Train Travel

Heroes Remember

Train Travel

Transcript

We came from Montreal and we met together down at the Union Station, and it was just a nightmare because there was no rhyme or reason to formation of any kind. And we got on the train anyhow, and managed to get on the train, and I saw my father and I thought, oh, I can't leave him. So I couldn't get off but, it was a... Anyhow, we travelled along and, I don't think you remember Maureen O'Hara, Maureen O'Hara the actress. (I know the name.) Well she was on the same, in the same, not very far down the aisle from us and we were intrigued after we got over leaving and that sort of thing. Then, oh yes, now I've forgotten the name but one of the, we had a Melanson with us and one of the mothers and fathers met the train when it stopped at the station. Now where would that be? No use trying, I won't remember, with a bottle of scotch, and of course we all just put the scotch in the, in the toilet, and we kept going into the toilet back and forth and it was all finished. We probably were all high by the time we got to Halifax. Well, we went on board ship and the ship was a (inaudible) and they didn't have enough time to remove all the grandeur of a luxury liner, and it was a luxury liner. It was just, simply fabulous. And, french cooking, french drinks and all the soldiers were on. I met my brother on the ship too. He was going overseas. But that was a wonderful trip over, simply because of the boat and the relaxation and you can imagine, some of the girls went on Banana boats and things like that. They were simply awful, so we never spoke about how we got there. We were there, we even had coffee, for, in the morning at break, the old knock would come on the door and the fella would take us in a cup of coffee. So a, it was a lovely trip over. And we landed at Gorrick and came down a... We had sleepers too, coming down from Gorrick, which I thought was surprising, but nevertheless I slept in one. And, I think I have an idea that once we hit the other side was just going to be awful because we had read so much about the poor people and the, and then, we landed at Marshton Green, that's between Coventry and Birmingham. That was our hot spot and I had been in a teaching hospital associated with McGill before I left, and it was mostly communicable diseases, and of course with communicable diseases you get many children. And I had taken this picture of one little child and when I got over there, my god, they had moved all the kids from Coventry that was badly bombed. So I had another baby from the over in Marshton Green. Interviewer: Were these children that were in hospital (Yes) in Coventry, so they just moved? They evacuated all the patients from Coventry hospitals to our place. We were empty and we weren't functioning as a military until January the 1st, and we arrived Christmas day so there wasn't much time in between, so, a hot spot.

Description

Ms. Moll speaks of how she and other newly enlisted nursing sisters in Montreal travelled by train to Halifax, Nova Scotia on their way overseas.

Patricia Moll

Patricia Moll was born in Ottawa, Ontario on August 21, 1912. She received her schooling in Ottawa. On finishing high school, she moved to Montreal where she received nursing training at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. After her formal training was finished, she went to work on the nursing staff at the Alexandria Hospital in Montreal. Ms. Moll enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1940 and joined the staff at #1 Canadian General Hospital.

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