The District Nurses of Victory Walk

There was a nervous knock at the door and the young woman who’d let them in tentatively balanced a laden tea tray as she stepped across to the desk. She didn’t meet their eyes, but kept her gaze towards the floor and her mousy brown hair fell forward, obscuring her pale face.

‘Thank you, Gladys,’ said Fiona, as Gladys scooted out again. She poured three cups from the pot. ‘I wouldn’t like to give you the impression that you’ll be waited on hand and foot here. This is purely because it’s a special occasion, to welcome you to your new home.’ She glanced up as she passed the cups across the desk. ‘We see to ourselves most of the time when it comes to cups of tea or that sort of thing. There are three meals a day served downstairs on the lower ground floor, all provided by our esteemed Cook, and you will of course maintain your own rooms in spick-and-span order. We must value hygienic practices at all times.’

‘Of course,’ Alice agreed hurriedly. It was what they’d been used to, after all. She gratefully sipped her tea, realising that her last cup had been at an unearthly hour that morning, and felt like a long time ago.

‘Our district room is on the ground floor – you’ll have passed the door to it on your way in,’ Fiona went on. ‘I must warn you that, although we are by and large a friendly establishment here, any nurse who leaves that room less tidy than she found it will incur immediate wrath. There can be absolutely no exceptions. I trust I need say no more about that most vital rule.’

Alice hastily swallowed her tea and nodded vigorously. The district room was where all supplies and equipment were kept, with which each nurse replenished the contents of her own Gladstone bag that went everywhere with her. To fall foul of the superintendent’s rule would be to risk another nurse being unable to find something important, possibly in an emergency. That could never be allowed to happen.

‘Yes, Fiona. I mean no,’ added Edith.

‘Good,’ said the superintendent, setting down her cup of tea on its serviceable saucer. ‘All finished? Excellent. Now, follow me. I’m afraid you’ll have to hit the ground running as we are extremely busy right now. Which is why we’re so glad to recruit the pair of you together, of course. You’ll be needed just as soon as you’ve had a moment to catch your breath. Someone will bring up your big cases, but please take your bags. I’ll show you to your rooms. You’re on the top floor, so I hope you’ve got good legs. Well, if you haven’t already, you soon will have.’

Alice and Edith exchanged a glance as they obediently followed the diminutive superintendent. Their previous matron would sooner have died than make a comment about their legs. Clearly things were very different around here, and Alice had the distinct impression that, whatever else they were in for, it wasn’t going to be boring.

CHAPTER TWO (#u09dbf5c0-b08a-5a64-ace3-6e6e7ce26bef)

Alice had barely had time to unpack and settle herself in a Spartan but immaculately clean attic room when her first callout came. A young mother was worried about her baby, who seemed to be running an unusual temperature. One of the local doctors had referred her to the district nurses – could somebody come that afternoon?

The message reached Alice just as she’d found her hairbrush and managed to give her hair a quick tidy as she peered into the small mirror perched on top of the chest of drawers. When not pinned up under her uniform hat or cap, her dark blonde locks reached to her shoulders in natural waves, but it was rare for her to wear her hair down. She was settling it back into its usual neat bun when there was a knock on her door.

‘Come—’ she began, but before she could even finish her sentence, in burst a young woman in nurse’s uniform, big blue eyes gazing at Alice with frank curiosity.

‘Are you Miss Lake? I’m Mary Perkins and I’ve got the room at the end of this corridor,’ the new arrival announced. ‘Sorry, you’re needed already. Only this minute got here, haven’t you? I’ve been here for two months so I can show you the ropes. We’ll get to know each other properly later, but if your bag is all ready to go, you’d better come with me.’

‘I’m Alice,’ said Alice, grabbing her bag, which she’d prepared in advance, and reaching for her navy coat. ‘But I haven’t got a bike yet.’

‘Not to worry, it’ll be around the side, they always are,’ said Mary Perkins, who Alice judged to be about Edith’s age, a couple of years younger than herself. ‘This house is a doddle to find, and you’ll be going there often if I’m any judge, and I can tell you right now I’m pretty good at guessing these things.’ She set off at a great pace and it was all Alice could do to keep up as her new colleague dashed along the narrow attic corridor and down the main set of stairs.

‘No running! Nurse Perkins, is that you?’ came a grim voice from the storey below.

‘Bloody old busybody,’ Mary muttered under her breath, but she did at least slow to a fast walk. ‘Have you met Gwen yet? No? Well, you soon will. She’s Fiona’s deputy, but don’t pay her any mind. Look, this is the way to the side door, it’ll save you time. That’s the district room, and that’s the drying room for your cloak when you’ve been out in the rain, but you can see all that later.’ She ducked around a corner and led Alice out into a sunny yard.

Alice realised that – as it was on the corner of the road – the nurses’ home had a large area to the side. One wall had been turned into an informal bike shed, with a light timber roof balanced on the top ridge, and a makeshift rack propped so that a dozen or so cycles could be stored beneath it. Mary made her way along and paused at the end. ‘These are the spare bikes – one for you and one for the other new nurse.’

‘How can you tell? They all look alike,’ Alice wondered.

