A Nurse in Action

by Evelyn Prentis

‘We were quickly learning to live with war. We became very proficient at moving the patients who could walk quickly to the shelters when the sirens went. We were equally proficient at talking those who couldn’t walk into believing that they would be safe where they were. Some believed us, others didn’t.’

Surprising Matron as well as herself, Evelyn Prentis managed to pass her Finals and become a staff-nurse. Encouraged, she took the brave leap of moving from Nottingham to London – brave not least because war was about to break.

Not only did the nurses have to cope with stray bombs and influxes of patients from as far away Dunkirk, but there were also RAF men stationed nearby – which caused considerable entertainment and disappointment, and a good number of marriages …

But despite all the disruption to the hospital routine, Evelyn’s warm and compelling account of a nurse in action, shows a nurse’s life would always revolve around the comforting discomfort of porridge and rissoles, bandages and bedpans.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Brought up in Lincolnshire, Evelyn Prentis (real name Evelyn Taws) left home at eighteen to become a nurse. She later moved to London during the war, where she married and raised her family. Like so many other nurses, she went back to hospital and used any spare time she might have had bringing up her children and running her home.
Evelyn Prentis died in 2001 at the age of 85. Her daughters Judith Campbell and Barbara Mumford say: ‘We have always felt that these books are special, as indeed was our mother. She was a larger than life character with a disarming and extreme sense of humour. We are delighted that our mother’s books are being republished. We miss her greatly and are thrilled that her legacy lives on for another generation.’

Reviews

[Elaine Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story as such - not as funny as it claimed to be - I found one funny part for which I had a little giggle.
The beginning was a bit slow - but then it got going in the middle and the ending was a bit abrupt.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-meeting Evelyn Prentis in this book was a comforting experience, as if coming home to find an old friend sitting on my sofa waiting to talk. I hope to read Mrs. Prentis's other books of which there are four or five, she died , sadly in 2001 (having been born in 1915). Prentis tells about her life as a nurse during WW 2 from a distinctively unique perspective. Since the second World War brings out the nostalgia in me, I adhere myself to any books about WW 2 from a first person testimonial, at times growing desperate when the pickings are slim . And so, the aforementioned desperation I might read a book on a specific battle which is always disappointing as I don't even LIKE reading, watching or even hearing about battles. Which probably begs the question Why do you like WW 2? The way the Brits handled the situation has impressed me and imprinted on my thought patterns in such a way that I cannot get enough of reading about how they survivved.

[LAURA JONES · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book that offers an eye-opening look at what nurses had to deal with in days gone by. This time, the nurses are not only coping with the usual illnesses, but they are also dealing with the war that is ongoing. having moved to London, she was obviously in the thick of things, which most people would not have done to be honest. worth reading

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting true account of nursing just outside London during the second world war.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable and entertaining account of nursing during the war

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super cute story, very well-written. It gave such great perspective about day to day life as a nurse during the war and fosters much gratitude in the reader for life as we have it today.

[Mrsgeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book, the author is a newly-qualified staff nurse, working in a hospital in Nottingham. Gradually, her group of fellow nurses breaks up and as war approaches, she and a friend decide to move closer to London, to a sanatorium to do the TB certificate. She freely admits that TB terrifies her but she goes nonetheless.
Although she is reasonably well-educated, she knows little about what is going on the world and really couldn’t care less. Quite an indictment on female education at the time. However, it does mean she had her head in the sand about the possibility of bombing and all the other privations likely to result from it.
Her hospital did suffer from the occasional bomb and it had to be evacuated to a more remote area at one point, but everyone’s eyes were opened when many of the TB patients were sent home to free beds for the incoming soldiers evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk. From that point on, life became much grimmer, as rationing took its toll.
However, life wasn’t the endless drudgery we often think wartime must have been and there were many humerous episodes as well as romance, to liven things up. The author may not have lived through the Blitz, then the V1s, and V2s towards the end of the war as her hospital was situated outside the capital and away from any industrial area but she did encounter the aftermath. I would like to think I would have dealt with all the changes that brought as well as she did.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get in to this book but by half way through I found myself enjoying it as I had the first. Despite the story taking place during the years of World War 2 which has a direct effect on Evenlyn's life- as it did everyones, it doesn't use the war as a timeline, so unless you know your history you won't be able to tell whether shes in 1939, 1940, 41 etc. And I like that fact - it makes this book different from other biographies ive read set in this troubling time period. Worth a read if you like a bit of history and or an interest in nursing history.
I won't read th next one for a while but Ive no doubt I will read it at some point.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as a sequel to A Nurse in Time.

[Lizzie Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Not as captivating as the 1st book but once I got about halfway through it came into its own and was enjoyable. Looking forward to the next book.

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the first book and it was a very quick read. Interesting, but it skims over emotional depth.

[Louise Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice old fashioned read.

[Jo Barrett]

So far really enjoying the book.

[Hayley.yule · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good insight into working and life through WWII - enjoyed reading it.