there to do what they could, carrying stretchers, serving out bread and drinks to the walking cases—anything to help. Time after time I had to sneak off and swallow hard. But what a grand lot of boys they were. Not a murmur out of any of them; not a man pushing himself forward, but always thinking 6f their mates first. How grateful they were for the hot beef tea, tea, bread and hatter, etc., especially the latter, after two months of bully beef and biscuits. To sec them with shattered limbs calmly smoking a cigarette while waiting their turn. By 10 o'clock the next morning all our cots were full, and we had ft couple of hundred on shake-downs on deck. Besides these, about 300 minor cases had been dressed and sent over to the base hospitals at Imbros, an island about ten miles away. Our relief ship came along then, so we up anchor aud were in Mudres that afternoon. We had a large number of deaths that first trip; some that come on board are hopeless from the start. The nex't day at Mudros wo transhipped the most of them to an auxiliary ship to tike them to Alexandria. The doctors kept about iO of the worst cases on board. That night we sailed for Anzao ngair., but did not fill up so quickly that time, which was a good job, for I do not think the staff could have stood many trips like that first one. They do work hard, and do as much for the patients as they possibly can, and most of the bqvn seem sorry to leave the ship. Our first two lots of wounded were discharged at Mudros. then we had two trips down to Malta, and this time go to Alexandria, We have |ind boys on board here who have not had their clothes or boots off for -six weeks. So you can just imagine the sigh of satisfaction they give when they got aboard here. First a nice hot bath, then something to eat, and he*, of all a nice clean cot to sleop in, I p.i round the wards quite a lot. There U always something one can do to help the sisters, and some of them aro such grand girls. When the rush is on at Anzae most of my spare time is spent on the deck, where the boys are received. We make gallons of tcu aud coffee and cut up loaves and loaves of bread fur them on arrival, and how they do gu for it. The first remark is always about the butter and how good it tastes. The operating theatres arc going most of the time, and 1 have seen tilings, great lumps of shrapnel, taken out of men, and 1 wondered how they liwd. Nearly every day wo are at Anzae boy?, either, get leave to come out, to u> ■•! el- 'tul-• it. It's lovely to have them down tu meals and see them tuck in, and we generally manage to scrape up u hamper for them to take ashore villi them. N'onc of them ever seem to forget their chums ashore, and are eager to ukethem a share of the good I him.!- ton.''