"Next Tuesday is April 25- a year since the Gallipoli landing." "A year?" "Already?" "Somehow, I don't think we'll beat the Germans any faster if you don't fall in love with Mr Dooley." "Love?" "You haven't seen Harry for weeks." "You don't even know if he's alive." "Mr Dooley - he's gone." "He was selected for officer training." "Olive!" "I got a telegram from Harry." "He's passing through Rouen." "I'm going to see Harry today." "Good luck to you too, sweetheart." "I'm leaving No. 1 AGH." "The AIF matron-in-chief is taking furlough to Australia." "We'll miss you." "I'll be back." "You see, I'm going to volunteer." " Pat!" " The casualty clearing station." "There's one quite near Trois Arbres." "Take care." " There was a battle at a place called Fromelles." "Harry was killed." "Artery forceps." " Are you done yet?" " Coming, Captain." "Oh, dear." "S-sorry." "I'll put yours under now." "Cou...count for me." "One, t-two..." "Oh, goodness!" "I'm so..." "I'm so sorry." "There's no time to get to the latrines." "Get ready to bring him up fast, as soon as I'm done." " We're almost there." " Oh..." "Sister, you'll have to finish the anaesthetic." " Chloroform's just there." " But I-I don't know..." "Mine's in hypovolemic shock." "I need her to be ready." " Get me 1/10th strychnine." " Mr Cooper can do that." "This boy's spleen has ruptured." "If I don't get it out, he's gone." "Go ahead." "And bring me some ether while you're there." " Yes, sir." " Cooper, over here." " Yes, Major." " We'll do him fast." " What if I give him too much?" " A few drops at a time." " Hello there." " Is it over?" "Just relax." "We'll be with you the whole time." "Can you count with me to 50?" " More ligature." " One..." " Dropping." " ..two, three..." " That's it." "Keep going." " ..four..." "He's turned a funny colour, Captain." "I think he's going to... ..vomit." "Come on, Sister." "That's it." " He's ready for surgery." " Very good, Sister." " Strychnine ready?" " Yes, Major." "Do it." "We did it." "We saved him." " Good." " Hm." "And ours is under." "Our shift's over." "Sister Ross King?" "Alice?" " Alice." " Yes?" "We can go." "The day sisters are here." ""The son you raised was kind, thoughtful" ""and so very brave." ""I haven't heard from his battalion, but each day I pray" ""that this terrible news will be contradicted."" "Good morning." "How was your shift?" "I'm writing to Harry's mother." "Let her know I'll forward on any news I get." "Wouldn't she have been informed already?" "There's been no confirmation." "He could still be alive." "But didn't someone actually see it happen?" "A sergeant saw him fall, but there's been no corroboration." "No record of his body being found." "He's not on the German..." "He's not on their list." "Oh, you've ripped your stocking." " I've got a spare one inside." " Coming to breakfast?" " Here she is!" " Is it true?" "You put a patient under?" "Oh!" "We were very shorthanded." "And Captain Mooney talked me through the whole thing..." "But you still did it?" "You gave an anaesthetic?" " Yes." " What type?" "A local?" " General?" " Uh, yes, indeed." "Um...it was a general." "Imagine if you'd given too much and he..." " I mean, how'd the op go?" " Did the patient survive?" "Oh..." "Crumbs." "I don't know." "Looks like you're about to find out." " Sister Steele." " Hello, Captain." "Hmm?" "About what happened in theatre this morning," "Major Springer and I both agreed you did ripping good work." "Indeed, if it wasn't for you jumping in when you did and keeping a level head, I dare say we'd have lost one or both of those cases." "S-so the patient I put under, he's still alive?" " Recovering very well." " Oh!" "If only we had one of you for every theatre across the frontier, we'd stand a fighting chance." "You!" "This porridge looks good." "Our cooks are such bricks." "I got you something." "Alice." "It's not much, and I know you and Lieutenant Moffitt" " weren't married..." " We were engaged." "Well, I just thought how hard this must be for you and..." "Well, perhaps you could tie it around your hat next time you go out." "Thank you, but it's too generous." " Oh, please, I insist." " I have no time for frills