‘We all put something on our bike to show it’s ours. We’re not meant to but we do.’ Mary pointed to a bike at the far end. ‘See the one with the bit of blue ribbon around the bell? That’s mine. Silly really, but when I was walking out with this chap, he said I looked lovely in blue because it went with my eyes, so I got myself some ribbon to trim my hat, and that was what was left over. Turns out the ribbon lasted longer than he did.’ She shrugged, not overly concerned. ‘I say, have you got a chap?’

Alice took a step back. She wasn’t accustomed to such direct questions from someone she’d only just met. ‘No,’ she said shortly and then, realising it sounded rude to be so abrupt, ‘I haven’t had time, after studying so hard. Anyway, I didn’t spend all those years training just to give it up to get married.’

‘Quite right,’ said Mary. ‘Only I wish they weren’t quite so strict about the rules. In by ten o’clock, no men on the premises, there’s hardly any fun to be had. Still, if you aren’t bothered about that then that’s all right.’

Alice thought that Edith would find a way around the restrictions within the week, if her past history was anything to go by. But she didn’t offer that piece of information to Mary. Instead she asked, ‘Where am I going now?’

‘Jeeves Place,’ said Mary. ‘It’s hard to miss. You go back the way you’d have come this morning as far as the high road. Go straight over – that’s Jeeves Street. The road one further down, parallel to it, is Jeeves Place. Easy. Number nine. Patient’s name is Kathleen Berry, well, that’s the mother. Not sure what her baby’s called.’

‘I expect I’ll find out soon, then,’ said Alice, placing her leather bag in the basket of the bike and pushing it carefully towards the side gate. ‘Wish me luck. If I’m not back by teatime, send out a search party.’

‘Will do.’ Mary waved cheerfully and her lively rich brown curls bobbed around her face.

Kathleen Berry tried to shut out the sounds of her baby son’s screaming. She’d tried picking him up and carrying him around, changing his nappy, offering him cold water, feeding him herself, taking him outside, bringing him back in. Nothing helped and now he was working himself up into a proper state. He lay in his makeshift cot, waving his fists in the air, his face an angry red. She didn’t know what to do. She hoped the nurse would get here soon. She was so frightened.

Her mum had told her not to have anything to do with Ray Berry, that he was a feckless charmer who’d love her and leave her. Kathleen had defended him staunchly. He’d never treat her like that, her mother was just listening to the gossipy old women who had nothing better to do than spread cruel rumours that were without foundation. They were just jealous because they weren’t young any more and had probably never had the attention of a man as good-looking as her Ray. She knew he’d do right by her.

And Ray had – she had his ring on her finger to prove it. No matter how tough things got she was never tempted to pawn it – it was too precious to her, it stood for everything they’d promised to each other. He’d done his best to provide for her but it hadn’t been easy. People were too quick to believe the gossip and he found it hard to get regular work. One day he’d told her he was going down the docks to see if anything was to be found there, and that had been the last she’d seen of him. One of his mates had dropped round to say he’d signed up for a merchant ship and had set sail that very day. It was too good a chance for him to miss.

Kathleen knew he’d be back, but the trouble was he hadn’t sent home regular wages. She was never sure what she would get, if anything at all, but she hated to ask anyone for help. She hadn’t known for certain that she was pregnant before he left – she didn’t want to get it wrong and so she’d waited to tell him. He’d set sail without realising he was soon to become a father.

Now she was stuck with little Brian in this rundown house, which was all she could afford, although if truth be told she couldn’t really even do that. She didn’t even have the whole place to herself – she had the ground floor, with its badly lit front room, cramped kitchen and even more cramped back kitchen, with its doorway into the back yard where there was an outside privy, shared by several families. Upstairs lived the Coynes, who trampled around on the bare boards with no regard of her need to sleep. Then again, they heard Brian’s cries all day and night as clearly as she did.

‘Shush, shush,’ she said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. ‘Mummy’s here. The kind nurse will come soon, she’ll make everything better, just you wait and see.’ She fervently hoped this was true. Wearily she leaned over the baby and took him up into her arms again, noting that he was still far too hot. ‘Mummy’s going to stand in the door with you, see if that cools you down.’ She shoved open the flaking front door and leant on the creaky frame, grateful for the light breeze to fan their faces, even if it blew rubbish down the narrow street. Bits of old newspaper tumbled by. She was so tired she could have slept standing up, if she didn’t have little Brian to look after.

Brian’s cries gradually turned to sad whimpers, but she knew it was because he was too tired to cry lustily any more rather than because he felt better. Anxiously she pressed her hand to his forehead. No, still hot. It wasn’t right. Why was he like this? Was it something she’d done, or hadn’t done?

