Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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There are many departments in the Red Cross. The In- formation Department the Newspaper Department, the Parcel Department, the Prisoner of War Department, the Wounded and Missing Department, the Killed in Action Department, the Motor Dniving Department, where arrangements are made for taking wounded men for drives. The visiting Department, which provides visitors for the hospital. The Hospitality Depart- ment in which arrangements are made for officers who have been granted sick leave, and have nowhere to go. Numbers of ladies,, in all parts of the British Isles, have offered to befriend and take care of these officers. They have been very kind to Canadians and all Canadians appreciate and thank them for it. This description rather sounds as if it were a case of all work and no play, but many were the jolly times we had when friends were on leave. There were luncheons, dinners, suppers, theatre parties little dances. Everyone exerted themselves to make the men happy during their holiday and they certainly cheered us up. Every few weeks an officer would come on leave and tell you he had seen your brother the day before, say where he was, how he was looking and when he expected to come over. It made no end of a difference to one ' s peace of mind. The life was busy and hard and there were discomforts too, but those blessed leaves made up for everything and one and all we say ' God bless the man who invented them . DOROTHY MACPHAIL. Most prominent to-day among the work of old Trafalgar girls is naturally that relating to the war and the Editors have done their best to obtain a complete list of those taking part in such work, but, lacking an Old Girls Society, it has been almost impossible to so so : — they would be very glad of the names of any old girls which do not, but should, appear in the magazine so that they may be put in next year ' s number. 17

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wakened in the middle of the night. It was positively blood- curdling to hear the bombs drop with a sound of tearing glass, and to see the shrapnel bursting in the sky, and one began to be alarmed when a bomb burst around the corner. At last, Oh blessed sound, the ' ' All Clear signal was given and we climbed gratefully into bed again. The rationing was strange, but one soon got used to margarine, and one slice of bread at each meal, a small slice too, but we made up on other things; meat once a day, and only one slice then; no butter or sugar of course, and for seven months not a potato could be found except perhaps in a museum as an extinct vegetable. These were very minor discomforts for one would put up a great deal more for the sake of those precious Leaves and one and all we say God bless the person who invented them. Life in London those days was interesting but strenuous. Everyone was doing something, nursing, canteen work, motor driving, office work in a government office, or replacing a man who had listed . The Canadian Red Cross offices were the gen- eral meeting ground for all Canadians and there one was fairly sure of meeting all one ' s friends. Each department in the office had different work to do, but they all worked together to maka our wounded men happy and to give their relatives all possible comfort. When a man is wounded the news comes to the Red Cross either through the Record Office, or the hospital in which he is. An index card is made out with his name and full address as well as the address of his next of kin . This card has on it all the information obtainable about him, each change of hospital is entered, and also his condition. There are visitors appointed to each hospital and these visitors send in reports upon the men. This report is entered on his card and is also sent to his relatives to tell them how he is progressing. The visitors see that each man has his small kit and they provide cigarettes and arrange to have newspapers sent. These requests come in with the reports and are dealt with by their respective departments. All this means a great deal of work but we were only too glad to be able to do it and many were the appreciative letters from relatives that came in by every Canadian mail. Each days work had to be finished on its appointed day, none could be left over, so it was sometimes necessary to work until midnight. Fortiinately the work soon became mechanical. One had not time to stop and think what it really meant when those sheets of casualties came in, which was truly merciful, for it would have driven us mad. After the battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, the casualties were very heavy and for some weeks, the work could not be finished until well on into the evening but the walk home across the park, when the sun had gone down, and the search lights were chasing each other across the sky, quite made one forget the tiredness of the long day. 16

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LIFE AT MACDONALD Among students at Macdonald College this year are three who tired of Latin, French, Maths, and the other trials of the 6th form, have come out here to learn the gentle art of house- keeping. Here a word of warning to any of those wishing to follow in our steps! Many people consider Household Science as mere child ' s play after the arduous duties of school , but on arriving here, they will learn that such is not the case. At six forty-five a.m., a gong, which rivals the old Trafalgar firebell, clangs through the corridors, announcing that dawn has broken, and that once more we must resume our daily duties, likewise don our green and white stripes (our uniforms). A few moments later (or so it seems to us), another bell rings, summoning us to breakfast, and in order to insure a seat in the rather crowded dining-hall, many last rites of dressing are performed on the stairs. Breakfast over, there is a hurried rush to the janitor ' s cup- board to get a broom, other than ' ' Toothless Johnny , one posses- sing only two or three hairs, and we proceed to dust, sweep and otherwise tidy our rooms for the inspection which takes place while we are at lectures. Eight-thirty finds us all ready for the first lecture, which is only a one hour period. Such subjects as Nutrition, Household Administration, Physiology, and Household Accounts are taught us, and the mysteries of which are gradually made clear. A period of practical work then follows for the rest of the morning, and we either took, sew, do laundry-work, or house clean. Although our first efforts in these departments seemed some- what futile, we feel sure that in the end, we shall be experts. Twelve- thirty finds us once more in the dining-room, where fish days are as much appreciated as any others. In the afternoon we have another lecture period of two hours, in which Chemistry, Bacteriology, Physics, Poultry, and Home Gardening are instilled into our minds. For the rest of the after- noon we are free to frequent the many shops of Ste. Annes, including ■ ' Tommy ' s and Mrs. Wrights . If you want any further knowledge of these haunts, come out to see us. After tea in the winter, comes skating, or on bad nights, dancing; and in summer we wander over our lovely camps until the whistle on the Power House calls us to two hours of study. During this time the halls are silent as the tomb and nothing is heard save the stealthy tread of the night watchman. Study hour ends at ten and till lights go out at eleven, we amuse our- selves in various wayfe, such as attending feeds, gossipping, and last but not least, taking baths. It might be of interest to the 18