and furbelows - I just..." "I have to check the post." "She's still a bit jaggy." "Sergeant, these lists they publish in Australia," " do they come through here first?" " The casualty lists?" "No, they get sent straight to the newspapers back home." "This is from last month." "Do you have any recent papers?" "No, I don't." "I just distribute the mail, love." " All fed?" " Most of them are asleep." "Is that an ambulance?" "I didn't hear a bugle." "And our ward's full." " Well..." " Careful, buddy." "We've got one, two, three, four patients sitting up that we could put into chairs." "I wouldn't worry about that, Sister." "Thank you." "You're here, and I'm on shift." "Well, it's nearly over." "I'll cover for you." "Go on." "Imshi." "What are you doing here?" "I broke my specs." "So I spoke to the colonel about getting your eye quack here to fix them." "Colonel could only square me as far as No. 12 British..." "So you bribed a driver to take you the rest of the way." "Patski!" " How did you break your glasses?" " Oh, just under my foot." "You should have got a two-egg omelette, seeing as we're sharing." "Company's gonna win the war." "It's good of Pete to let you scurry off like that." "I'm always covering for her and Norm when he visits." "Norm's her sweetheart." "So Pete and Norm are fairly serious, then?" "I wouldn't cover for her if they weren't." "No, of course not." "But, as my friend Alice likes to say," ""You've got to cast sweets in the cup while you can."" "Someone's in a hurry." "Mmm." "Patski!" "I can't." "It's alright, kiddo." "I might be able to get a bit of leave in a couple of weeks." "I was thinking I might take you up to Blighty." "It's not as easy for us nurses getting leave." "We're in short supply." "Fritz sure has a fancy for us tonight." "That's the gas!" " Where's your mask?" " I haven't got one." "No." "No, no, no." "No." "Oh!" "I need a mask!" "I need a gas mask!" "Do you have a gas mask!" "Try the dispensary!" "And get inside!" "Come on, Dooley." "Come on!" "Ooh!" "Have you got any more?" "My last one." "But there's soda." " Thanks." " Keep this on." " Slow breaths." " Help me!" "Ah!" " Jesus." " Stay here!" "Here, inside!" " Help me!" "I can't see!" " Olive!" "I've got one here!" "Help!" " I can't see." " Come on." "This way." "Sit down, keep your head still." "I can't see!" "Help!" " Keep still." " Help me!" "Help me!" "More soda." "Shh, shh, you'll be alright." " Keep still." "Just keep still." " You'll be alright." " Take deep, slow breaths." " Help me." "I know it stings, but try to stay still for me." "It will ease." "It's not something to trifle over." "One drop too much, you kill the patient." "Not enough, he wakes up in the middle of the operation." "But there's a shortage of anaesthetists, not just in our unit, from what Captain Mooney was saying." " What's this?" " They've announced an anaesthetist training program for nurses." "It might put noses out of joint but it's a good initiative." "Kit, is that a Victorian newspaper?" "Yes, but it's two months old." "There any future nurse anaesthetists at this table?" "Sorry." " Hilda?" " I don't think I'm suitable." "That's not what I saw in the theatre, Sister." "Alice?" "Oh, I don't think I'm fit for new tricks." "I need someone to catch my mistakes." "We'll get to the Schimmelbusch masks later." "No doubt, you'll all need a few goes getting it right." " But first, Sister Steele." " Oh." "I'm about to open an abscess." "What form of anaesthesia would you use?" "Local anaesthetic - ethyl chloride." " Using Richardson's apparatus." " Correct." "And for an intra-abdominal?" "Sister..." "Sister Ross King." "Chloroform, using the open-drop method for induction," " followed by ether." " That's correct." "Unless the patient has low blood pressure or other idiosyncrasies, in which case the better choice would be nitrous oxide/ethyl chloride combination." "Very thorough." "Thank you, Sister." " Now, I can't stress..." " You don't have to look so surprised." "My faculties are quite intact." "..and terrible accidents have been known to happen when a flame is held too near." "I poked my head in the sisters mess." "I couldn't see you." "I've been