Kathleen bit down on her lower lip. It wouldn’t help if she went to pieces. It wasn’t as if she had many people to turn to. Her mother would say it served her right for marrying that good-for-nothing. Besides, her mother had four other children to see to, and three more grandchildren to fuss over. Kathleen knew she was a fair way down the list of her mother’s priorities. Sometimes she wondered if she’d been switched at birth as she couldn’t remember a time when she and her mother had got along. They were just too different, even before she’d met Ray. She knew she was quieter, more serious than her mother, who had a loud voice and coarse laugh. Her other siblings had had no such problems, and Kathleen had ended up distant from all of them as a result. She had one good friend who lived on the next street but she couldn’t expect her to be round every time something went wrong – which seemed to happen more and more. ‘It’s just you and me, Brian,’ she breathed, feeling better for admitting the frightening truth. If only Ray were here.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there when there was a rattle of wheels behind her. Turning, she saw it was a tall figure in a navy cloak on a bike that had seen better days. There was no mistaking the woman’s hat though. It was the nurse, at last.

‘Mrs Berry? I’m Nurse Lake. Alice Lake.’ Alice dismounted from the bike and propped it against the house, pausing to take the Gladstone bag out of the basket. ‘Hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long.’

Kathleen could have cried with relief. ‘Come in, come in,’ she said, stepping back inside the house with its meagre furnishings. She perched on a wooden chair, Brian in her arms, and left the one decent armchair for Alice.

Alice took it, noticing that the cushions were faded and frayed, but had been carefully mended. The young mother before her wasn’t far off her own age, she guessed; maybe a couple of years younger. But her face was creased with lines of worry and she looked as if she hadn’t slept properly for a very long time. ‘Well, Mrs Berry, what seems to be the trouble?’

‘Oh, it’s Brian here.’ The words came tumbling out now. ‘He’s ever so hot, he’s been like this since yesterday, and I can’t calm him down. I don’t know what it is. You don’t think … you don’t think …’ She could barely form the words to name her deepest fear. ‘Could it be typhoid, Miss? They had it down Shoreditch way. Took them awful bad, it did, and people died and everything. I couldn’t bear for it to be typhoid, not my Brian, he’s only four months old …’ She hated to cry in front of anyone, let alone a stranger, and hastily cuffed away a tear that she could not hold in.

Alice recognised that her first task would be to reassure the mother. If she were anxious then her baby would surely pick up on this and react badly. All the way over here on the short journey she’d been wondering what she would do or say, but now her training kicked in.

‘I’d be very surprised if it is typhoid,’ she said immediately. ‘But why don’t you let me take a look? How about you put him to lie here on this cushion and we can see what signs of illness he has.’

‘He’s dreadful hot, Miss.’ Kathleen set the small body on the cushion and, true to form, Brian started up his piteous screaming again.

‘Oh, young man, what can we do for you, eh?’ Alice gently laid her hand on his forehead and agreed that he was indeed very hot. She reached across to her bag. ‘I’m just going to pop this thermometer in his mouth. There, that’s not so bad, is it?’ The baby stopped crying in surprise at the sensation of the cool thermometer. Alice carefully checked the time and withdrew it. ‘Yes, you’re right, it is a little high, but not as high as we’d expect for a case of typhoid.’ She next checked his pulse and breathing, as the first thing the doctor would look for in her report was his TPR: temperature, pulse, respiration. She then pulled up his little shirt and observed his abdomen. ‘Well, there’s no telltale rash. Those two things make me doubt it’s typhoid, Mrs Berry. Tell me, have you been to Shoreditch recently?’

Kathleen had sagged against the hard back of the chair as Alice had assessed her child, but now perked up as her biggest fear was allayed. ‘Oh no, Miss. We’ve got no call to go down there. Leastways, my Ray’s got a brother down that way but we don’t see him regular. They wasn’t close, you see.’ She sniffed. ‘It’s just … you hear these things … I didn’t know where to turn …’

Alice made a decision. ‘Mrs Berry, may I make a suggestion? You take a seat in the comfy chair and I’ll make us both a cup of tea. Through there, I take it?’ and before the exhausted young mother could object, she slipped through the connecting door to the back of the house.

She’d wanted to observe the state of the rest of the place. She knew only too well that typhoid flourished in conditions of poverty which so often led to overcrowding and a lack of hygiene. But here, although money was so evidently painfully short, everything was scrubbed and tidy. What food and drink there was, was covered and protected, and therefore far less likely to be a source of contagion. Somehow the frazzled young woman managed to maintain a clean house, even with a demanding small baby.

Alice opened one of the two wooden cupboards and found the tin of tea leaves, which was easy as there wasn’t much else on the warped shelves. She set the kettle to boil and found a small amount of milk in a bottle beneath a pottery cooler. She sniffed it dubiously but it was fresh. There was a collection of slightly chipped but matching cups hanging from hooks beneath a wooden rack holding plates from the same set. Alice wondered if they had been a wedding present, as she cautiously unhooked two cups.

She put the tea things on a tray and then filled a dish of cool water from the one tap in the back kitchen, adding a tea towel she found in the drawer under the sink. Then she carried everything through.

‘Why don’t you pour, Mrs Berry, and I’ll sponge down the boy.’ She knelt beside the little figure and gently dipped the towel in water and wiped his hot face very carefully.

‘Call me Kathleen, do, Miss. I’m so grateful you came round,’ Kathleen said, her hands shaking a little as she filled Alice’s cup. ‘If it’s not typhoid, do you know what’s wrong with him?’