Manuscript letter, 1 sheet. Written from Lazaravatz [Lazarevac], Serbia. Describes the village women who do the laundry, the continuous sound of heavy bombardment, watching an operation: 'the doctors are absolutely ripping and do their ops so well - Dr Edith Hollway and Dr Jessie Scott'.
Transcript:
Scottish Women's Mission, Military Reserve Hospitals, Lazaravatz [Lazarevac]
17 October 1915
My dearest old Alick
It is ages and ages since I have heard from you, so I hope you are all right. We have been most awfully busy here. We have taken over the laundry for 10 hospitals here and have been most frightfully busy, ?counting, hanging out and folding all sorts of things. We have sever gipsys [sic] who wash and we have been out supervising the whole time as if some one is not there all the time they stop working. They sing most beautifully and sign soprano, alto tenor and bass naturally - all the time we have had a cannon and heavy gun accompaniment as the frontier is only 10 hours walk from here, and there has been very heavy fighting. They have also begun on the Bulgarian frontier. We thought that Sunday that we should be ordered to move out of this place and are very relieved to find that we may not have to now, as it has been a tremendous ?sweat getting things a bit in order. Today Sunday is the first day ?Baly and I have had off for 3 weeks. Yesterday I attended an opperation [sic] and today I helped to lift a man who had the most appalling wounds I have ever seen. I stayed for the op - but after an hour I had to go our for about 3 minutes to get a little air - he had to have one eye cut out. You could not tell which was eye as it was cut open from his nose to his ear. He also had his jaw broken. The Drs are absolutely ripping and do their ops so well - Dr Edith ?Holway and Dr Jessie Scott. They are so topping especially the former who is the head of this unit, and ?Baly is the administrator. I had the chance of going on the ambulance to a field hospital but as ?Baly could not go I said I would rather stop with her, and I do not like the Dr who is taking charge of it very much. As far as I know things are going all right but of course there are a tremendous lot of wounded. With much love. Yours ever V.
Please send me when ever you can a roll of ?vest pocket Kodak films - 1 at a time - I have used all and my large order which was sent from London over 2 months ago I have never had. If you send the letter post I might get them. Please keep an account of what you send - VH. Best love to Celia from us both.
End of transcript.