making enemies there of late." "Have you got news?" "Please." "Alice, I don't think we should hold out." "For?" "For getting Harry's grave made up." "Wh...what do you mean?" "One of the men from his battalion told me they couldn't get to the ones who'd fallen between the lines." "Should I make you a lemon toddy?" "Ah, what about the..." "the wounded?" "The stretcher-bearers weren't collecting them?" "Well, for days, one could see an arm wave, but it was impossible to get to them beyond a certain distance." "So if he wasn't brought back to our side by our people, then the Germans have taken him." "He could have been taken prisoner." "Or buried in a mass grave." "The report is that he was killed in action, but no-one knows what happened to his body." "If the Germans found him and he was dead, then why isn't his name on their list?" "Well, if he'd lost his ID and his pay book, they wouldn't know what name to put on their death list." ""Dear Miss Deakin, I would be terribly grateful" ""if you could forward me any information you find" ""surrounding the death of Lieutenant Harry Lowry Moffitt," ""53rd Battalion."" ""He is reported to have been killed in action," ""but as I have not been informed of a place of burial" ""nor received any news that his body has been retrieved," ""I am considering the not-very-cheerful possibility" ""that he may have been taken prisoner behind German lines."" "That's it." "You alright?" "Hello, Sister Ross King." "Good morning, Matron Finlay." "Just going to make a start on the pre-ops." "Actually, the boy in bed four hasn't touched his breakfast." "Could you try?" "Alice, I know you've had a rough trot." "I mean, it must have been horrendous when..." "I better..." "You'll let me know if you need anything, though, won't you?" "Are we ready to have something to eat, Private..." "Foster?" "Not hungry." "That's not something we hear very often." "What's the point?" "Can't bloody move, can I?" "My girl back home won't want to marry me." "Why do you think that?" "Who wants a man who can't dance?" "The woman who loves him regardless." "Come on." "Just a bite." "A spoonful of heroin mixture twice daily should fix up your cold." "Now, I want you to take tomorrow off while we can spare you." "Thank you, Matron." "Make that three days off." " I'm sorry?" " You've been working 14 days straight, Alice." "I need to keep you fit." "What will I do for three whole days?" " One franc for egg and chips?" " See why I insisted you and Norm come with us?" "Are we getting the usual?" "One eggs?" "Two eggs?" "No, no." "I'm..." "I'm not hungry." " Do you not want to be here?" " No, no, of course I do." "You were so determined that we come here tonight." " I..." " Shh, shh, shh, shh." "Shh!" "♪ Peg o' my heart" "♪ I love you" "♪ Don't let us part" "♪ I love you" "♪ I always knew" "♪ It would be you" "♪ Since I heard your lilting laughter" "♪ It's your Irish heart I'm after" "♪ Peg o' my heart" "♪ Your glances" "♪ Makes my heart say" "♪ "How's chances?"" "♪ Come, be my own" "♪ Come, make your home in my heart. ♪" "Olive Lilian Creswell Haynes, will you be my wife?" "Can you say it again?" " Will you marry me?" " Yes!" "Yes!" ""My dear Mother," ""You all seem so concerned about me at home," ""so I thought I'd better get married after all." ""Pat has written to ask Father and see if you approve."" "Think your folks will like me, kiddo?" "Everyone likes you." ""We're not going to get married until après la guerre," ""and that might be 20 years." ""Write to him, won't you?"" ""We haven't decided much" ""other than to wait until the war is over." ""That omelette was really something." ""I wish I could have taken a snap before we mopped it up."" ""Hope to get some leave" ""and see you all soon." ""Love, Olive."" "I always knew the way to Olive's heart was through her stomach." "Are you alright?" "They ought to get married while they still can." "Fiancée." "Fiancée." "I'll make sure she gets it." "What's her address?" "Your fiancée's address?" " C..." "Christ..." " Christchurch?" "Which suburb in Christchurch?" "Private Foster." "His injuries." "I couldn't do artificial respiration." "He had a broken spine and a lung full