Hopping (1915):difficulty getting nurses

Post date: Mar 05, 2012 10:34:37 PM

Extract from Parish Magazine of November 1915:

The hopping this year lasted from the 2nd to the 29th of Sept. There were fewer pickers than usual, while the crop, which had been estimated extremely low both in quantity and quality, came down heavier and better than was expected. The poor Vicar, having made the usual preparations for Mission work, was sent off, immediately the pickers began to appear, out of surroundings which last year proved so unfortunate for his health. In his absence Mrs. Livett became Visitor of the Hospital. Mr. Richards was responsible for obtaining sufficient help for the station stall, while the general management of affairs, including the Club Rooms, catering for all the stalls and the final making up of the accounts, published herewith—a somewhat intricate sum in arithmetic—was entrusted to Miss Dorothea Livett, who seems to have discharged her duties with efficiency. These notes are compiled from their reports.

We have to thank Mr. Brocklebank for an arrangement by which, when the Vicar gave up the tenancy of Westbury Cottage, it was still to be placed at our disposal for the hopping. We experienced difficulty in getting nurses, so many being engaged in national work, but Nurse Porter kindly came to the rescue and took charge of the hospital. (We may take this opportunity of expressing our regret that, for reasons of health, Nurse Porter has felt compelled to give up the post of District Nurse here.) In the short period she filled it she quickly proved her worth and endeared herself to her patients. We have been fortunate in obtaining, for the period of the war, the services of Nurse Porter's sister, Miss Porter, undertook the duties of house-keeper, and Nurse Sibun, a personal friend, came as assistant nurse. After the first week Miss A. Sibun succeeded Miss Porter, whose health did not allow her to continue the work. Later on, when the number of little babies as in-patients made the nursing very strenuous, Miss Elsie Blest kindly responded to an appeal for help in the outpatients' department. Nurse Porter described her assistance as being invaluable. (Nursing is evidently Miss Elsie's¹ metier, and she has recently gone to Flanders to work in the hospitals there. Our gratitude and good wishes go with her.) The hospital was open 23 days: daily average of out-patients, 32; total number of in-patients, 10. Kind donors, as usual, sent fruit and vegetables.

With regard to the mission work generally—a request for economy from the secretary of the Church of England Mission (the Rev. J. R. Leigh) suggested that we should dispense with the usual Lantern Mission—a work which, perhaps, is hardly up to date in its character—and also with one of the garden-stalls with its attendant lady workers supplied by the Church of England Mission. The absence of that stall was to a great extent compensated for by the opening of the Vicarage Stall daily at lunch time.

In the work of the Club Rooms and Vicarage Stall, Miss Dorothea was assisted by her cousin,Miss Molly Livett, and during the last week by her friend Miss Hilda Lepper, who has experience in the work, as regular assistants, and also by many parishioners who, as usual, "rose nobly to the task of helping the regular workers both by gifts and personal service"—the list of their names would fill several lines of this account. We tender to them our grateful thanks, as we do also to the subscribers, who in spite of numerous calls, have not reduced their contributions to our fund.

We have made, this year, the smallest possible call on the funds of the Church of England Mission, which has given us, on balance, only 16s. 2d. Our balance-in-hand of £2 10s. 5d. is insufficient to meet expenditure which ought to be incurred before next season—a new tarpaulin for the Vicarage Stall, an entirely new Station Stall, and a few hospital requisites—but in spite of the present distress we have no fear for the future, for our people, I am glad to feel, trust us and seldom fail to come up to the when we call upon them. G.M.L.

Notes

1. Elsie Blest was reported on the list of those serving in the war in 1917. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross (2nd class) in the New Year's Honours List 1918- see Wateringbury nurse honoured.