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I was in the Town Hospital on Liberation Day and had a wonderful view. I saw the British fleet outside the harbour. The nurses woke me up at about six in the morning and I knew there was something going on because there had been quite a lot of excitement the day before amongst the nurses. They were so kind to us children, well everybody was kind to the children because I think they felt so sorry for us being in the position we were. I knew there was some thing and everybody had been saying ‘Liberation’ was coming and coming and coming and it never did come. I don’t suppose they wanted to raise my hopes because I will say here I was dreadfully homesick. I cried every day because I wanted to go home and be with my mother.

My mother couldn’t visit because she herself was too weak and too unwell, she was all but bedridden and I was just so very, very sad and so homesick and I kept saying “Why can’t I go home?”
and they said “When all your sores are better and when your skins better you can go home and as soon as the liberation comes you will be able to go home” I don’t suppose they wanted to raise my hopes thinking I was going to go home when I wasn’t. Any how the nurses woke me up at 6 o’clock in the morning and said “come up”, there isn’t now but there used to be a little lookout at the top of the hospital, they’ve made an apex roof now but there did used to be a lookout area. I went up on the roof with the nurses they said “That’s the British Navy out there, they’re here, you’re going to be all right… Have your breakfast and you can go home and you will be all right from now on”.

It was all the Christmasses and all the birthdays and everything you can think of, all rolled into that one moment. I had just had my birthday in fact I was allowed to go home on the day of my birthday which was the last day of April and as you know we were liberated on May 9th but I was only allowed out for the day, I had to go back to the hospital in the evening. But I was walking around on my own, there was nobody to come and fetch me or take me home or anything. It was only from Hirzel St, well, Hospital Lane to Pedvin Street but you would have thought with enemy soldiers around… but nothing happened to the children, I will say, the Germans just, well they love children don’t they?
RUTH WALSH

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