The horrors of war

FIFTY years on from the Korean War, former nursing officer Tessa Lawless remembers her part in the conflict - and her visit to Hiroshima. Tessa, Bournemouth-born and educated, lives in Queens Park and has four children and three grandchildren. She was a member of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) from 1951 to 1955. In 1953, she was posted to RAF Changi in Singapore, and spent the next two years in the Far East.

She later wrote about her heart-rending experiences for the PMRAFNS Officer's Association Magazine, and extracts from those articles appear here...

ONE of Tessa's first tasks was on a Cas Evac (Casualty Evacuation Service) mission to accompany 33 injured POWs from the Korean War from Japan back to Singapore. The plane, a Hastings, developed a technical hitch at a stop-over in the Philippines - and the problem was fixed with one of her hair-clips!

While in Japan she was taken to Hiroshima, where the Americans dropped an atomic bomb in 1945. "I met some casualties... many had limbs missing and had been badly burned. I was told that 22,000 bodies had floated down the river nearby and hardly anything was left standing but the shell of a domed building, where I had my photo taken."

Tessa remembers high-quality, low-price goods in the shops, including a tiny camera that had all the latest technology, including flash and even a timing device that let you appear in your own photo.

When the plane landed back in Singapore the runway was swarming with a welcoming party of uniformed and civilian dignitaries sheltering from the sun beneath umbrellas. Tessa hadn't realised she was tending to the very first batch of released prisoners, and was caught up in a media frenzy as TV and press from around the world reported the news.

On her second visit to Japan, she faced a different sort of problem. On the flight out to the Philippines the plane was hit by a typhoon and lost power in one of its four engines - only the pilot's skill saved the lives of those on board.

Back at Changi, Tessa worked mainly in the operating theatre, but also spent a lot of time on the wards, where her patients included Chinese and Malays.

"I was on the men's surgical ward one day when we received an alert about a plane, carrying a load of families, that was threatening to crash-land.

"The wheels had failed to lower ready for landing and there was a danger of fire breaking out. The pilot circled the airfield several times to get rid of the fuel, and, after a very tense time, he skilfully made a belly-landing with all passengers unharmed.

"Unfortunately, the pilot himself was admitted with very serious injuries, and in a critical condition. As we carefully attempted to take his clothes off, we gradually discovered that every bone in his body appeared to be broken, including his jawbone.

"His face was badly injured, and he appeared to be in a comatosed state, but not enough to be unaware of our reaction to our findings. We were amazed to find that he was conscious and trying to talk.

"It was difficult to decipher his words, they came out in a very jerky manner, but it was even more amazing when we were able to understand a few words, to realise that he was making jokes about his injuries.

"His courage amazed us! We had never seen anyone with so many injuries and in such a critical condition treat the situation so casually and with such humour. No wonder he landed that plane with such skill and dedication, and it was quite obvious that he had no thought for his own safety, but only for his passengers and crew.

"After extensive surgery and many weeks of hospitalisation, I am happy to say that he recovered. I was happy also for his very pretty wife, whom I saw the day after the crash, sitting quietly on her own, looking out towards the sea. She must have hoped, as we did, that his courage would pull him through."

Tessa thought the pilot's injuries would be the worst she'd ever see. Tragically, not long afterwards, she was proved wrong...

"I was on night duty when I heard the most dreadful screams and wailing that it was possible to hear. I rushed out to the balcony and saw an ambulance drawing up... one of the doctors appeared below with the patient and called up to me to get an injection of morphia ready.

"I knew then that this patient was for me, and it was really serious. I ran down with the injection, but it was not enough to quieten the patient, whose wailing could be heard throughout the hospital.

"This was undoubtedly the worst case I had ever encountered in my nursing experience, then and up to the end of my career. Here was a young man of 19 who had walked into the propellor of an aircraft that he was guiding, ready for take-off.

"The propellor sliced through his upper body almost three times, involving the side of his head, his chest and his shoulder, which left his arm hanging off, as well as brain injuries which are better left undescribed.

"Worse than this, he was still conscious. One side of his face was unharmed, including his eye. I shall never forget that gorgeous brown eye looking up at me with a desperate pleading expression. He put out his unharmed hand for me to hold and gripped me tightly.

"The surgeon had been sent for and arrived immediately, and I remember the look of horror on his face as he saw the patient for the first time. It did not take long to realise that there was nothing he could do to repair this damage in the long term.

"He tried to relieve his intense pain as much as possible, but his condition was deteriorating. This obviously handsome young man, with dark brown eyes and hair, and an excellent physique, kept his eye fixed on me for comfort and assurance, and would not let go of my hand.

"I was devastated to realise that this was all I could do for him."

Tessa stayed with the young man until he died. "I have never regretted staying with this boy until the end, because his need for me at that time was greater than any other living person, and if he was helped in any way by this, then it was worth the inconvenience the ward may have suffered.

"I was asked to write to the boy's mother, and, although he died peacefully in the end, I didn't feel there was anything I could say that would lessen her grief, except to offer her comfort in that knowledge.

"The aircraft were always heard at quarter to six every morning, revving up for the day's take-off, but there wasn't a day that passed at this time that my thoughts didn't go out to that young man and his family."