of fluid." "There was nothing you could do." "May I have your attention, please, Sisters?" "The following nurses have been chosen to continue their anaesthetics training and will henceforth be rostered in theatre." "Sister McNaughton." "With a score of 94 out of 100." "Congratulations." "Why is he reading out the results, the wretch?" "Sister Ross King, with a score of 91 out of 100." " Bravo." " Good work, Alice." "Really good work." " Third sister chosen..." " I've failed." " ..full marks - 100 out of 100." " That's alright." "I mean, I really like the wards." "Sister Steele." "Sorry." "What did he say?" "Let's hope you've got a steadier hand in surgery." "Can you feel that, Private?" "Didn't feel a thing." "Is it over already?" "Almost." "It's interesting how the weak patients often need more anaesthetic than the florid, muscular ones." "That throat patient you had looked tricky." "Alice, the Germans have sent through a prisoner-of-war list." "Harry's name isn't on it, which means we still don't know where he's been buried." "Or if he's been buried." "Moffitt." "If he can't tell them his name, then he doesn't get put on the prisoner list." "And his name still hasn't appeared on any death list." "Mightn't be an outright no." ""We cannot give our permission." Their exact words." "People at home don't know what it's like." "We have to face things out here." "So, what have you told them about Pat?" "I told them that he built me a shower, that his real name's Norval and that he wears specs." "What's funny?" "You didn't think to tell them that he just received his commission for lieutenant?" "That he studied law at Melbourne varsity?" "I would marry Pat regardless of whether he had a bean" " or a prospect of making one." " Yes, Pat's wonderful." "But all your parents know is that their beloved daughter is about to get hitched in France to a short-sighted handyman called Norval." "Ooh-la-la!" "Oh, I'm a clod!" " Imbécile!" " Oh..." "Write to them again and don't sell him short this time." "These Indian rubber gloves would save you" " rubbing your skin raw, Major." " Too bulky for my work." "I think that's a matter of opinion." "How many cases do you think you've put under now?" "6 today, so that's 44 in total." "Have you thought of transferring to a casualty clearing station?" "Afraid of getting closer to the front?" "Uh...no." "No." "That's not it." "The soldiers get to the clearing stations in just a couple of hours." "A nurse of your calibre would make a greater difference" " there than here." " Ready, sir." "Let's go it, shall we?" "You'll be cracking 100 soon." "Thought any further about joining the CCS?" "I have." "Yes." "But...my friends are here." "Sister Ross King." "She's very lucky to have such a devoted friend." "Which reminds me, I saw an article in one of the Victorian papers about Lieutenant Moffitt." ""Lieutenant Harry Lowry Moffitt" ""has met a soldier's death in France." ""Accounts have been written of the poor fellow" ""who dies in hospital." ""But there is a sadder experience," ""that of the gallant hero struck down in the hour of..." ""..hour of victory."" "His whole battalion was wiped out." "I know what you're thinking but this doesn't prove anything." " I'm not thinking..." " The Red Cross is still investigating." "They shouldn't be printing this stuff." "Ohh!" "For goodness sake!" "Do you want me to break my neck?" "I'm sorry, Alice." "I know what you've been through must..." ""Been through"?" "Why must everyone refer to my pain as past tense?" "Straighten up your side of the dresser while you're at it." "This hut is unbearable at the best of times." "The doctor is on his way." "Keep that leg elevated." "Help me, please!" "Sister Haynes, this man needs fresh clothes and a hot drink." "In here." "You're right now." "Major, can you please help me?" "How quickly can we get him into theatre?" " You can leave him." " He's haemorrhaging." "Get me a tourniquet and someone to help me lift this patient." "I said the patient on bed 12." "Is that an urgent case..." "Our orders now are to conserve the fighting force." "If they're moving, talking, fix them up." "They're needed back on the front." "But if