November 12, 1916
It was about 2:00 PM in Southampton, England and Samantha had already bid her grandparents goodbye. Now she was on a train with Rebecca, waiting for the docks to come into her vision. There were very few children aboard the train and the girl and the woman were confined to their compartment, unable to move anywhere but where they were. They were dressed in their afternoon clothes, with their uniforms packed in suitcases lying beside them. Samantha's uniform was given to her by the Red cross while Rebecca's was a makeshift that she bought from a clothing store, which she Samantha worked on together.
Samantha was reading Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum which Aunt Cornelia had given to her on her last birthday while Rebecca read the Daily Telegraph. She looked over page 60 to see Rebecca still immersed in the funnies when she said.
"You know, it would have been nice if Agnes and Agatha came with us. We could defiantly use a bigger party."
"I said the same thing about my brothers and sisters," said Rebecca. "but my family would object to me going."
"How are they handling things with you being home?"
"Pretty well. In Mother's last letter, she told me that Father managed to evade the draft board. I don't know if my brothers or cousins have been drafted, they're too young to fight….or so I think."
At the precise moment, the train slowly approached the ginormous berth, where His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic stood proud and patriotic beside the cranes and crowds of nurses and doctors waiting to board. Her master for this voyage, her sixth voyage, was Captain Charles Bartlett, nicknamed "Iceberg Charlie" for his ability to smell icebergs from a distance. Some would even think that he should have been Titanic's captain instead of Edward Smith. But all the same, he was well-loved by his crew and he had an almost-perfect safety record. He had been in charge of Britannic for the past year since his son Ellis died in the Gallipoli Campaign on May 13th and was also appointed the title of Captain Royal Navy Reserve. He would be overseeing 477 employees of the White Star Line and 302 members of it's victualling department. They would be aided by 73 nurses, 16 boy scouts, 5 captains, 4 lieutenants, 2 chaplains and one major with a couple of privates and sergeants from the lower ranks of the Royal Army Medical Corps.
When Samantha and Rebecca saw the ship, they had to admit that they were amazed by her size, which exceeded Lusitania's. After getting off the train, they found a stall to change into their uniforms. This was so that they could prove to their new superiors aboard that were perfectly professional. They joined the line of nurses, went through a quick health inspection and walked slowly up the gangplank to D-Deck, where their names were written down by the ship's purser Claude Lancaster. He first assumed Samantha to be a much older women, but when he saw Rebecca, he gave her a once over and asked.
"Aren't you a little young to be a nurse?"
"I could say the same thing about the Czar's daughters, but even they have to do their part, as I should do mine. Since I am also an actress, I think the wounded could use at least some form of entertainment."
"You're not wrong about that," said Purser Lancaster.
And without any other word, Samantha and Rebecca entered the belly of the ship.
On the bridge, Captain Barlett and the ship's Assistant Commander Harry William Dyke were surveying the newcomers.
"Not bad," the captain said. "At least they're experienced."
"Some of them might have had their share of experience at the Royal London Hospital," replied the assistant commander. "But I'll only be able to confirm this if I spoke with some of the ladies."
"You'll have plenty of time aboard this voyage. Or would you rather serve as captain of a battleship? I know I would be one if this war started ten years ago."
"Well, Britannic and Olympic each are the largest ships in the world, sir. I am honored to serve aboard her."
"Indeed."
He paused for a moment.
"Mr. Dyke, why not you go down and introduce yourself to the nurses? We will be leaving in twenty minutes."
"Right, sir."
As the nurses pushed their way, taking in the ship's plain looking interiors, Samantha said to Rebecca.
"Should we ask someone where our cabin is?"
"I think we should, I just hope it isn't someplace too far."
Rebecca saw the closest nurse in front of her and tapped her back. She turned clockwise, Rebecca expecting her to say "yes?' when she flopped sideways to the floor.
"Miss nurse?"
Samantha came over.
"I think she's fainted."
"Probably just seasickness," said a nurse nearby. "This is Violet Jessop. I'm Shiela MacBeth."
Nurse MacBeth shook hands with the lady and the girl who introduced themselves.
"I'm Nurse Parkington."
"And I'm Nurse Rubin."
"A girl that age ought to be helping the boy scouts," said Nurse MacBeth.
"Are there boys around my age here?" asked Rebecca in wonder.
"Plenty," the nurse nodded. "They should be around there."
She pointed the group of 6 uniformed boys congregating by the hallway. Rebecca went over to them while D. W. Stevens Muir, the ship's surgeon, went to revive Miss Jessop with the help of medical officer Harold Goodman.
"Excuse me, hello?"
George Perman, 15 and a half years old and a member of the 2nd Southampton Scout Group turned to Rebecca.
"Well, hello, hello, hello."
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."
"We were just talking about how we plan to help the nurses out aboard ship, but you look as though you'll be helping us."
"If I was apart of the Girls Scouts Association, I would be saying 'yes', but I'm an apprentice nurse to Nurse Parkington."
"Would you like to look around the ship with us?" asked Victor Mackenzie.
"Maybe later when you're all settled in," said the Scouts leader O. B. Coe.
Some of the scouts moaned at this and so they parted. As George turned back to take one last look at Rebecca, the sound of the ship's whistle blew. The time was 2:23 PM.
"Looks like we're underway," was the last thing George Perman said to Rebecca before he ran off to join his peers.
Samantha and Rebecca found their quarters in a small cabin forward aft of D-Deck on the starboard side, which was big enough to fit two beds. It was the first cabin that stood to the left at the mouth of entrance between the corridor and the dining room. The room was completely painted in white and it had two lanterns on a brown dresser.
"We might as well make the best of it," Samantha said to Rebecca. "Let's unpack."
Meanwhile, down below, the stokers fed the first lumps of coal to the boilers, the engineers had been given the orders to go ahead and the electrician were hard at work to ensure that the generators were functioning…Britannic was on her way.
In the dining room, everyone had gathered before the ship's crew. Captain Bartlett gave the announcements.
"Welcome to His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic. I am Captain Charles Alfred Bartlett. We are engaged upon a noble mission to provide aid and comfort to our fellow men, who have offered up their lives in the defense of our country. In seven days' time, we should arrive at the Greek Island of Mudros. We will return to Liverpool with some 3000 wounded soldiers. In these trying times, you young ladies have volunteered to help them in the road to recovery and victory. For this, myself, the officers and the entire crew of this vessel salute you."
Samantha and Rebecca, standing beside their fellow nurses led by Matron Elizabeth Ann Dowse, knew that they would be in for quite an adventure…if not a particularly gory one.
