I am lucky enough to be a member of the national trust and have grown up near many of their wonderful houses with my personal favourite being Dunham Massey. The reasons for this preference formerly being the gorgeous fallow deer and the humongous scones however, as the years have progressed – and I have had to take more care for my waist line – the emphasis for me has changed and I now find the main attraction of visiting this property to be the history. As with many of England’s other great houses, Dunham Massey has seen many changing times of which it has had to adapt this being demonstrated in its transformation into Stamford Auxiliary Hospital as it was in World War One.
I have known about World War One for longer than I can remember, I have read about it and analysed sources under the beady eye of my history teacher but, never has the reality of what happened in those four years really sunk in until yesterday. I have always noticed the suffering and the conditions endured by the men in the trenches but my thoughts had always been left on the continent in a foreign world which I could never truly imagine. Whereas, now I realise that injured men were transported home and the thought of having sustained a compound fracture, and much worse, to have to then travel on a rickety train and a boat with no real pain relief I find unbearable but, these conditions were frequently endured!
Let us also, not forget the staff who worked tirelessly to provide the appropriate care needed for men returning from the grim reality of war. The stress upon them too was enormous causing the matron, Sister Catherine Eva Bennett, to drive herself to exhaustion. This forced the Stamford family to temporarily close the hospital to allow her a holiday which she spent studying to improve her practice. It was while reading her story that found I myself recalling a quote said by Miss Lintott in the play The History Boys: “History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.”
As terrible as the horrific injuries and the stress placed upon the hospital staff was, the thing that shocked me the most however, was the lack of preparation given to young soldiers. I found a copy of a manual for going to war written by Sir Robert Baden-Powell which was no more comprehensive than my Brownie Guide Handbook. It was flicking through that book that made me truly realise the power propaganda has. Reading about how to build a shelter, and so on, made the First World War sound like a grown up version of a famous five adventure and it was no wonder that so many men volunteered willingly with no idea of the fate that awaited them.
I find it no coincidence that my Brownie Guide Handbook has echoes of that old war manual considering that Sir Robert Baden-Powell founded the Scouts and his wife Lady Olave Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides. Throughout my youth I was a proud member of the Guide Association and I found a rather sour taste in my mouth yesterday afternoon that the sense of belonging that I once held so dear could be associated with one of history’s great travesties. However, this morning I remembered that despite this the Scout and Guide Associations have also done a lot of good in providing children with experiences that they would not have elsewhere and in its strong sense of community.
Therefore, I will carry on endeavouring to find my place as a leader of a group of lovely 7-10 year old Brownies where instead of them making them doing their hostessing badge- which even at the tender age of 7 I found rather sexist- I will help them to grow their own sense of social justice. In doing this I hope future generations will never be aggressive but, will actively discourage aggression and if they find that Britain ever needs to defend itself they will ensure that it will be done with dignity and honesty rather than false promises.
Miss Craddock's Science Voyage 