11Number 61 CCS, Edgehill (Ypres), Thursday, 7 June 1917
The earth vibrated so fiercely that bottles and boxes fell from the shelves in the dispensary. For a moment Lucy thought a shell or a bomb had landed near the ward, but it must have been a huge bomb. It was the best part of a minute before she heard the noise of an explosion, so it had to have been miles away. Despite the distance it was still loud. She hurried into the recovery ward, worrying about the patients.
As she passed along the beds she checked her watch: 0311 hours. Halfway along the ward a small man was struggling to sit up and she stopped to help him. His head was swathed in bandages. So was his shoulder.
‘You should be resting,’ she said as she arranged the pillows at his back. ‘Get some sleep. It’s the best thing for