they're dying?" "Our orders are to concentrate on the ones that aren't." "On with it." "I lost six men in that stunt." "We only sent three back to the line." "Every nurse worth her salt aspires to work a clearing station, but instead of patching them up and sending them to a general hospital..." "We're shipping them to the cemetery." "This infernal army." "They've gone completely mad." "C'est la guerre." "What can we do?" "Has your pain gotten worse?" "No, Sister." "It's just a sad song." " Oh, I have more records." " No." "Leave it, please." "It helps me remember." " Home?" " Yeah, home." " Hey, mate." " That's fine." "Thanks." "My country." "Where are you from?" "Southern Queensland." "What about you?" "City of Churches, Adelaide." "I suppose you miss it?" "I suppose I do." "Me and my mate jumped at the chance to come over, fight for Australia." "Get paid to see the world." "Just feels wrong to be going back to the front without him." "He used to say to me, "Little forward here, bit back there." ""Always death." ""Except for us."" "Sister." " What is it?" "Just tell me." " It's Pete." " Oh, it's Norm." " No, it's her sister's husband." "He's been killed." "You never know when your number's up in this game." "No." ""My dear Mother, I got your letter" ""telling me you didn't want me to be engaged" ""and that we'd be poor." ""Pat has his position waiting for him back home." ""He's a lawyer." ""Everyone thinks the world of Pat." ""He's a 2nd lieutenant now." ""So many of us are losing loved ones." ""It's true." ""You never know when your number's up in this game." ""Of course, we will wait if that is what you wish."" "They're just old-fashioned, is all." "Must seem sudden to them back home." "I've sent them a picture of you." "Oh, great - soon they'll find out" "I have neither looks nor money." "Look, kiddo, don't you think we ought to get married soon?" "It's...it's terrible that Pete's brother-in-law was killed, but at least her sister will get a widow's pension." "I think that's the least of her concern." "Oh, it's not something to be scoffed at." "If something happened to me, you wouldn't get a penny - we're not married." "Look, this is the 20th century, Olive." "You don't need their permission." "I should hop along now." "I love you, Ol." "Don't be mad." "I love you too, Dooley." "I know you've been wanting news, so I spoke to my mate at Horseferry Road - he works in the records department." "Told him to look out for your Lieutenant Moffitt." "Thank you." "And a letter from the Red Cross." ""Sister Ross King," ""We very much regret to inform you" ""that the name Lieutenant Harry Moffitt," ""53rd Battalion, AIF," ""has come through on a German death list" ""dated 4 November 1916." ""What we have gathered is that on 19 July," ""the regiment was at I'avant" ""and he went over the top at 5:40pm" ""to attack the German trenches." ""Lieutenant Moffitt was with Colonel Norris," ""leading the battalion." ""The colonel was killed by a shell" ""and Lieutenant Moffitt called out" ""for four men to bring him in." ""No sooner had he done so," ""he himself was shot in the back of the head" ""and fell dead across the colonel's body." ""It must be a source of comfort for you to know" ""that he sacrificed his life so gallantly" ""in attempting to recover..."" "A death list came out." "Harry was on it." "Sister Steele." "Yes, Matron?" "I'm afraid I have some bad news." "I know." "I'm on my way to see Sister Ross King now." "Well, I didn't think she'd be as upset as you." "The Surgeon General has refused to sanction" "Australian army nurses for anaesthetist work." "You'll be working in the fracture ward" " for the rest of the week." " Oh." "It does appear that some in the army think it's an unsuitable job for a woman." "Oh." "Well." "I suppose they must have their reasons." "Could you tell Sister Ross King for me?" " Yes." " Well, goodness, steady on!" "You'll come a cropper!" "Alice." "Ohh." "Oh!" "Have you seen Alice?" " She wasn't in the mess." " Maybe she's taken a walk?" "Though in this icy weather..." "Alice!" "Thank heavens!" "Ohh!" "I'm so sorry I worried you." "I'm so sorry." "You're not from Christchurch, are you?" "No, Auckland." "I