Molly Evans signed up to volunteer for the Red Cross on 6 Aug 1914. On 8 Aug she attended an emergency meeting of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD), Worcester 16 Branch and on 10 Sep she started one month training as a nurse at the Guest Hospital in Dudley
In her diary Molly records lectures, exams and full time (7am to 8pm) practical work in the various hospital departments. She mentioned working in Ward II, ‘Victoria’ Ward, Outpatients and Operating Theatre.
Nurse staffing, The Guest Hospital, Dudley, Sep 1914
The training finished on 13 Oct and Molly was ready to take her first post as VAD nurse at the Studley Court Hospital in Stourbridge.
During this period Molly managed to make a short (26 – 29 Sep) round trip to Lyndhurst in the New Forest to see and say farewell to her brother Wilmot. The 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment had just returned from South Africa and was preparing for moving to the Western Front.
Sources
- Molly Evans’ Pocket Diaries, 1914
- Molly Evans’ WW1 Nursing Scrapbook