Joyce's War Read Free

throughout the war and frequently sent her books and literary journals. They remained friends after the war, corresponding frequently until Mali’s death from cancer in 1951.
    Ruthin , referring to second cousins Mabel and Bert, whose names are not mentioned but who lived in Ruthin, North Wales.

    On board HTS Otranto
    Mona Stewart , who registered as a QA at the same time as Joyce; they were companions, colleagues and friends throughout the war. Mona married John Newman . Mona also served on HMHS Karapara .
    Bill Williams , a fellow Australian, from Adelaide, whom Joyce met in London in 1940; they were together in France and Alexandria. She married a naval captain in 1941 but died of cancer at a young age.

    On board HMHS Karapara
    Major T.C. Ramchandani , Chief Medical Officer in 1942. He was bundled off Karapara in 1944 on a stretcher after twenty-one days of enteritis had reduced him to a skeleton. He recovered and served the rest of the war in India and Burma. He wrote to Joyce after the war, thanking her for her support to India and independence.

    And …
    Kenneth Hannan Stanley , to whom Joyce was engaged from July 1941 until September 1942. He was in 5th Indian Troop Transport Corps and in Cyprus. He married Sheila Allen, an Assistant Installation Superintendent, in December 1946 at Rawalpindi, India.
    Bob , a good friend. Stationed in Basrah and possibly an army doctor.
    David Herbert Davies , Joyce’s first husband. Joyce married David (or Dafydd as she called him) in May 1943 at St Andrew’s Church, Calcutta.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT
AC1
Aircraftsman Class 1
A/C
Air Commander
ADMS
Assistant Director Medical Services
AGH
Australian General Hospital
AIF
Australian Imperial Force
AN
Australian Navy
BA
British Army
BI
British Information / Intelligence
BGH
British General Hospital
BMH
British Military Hospital
BORs
British Other Ranks
CB
Confined to Barracks
CCS
Casualty Clearing Station
CIW
Clinical Investigation Wing
CO
Commanding Officer
DDMS
Deputy Director Medical Services
DIL
Dangerously Ill List
FC
Field Cashier
HMAS
His Majesty’s Australian Ship
HMT
His Majesty’s Troopship
ICC
Indian Casualty Clearing Station
IGH
Indian General Hospital
IMS
Indian Medical Service
JOLs
John O’London’s , literary magazine
ME
Middle East
MEF
Middle East Forces
MO
Medical Officer
NAAFI
Navy, Army & Air Force Institute
NYD
Not yet diagnosed
NZ
New Zealand
OMO
Orderly Medical Officer
OTC
Officers’ Training Camp
PO
Principal Officer
POW
Prisoners of War
PM
Post-Mortem
QA
Queen Alexandra (nurse)
RAMC
Royal Army Medical Corps
RAMS
Royal Army Medical Services
RASC
Royal Army Service Corps
RRC
Royal Red Cross
RTO
Railway Transport Office/r
SRMO
Senior Royal Medical Officer
STO
Senior Technical Officer
TAB
Typhoid and Para-Typhoid Inoculation
QAIMNS(R)   
Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve)
VAD
Voluntary Aid Division
VD
Venereal Disease – now called sexually transmitted diseases/infections

JOYCE’S WAR
    1940
    Wales – London – France – Troopship Otranto – Egypt Cairo – Alexandria British General Hospital
    August 6th 1940
    Onward bound for the Middle East
on board HMT Otranto
    At sea … somewhere north of Liverpool, the Irish coast to the left and the Scottish to the right. We embarked on Saturday, leaving London Euston at 6.30am, having gone to bed at 3.30am the same morning and arisen at 4.30am. I slept most of the journey to Liverpool. We had hopefully thought of some hours at large in Liverpool to finish our endless shopping, but we were run out to the docks, in the train, and then after standing with our hand luggage on the platform for an hour or so, we were hustled onto the boat – the OTRANTO – all set for the first stage of adventure. After some reshuffling Mona Stewart and I are able to share a cabin together which is very small – I practically have to retire to bed to let Mona dress and vice versa. The chair and the ladder are the only moveable pieces of