Nurse Olwen Davies

by Ann Lewis

Nurse Olwen (Dolly) Davies of Gwladys Street, Pant, was a gentle lady who hid the strong determination that allowed her to complete 42 years of nursing – sometimes under the most trying conditions.

Dolly was born in 1904, and undertook her fever training at Heather Green Hospital, Lewisham in the 1920s, and subsequently her State Registered Nursing at Whipscross Hospital, London – a 600 bed Council Hospital.

She always felt it a pleasure to return to her home town, as dear old Tom Price, who worked at Pant Station greeted all the young people returning home to the village by name, giving each of them a warm handshake, and escorting them from the top to the lower platform for safety. In 1924, Dolly paid £1.8s for the return fare to London.

Dolly had decided to specialise in fever nursing. Fever nursing meant nursing all sorts of infectious diseases including diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, meningitis and T.B. cases.

She was very worried the first time she nursed a tracheotomy case – a small child. It required a constant watch on her small patient to prevent the tracheotomy tube slipping out or blocking; using a feather and bi-carbonate of soda solution helped keep the tube clear. Care was required that no injury occurred from their surroundings, as the child needed moistened air to relieve breathing difficulties. This was achieved by the use of two primus stoves, with steam kettles constantly on the boil, which required frequent filling to prevent them boiling dry. Water jugs were used as there was no water tap in the room. It proved a long hard, unforgettable night for her.

Later, Dolly was ward sister for 6 years at Paddington Hospital, London. During this time she was a reserve for the Queen Alexandra Nursing Corp. When war was declared in September 1939, she commenced 6 years service as a Captain. Her service covered North Africa, Germany, and France, with long periods of time being spent in ‘field hospitals’.

From Alexandria, Egypt, she was sent to Tobruk to bring back the wounded soldiers, but later, the patients were brought to them. One time she and her colleagues nursed a whole hospital of wounded German prisoners. Dolly always treated them no differently to our own men.

After 4 years service, she was given four weeks leave at the Crickhowell Camp near Abergavenny, before being sent back to Normandy in the aftermath of the D-Day Landings, to commence the long trek across France, Belgium and Holland. Whilst in Holland she and her fellow nurses were told to prepare to go into a concentration camp – they were one of the first medical teams to go into the infamous Belsen Camp.

They were warned what to expect, and told not to allow the sights they would see affect them, or to make a nuisance of themselves by being ill, but to be proud, as many British people would be only too willing to do what they were about to undertake.

For her war service, she was awarded the following medals: the 1939-45 Campaign Medal, the Victory Medal, the Africa Star, the France and Germany Star, and the Defence Medal.

After the War, she spent two years at Merthyr General Hospital as a ward sister, having to ‘live in’ at the hospital. The nurses were called from bed to attend patients admitted during the night, and were still expected to carry on working their normal shift the next day. She later became a district nurse to enable her to devote more time to her ill father.

Dolly died in February 2001 at the age of 96.