Steve King had stayed in Derby for much of his life. So had Olive Nanson and Mavis Burton. But war moves people, and the three volunteered to escort British soldiers from Derby to hospitals nearer the boys’ homes. For Steve, the journey satisfied a desire to help and a search for new perspectives.
What did you do ?
All we did was report to the transport office, the patient was there, we just had to organise the patient on to the carriage. “ Any special memories?
You had a space in the old trains. These were compartmental ones, and you had that to yourself. About eight o’clock at night, I went to Inverness changing at Crewe like everybody did in those days, changed at Crewe to go to Scotland.
My overbearing remembrance of that journey was looking through the train window and seeing this remarkable scenery outside. To go 400 or 500 miles like that, and to go that high, I’d never been that high in my life…. The train was chugging away, in some places they had to put two engines on to get us up the slopes. That’s probably old hat to people who travel, but I was 23 and very unworldly I’m afraid” What did your friends in St. John do on their escort trips?Mavis Burton:
Listen to Mavis Burton’s story How did you feel about it all?Olive Nanson:
|
Listen to Steve King’s storyAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. FactsWounded Servicemen could be sent to hospitals near to their homes, or they could be sent to Joint War Organisation auxiliary hospitals and convalescent homes. Find out more about the alternative therapy they might have received there. FactsThe Joint War Organisation offered an escort, or ‘guide’ service; people who helped wounded servicemen travel to hospitals nearer their homes. This often meant long train journeys at a time when, because of disruption from the War, such travel would have been exhausting without help. The Joint War Organisation also transported injured servicemen in its own ambulances, 681,351 from 1939-1944, with the ambulances covering six million miles Find out more about Joint War Organisation transport. FactsThe Joint War Organisation also had Liaison officers, who, amongst other things, ran a ‘Guide Scheme’. They would meet wounded servicemen from trains and help them to their destination, which could be a convalescent home. Find out more about the work of Liaison officers. Find out more about welfare work. |