won't hold it against you, Hilda." "I still haven't managed to find poor Foster's fiancée." "He said Christchurch." " You didn't ask where I lived." " I thought you're from Dunedin." "I am." "But I have cousins in Christchurch." "If you feel dizzy or faint..." " How's that now?" " Good, thanks." " And I recognise that accent." " I heard yours too." " Which island are you from?" " The South." " Oh!" " Queenstown." "Ah." "I'm from Auckland." "Well, I won't hold that against you, Sister." "Why not?" "Everyone else seems to." "How come you don't have one of those swank badges like the rest of the New Zealand sisters?" " There are badges?" " All the sisters at the Kiwi hospital at Wisques all had them." "Oh - well, I suppose it's because" "I sailed with the Australian contingent." " Well, you're still one of us." " Yes." "Yes." "I'm a New Zealander!" "That's the spirit." "Transport's ready for you blokes." "Not your parents, then?" "My brother, my aunt and my old headmaster." " They're ignoring me." " They're ignoring you." "I've put in for leave, Olive." "As soon as I get out, we're getting married." "I'm going home." "You'd leave Norm here?" "He's got three weeks leave coming up." "We'll go to England and Scotland." "You'd give up your job for three weeks with Norm in Scotland?" "You'd give up your job for three weeks with Norm in Scotland?" "These two inside." "Over here, please." "Let's clean you up." "Olive." "Olive." "Gunshot wound to chest." "And lungs." "Lift him." "Keep him still." "Keep him very still." "You've immobilised him." "Time to let nature do its work." "This one, we can save." " The other end, Sister." " I have seen my share of chest wounds, and the ones from bullets always fare better than shrapnel." "Less chance of infection from foreign bodies." "Sister Haynes, our orders are to..." "I don't care about orders!" "This is my fiancé." "And if the army kicks me out for saving his life, then so be it." " Get him to the X-ray tent." " Got it." "If the bullet's gone through, we'll excise the wounds." "Until then, do your job." "Is it alright if I check your dressing?" " Of course." " It's not too tight?" "No, it's fine." "Thank you." "Send it." " Matron Finlay." " Sister Ross King." "Thank you for the medicine, Matron." " I'm feeling a lot better." " I'm glad to hear it." "Oh, Sister." "Could you pass these on to your Kiwi tentmates?" "Save me the trip." " So glad they came." " So YOU ordered these." "I had Matron Finlay write to the New Zealand matron-in-chief." "Lot of effort to go to for a badge." "I disagree." "It's a pleasure to be serving with you Aussies." "But we do, in fact, belong to the New Zealand Army." "What's she up to?" " Matron Wilson!" " Sister Steele." " How nice to see you." " You're back from London?" "Yes." "And I'm quite pleased to be back on the ground." "Was there something we can help you with?" "Yes." "Um..." "As you know, the Surgeon General decreed that Australian nurses were no longer to work as anaesthetists." "Well, I'm a New Zealander." "In the short time that I worked as a nurse anaesthetist," "I put 130 cases under with no mortalities." "I'd like to be rostered back on in theatre, please." "Do we have a copy of the order handy?" "Ah..." "You're quite right - the Surgeon General very specifically states that Australian nurses are forbidden to work as anaesthetists." "He says nothing about New Zealand nurses." "Suppose it depends on how you look at it." "The Shipway's warms the thing, through this flask of hot water." "So it conserves body heat." "Must be excellent for long surgeries." "Precisely." "Welcome back, Sister Steele." "How was your first shift back as anaesthetist?" "Busy and fascinating." "If there is one good thing coming out of this war, it is the advancement and technology." "Today, I learnt how to use the Shipway's..." "I'm so sorry." "I'm such a braggart." "You're not even allowed to do it anymore." "Hilda." "I'm more suited to the wards anyway." "I'm actually starting to enjoy being around people again." "People who aren't unconscious." "In fact, one of the Canadian patients lent me his book of poetry." "Private Foster's fiancée - 24 Cobb