allowed herself time to weep for what she had lost. She tried to imagine Patrick’s smile and feel his arms around her. A crying child not far away brought her back to the world she occupied now. Dr Cicely Williams popped her head around the door and explained that she was needed as many of the medical staff had already joined the soldiers and fled the town.
Another night came and the babies and young children screamed when the Japanese bombardment commenced raining death and destruction on the town. A little Malay boy would imitate the incoming artillery shells when the bombardment subsided. ‘Bow wow wow,’ he would murmur, bringing a smile to Diane’s face as she rocked two or three children in her arms.
The day passed and Diane worked alongside Dr Williams, then when night came so did the Japanese shelling, but this time it was even more intense. By sunrise the next morning the artillery had started to target the hospital and Diane helped put the babies under mattresses to protect them from airborne shrapnel.
At around 7 am Diane, exhausted and hungry, went to seek out a bath, food and rest, but her plans were cut short when Dr Williams said to her, ‘We’ve been given twelve minutes to prepare for an evacuation. Ambulances will be arriving to assist us. The Bishop of Singapore has ordered the evacuation and we will be travelling to a general hospital about five miles away. I need you to gather up sheets and rubbers to provide padding in the ambulances. Will you be all right with that?’
Diane nodded wearily and set about preparing for the evacuation of the hospital. Maybe she would get a bath, food or rest afterwards, she thought hopefully, but deep down knew that those were now luxuries.
Ten ambulances and six cars conveyed the sick and wounded children and babies over bumpy roads and past the dead and dying. Diane held one of the babies, a helpless victim of man’s greed to conquer and enslave.
When they reached the hospital they were allocated the dental ward for their use but there was no furniture and only a few Bunsen burners. Diane helped place the sheets and rubber mats on the floor as beds while Dr Williams went in search of food, only to be told there was none for the new arrivals. Undaunted, the feisty woman found a trolley and loaded it up with a sack of rice, a sack of charcoal for cooking, a bag of beef bones, some prunes, some tins of milk and a few loaves of bread. From the surgical stores she collected pots and saucepans. These she brought back to the verandah where they attempted to cook the rice, but moved their cooking inside utilising the Bunsen burners.
A little relief came when some of the parents retrieved their babies and children, but more flooded in. To make matters worse, the water supply failed, cut by the constant shelling. The crump, crump of exploding shells was something Diane now took as given. She sometimes wondered if one would hit the hospital and end her own life. Screaming was a sound she had also inured herself against, and she found her thoughts constantly drifted to Patrick whenever she gazed into the face of any little boy around his age.
People flooded into the hospital, thinking they might be safer there, and the injured and dying crammed the corridors as the surgical wards continued stitching wounds and amputating limbs and the ambulances delivered a steady stream of patients.
Diane was dozing with her back against a wall in the dental ward, a sleeping baby in her arms, when she became aware that Dr Williams was standing over her.
‘I’ve just been informed that there is an armistice in place,’ she said wearily. ‘I suppose we can consider that a surrender to the Japanese.’
Diane shook the sleep from her body. ‘Are they here?’ she asked.
‘Yes, even now they are issuing orders for us to vacate this hospital and take our patients to the mental hospital – apparently they need this place for their own wounded. So I will need you to help with the
Another night came and the babies and young children screamed when the Japanese bombardment commenced raining death and destruction on the town. A little Malay boy would imitate the incoming artillery shells when the bombardment subsided. ‘Bow wow wow,’ he would murmur, bringing a smile to Diane’s face as she rocked two or three children in her arms.
The day passed and Diane worked alongside Dr Williams, then when night came so did the Japanese shelling, but this time it was even more intense. By sunrise the next morning the artillery had started to target the hospital and Diane helped put the babies under mattresses to protect them from airborne shrapnel.
At around 7 am Diane, exhausted and hungry, went to seek out a bath, food and rest, but her plans were cut short when Dr Williams said to her, ‘We’ve been given twelve minutes to prepare for an evacuation. Ambulances will be arriving to assist us. The Bishop of Singapore has ordered the evacuation and we will be travelling to a general hospital about five miles away. I need you to gather up sheets and rubbers to provide padding in the ambulances. Will you be all right with that?’
Diane nodded wearily and set about preparing for the evacuation of the hospital. Maybe she would get a bath, food or rest afterwards, she thought hopefully, but deep down knew that those were now luxuries.
Ten ambulances and six cars conveyed the sick and wounded children and babies over bumpy roads and past the dead and dying. Diane held one of the babies, a helpless victim of man’s greed to conquer and enslave.
When they reached the hospital they were allocated the dental ward for their use but there was no furniture and only a few Bunsen burners. Diane helped place the sheets and rubber mats on the floor as beds while Dr Williams went in search of food, only to be told there was none for the new arrivals. Undaunted, the feisty woman found a trolley and loaded it up with a sack of rice, a sack of charcoal for cooking, a bag of beef bones, some prunes, some tins of milk and a few loaves of bread. From the surgical stores she collected pots and saucepans. These she brought back to the verandah where they attempted to cook the rice, but moved their cooking inside utilising the Bunsen burners.
A little relief came when some of the parents retrieved their babies and children, but more flooded in. To make matters worse, the water supply failed, cut by the constant shelling. The crump, crump of exploding shells was something Diane now took as given. She sometimes wondered if one would hit the hospital and end her own life. Screaming was a sound she had also inured herself against, and she found her thoughts constantly drifted to Patrick whenever she gazed into the face of any little boy around his age.
People flooded into the hospital, thinking they might be safer there, and the injured and dying crammed the corridors as the surgical wards continued stitching wounds and amputating limbs and the ambulances delivered a steady stream of patients.
Diane was dozing with her back against a wall in the dental ward, a sleeping baby in her arms, when she became aware that Dr Williams was standing over her.
‘I’ve just been informed that there is an armistice in place,’ she said wearily. ‘I suppose we can consider that a surrender to the Japanese.’
Diane shook the sleep from her body. ‘Are they here?’ she asked.
‘Yes, even now they are issuing orders for us to vacate this hospital and take our patients to the mental hospital – apparently they need this place for their own wounded. So I will need you to help with the
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