Street, Woolston, Christchurch." "The bullet went straight through." "I just had to deal with the damage it did in transit." "Where do you think he'll be sent?" "Rouen?" "Amiens?" "Probably Wimereux." "From there, sent back to England to convalesce." "And then from Blighty back to the front." "I wouldn't think so." "I know you played it down to get him into surgery, but it still is a nasty wound." "He won't be seeing action again." "Thank you, Major." "Thank you." "There you go." "I know you like dreaming up excuses to see me, but this is a bit extreme." " I have something to tell you." " Me first." "I'm gonna marry you, Pat Dooley, and I don't give two hoots what my parents say." " Your father cabled." " What did he say?" "You never really doubted it, did you?" " Ohh!" "Ahh!" " Does that hurt?" "Yeah." "Melbourne or Adelaide?" "Melbourne." "Cats or dogs?" "Can't we have both?" "I want a black-and-white cat with not too much white." "And a fox terrier." "We'll call 'em Bully and..." "Omelette." " That all sounds marvellous." " Mmm." "There's just one thing I need to do before I go home." "I know that Pat's good at building showers," " but what else does he do?" " He's terribly bright." "He's from Victoria, and all his friends say he was cleverest in his year at Melbourne varsity." "He's just a top trick." "He's always out for other people." "And...he's got one brother and one sister..." "Poor Hilda's had a monster of a roommate in yours truly." "You must be sick of getting asked how you're faring, but..." "I long for him all the time." "It's intolerable." "I feel like I've lost everything." "What Harry saw in you, you haven't lost that." "You still have a future." "You haven't lost everything." "Is that Major Prior?" "Who's that Red Cross Bluebird?" "Elsie!" "Oh..." "I was at No. 4 Randwick, and it was only a matter of time before the army sent Syd back to the war." " Mmm." " Then I heard the Red Cross were asking for nurses for the French military hospitals, so I resigned from the Australian Nursing Service and set sail five days later." " Now I'm at Amiens." " I see the Red Cross don't object to you being married." "All they wanted were nurses who could speak French and weren't afraid to get their hands dirty." " I beg your pardon?" " She said your French is terrible." "How's Captain Cook?" "It's Major Cook now." "He's in England but tells me he'll be in France any minute." "Are you still reading 'The Rubáiyát'?" "I haven't been able to yet." "Though one of my patients got me onto an American poem by a woman named Ellen Gates." " Can I read it?" " Mm-hm." ""I shall not cry Return!" "Return!" ""Nor weep my tears away" ""But just as long as sunsets burn" ""And dawns make no delay" ""I shall be lonesome, I shall miss" ""Your hand, your voice, your smile, your kiss."" ""Not always shall this parting be" ""For though I travel slow" ""I too may claim eternity" ""And find the way you go" ""And so I do my task and wait" ""The opening of the outer gate."" "Some of these boys I feel I've seen three or more times." "They'll be nothing more than an army of rag dolls soon." "And Britain wants a sixth Australian division." "How can we meet that without conscription?" "They're talking about another referendum." "Our boys take dose after dose until they're killed and the rotters stay home talking." "Alice, I think we should volunteer for the casualty clearing station." " Alright." " I think a change will be good for both of us..." "Oh." "Olive went on and on about those omelettes." "Don't you think we ought to try one?" "Bonzer." "I'd better get back." "Ah, Miss Wilson." " Checkpoint." " Passes." " Fritz must be about." " Syd's unit's been moved." "He's been posted to Fricourt." "Could you take a couple of passengers to Fricourt?" "Take you ladies all the way to Berlin, long as you've got passes." "Passes?" "Of course." "The army might move Syd tomorrow, Fraser." "A bomb might drop on us tomorrow." "There might not be a tomorrow." "If we wait, our chance of getting to Fricourt drives away." "I'm looking for Major Sydney Cook." "His company's at the front." " When are they expected back?" " Should've been here by now." "Alice!" "Alice!"