Original subtitles

Next Tuesday is April 25, a year

since the Gallipoli landing.

A year, already.

Somehow I don't think we're going

to beat the Germans any faster if you don't

fall in love with Mr. Dooley.

Love?

You haven't seen Harry for weeks.

You don't even know if he's alive.

Mr. Dooley, he's gone.

He was selected for officer training.

Olive!

I got a telegram from Harry.

He's going to pass through Rouen.

I'm going to see Harry today.

Good luck to you too, sweetheart.

I'm leaving No.

1 AGH.

The AIF matron-in-chief istaking furlough to Australia.

[sobbing] I'll miss you.

I'll be back.

You see, I'm going to volunteer.

Pat!

The casual clearing station.

There's one quite to near Trois Arbres.

Thank you.

There was a battle ata place called Fromelles.

Harry was killed. [poignant music]

[theme music]

Oh, cripes.

Artery forceps.

Are you done yet?

Coming, Captain.

[grunts]

Oh, dear.

Sorry.

I'll put yours under now.

Count-- count for me.

One, two.

Oh, goodness.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

There's no time to get to the latrines.

Get read to bring him up fast, soon as I'm done.

I'm almost there.

Ah!

[clattering]

Sister, you'll have to finish the anesthetic.

Chloroform's just there.

But I-- I don't know--

Mine's in hypovolemic shock.

I need her to be ready.

Give me one-tenth strychnine.

Mr. Cooper can do that.

This boy's spleen has ruptured.

If I don't get it out, he's gone.

OK.

And bring me someether while you're there.

- Yes. - Cooper over here.

Yes, Major.

We'll do him first.

What if I give him too much?

Two drops at a time.

Hello, there.

Is it over?

Just relax.

We'll be with you the whole time.

Can you count with me to 50?

- More ligature. - One.

- One. - Dropping.

Two.

Three. That's it.

Keep going.

Four.

He's turned a funny color, Captain.

I think he's going to--

[retching]

--vomit.

[sighs]

Come on, Sister.

That's it.

[dramatic music]

- He's ready for surgery.- Very good, Sister.

- Is everything ready? - Yes, Major.

Do it.

[dramatic music]

[gasps]

We did it.

We saved him.

Good.

And ours is under.

[coughing]

[footsteps]

At your service.

Sister Ross King?

Alice!

Alice!

Yes?

We can go.

The day Sisters are here.

[footsteps]

The son you raised was kind,thoughtful, and so very brave.

I haven't heard from his battalion.

But each day, I pray that this terrible news

will be contradicted.

[sound of battle]

Good morning.

How was your shift?

I'm writing to Harry's mother, let her know

I'll forward on any news I get.

Wouldn't she have been informed already?

There's been no confirmation.

He could still be alive.

But didn't someone actually see it happen?

A Sergeant saw him fall.

But there's been no corroboration.

No record of his body being found.

He's not on the German--

[clears throat] he's not on their list.

Oh, you've ripped your stocking.

I've got a spare one inside.

Going to breakfast.

[footsteps]

Here she is.

Is it true?

You put a patient under?

Oh, we were very shorthanded.

And Captain Mooney talkedme through the whole thing.

But you still did it.

You gave an anesthetic.

- Yes. - What type?

A local?

General?

Yes, indeed.

It was a general.

Imagine if you'd given too much and he

[imitates choking noise].

[laughs] I mean, how did the op go?

Did the patient survive?

Oh, crumbs.

I don't know.

Looks like you're about to find out.

Sister Steele.

Hello, Captain.

About what happened in theater this morning,

Major Springer and I both agreedyou did ripping good work.

Indeed, if it wasn't foryou jumping in when you did

and keeping a level head, I daresay we'd have lost

one or both of those cases.

So the patient I put under, he's still alive?

Recovering very well.

Oh!

If only we had one of you for every theater

across the frontier, we'dstand a fighting chance.

[footsteps]

You!

[laughs]

This porridge looks good.

Our cooks are such bricks.

[laughs]

I got you something, Alice.

It's not much.

And I know you and LieutenantMoffit weren't married.

We were engaged.

Well, I just thought howhard this must be for you.

And, well, perhaps youcould tie it around your hat

next time you go out.

Thank you.

But it's too generous.

Oh, please. I insist.

I have no time for frills and furbelows.

I just-- I have to check the post.

[footsteps]

She's still a bit jaggy.

Sergeant, these liststhey publish in Australia,

did they come through here first?

The casualty list? No.

They get sent straight tothe newspapers back home.

This is from last month.Do you have any recent papers?

No, I don't.

I just distribute the mail, love.

[footsteps]

[ambient camp sounds]

All fed?

Most of them are asleep.

Is that an ambulance?

I didn't hear a bugle.

And that ward's full.

We've got one, two, three,four patients sitting out there

we could put into chairs.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Sister.

[laughs]

Same to you.

You're here and I'm on shift.

Ah, it's nearly over.

I'll cover for you. Go on.

Imshi.

What are you doing here?

I broke my specs.

So I spoke to the Colonelabout getting your eye

quack here to fix them.

Colonel could only square meas far as number 12 British.

So you bribed a driver totake you the rest of the way?

Patski!

[laughs] How did you break your glasses?

Ah, just under my foot.

[light music]

[rooster crowing]

Should have got a two egg omelette,

seeing as we're sharing.

Hm, economy's going to win the war.

It's good of Pete to letyou scurry off like that.

I'm always covering forher and Norm when he visits.

Norm's her sweetheart.

So Pete and Norm are fairly serious then?

I wouldn't cover for her if they weren't.

Hm.

No, of course not.

But, as my friend Alice likes to say,

you've got to cast sweetsin the cup while you can.

Someone's in a hurry.

Hm.

[light music]

Patski, I can't.

[sighs] It's all right, kiddo.

[footsteps]

[phonograph playing]

I might be able to get a bitof leave in a couple of weeks.

I was thinking I take you up to Blighty.

It's not as easy for us nurses getting leave.

We're in short supply.

[distant explosions]

[laughs] Fritz sure has a fancy for us tonight.

[siren sounding]

That's the gas.

[siren sounding]

Where's your mask?

I haven't got one.

No.

No, no, no.

[siren sounding]

I need a mask!

I need a gas mask!

Do you have a gas mask?

Try the dispensary.

And get inside!

Come on, Dooley!

Come on!

[door opens]

Have you got any more?

It's my last one.

But there's soda.

[footsteps]

[liquid pouring]

Thanks.

Keep this on.

Slow breaths.

SOLDIER: Help me!

Ah!

Jesus.

Stay here.

Come on, here, inside.

- Please help me. - Olive!

I've got one here.

I can't see.

I-- I can't see.

Come on.

This way.

Sit down.

Keep your head still.

I can't see. Help!

Keep still.

Help me!

[screaming] [coughing]

[liquid pouring]

More soda.

[screaming]

You'll be all right. Keep still.

Now just keep still.

Shh, shh.

Take deep, slow breaths.

Help me!

[coughing]

I know it stings.

But try to stay still for me.

It will ease.

[coughing]

It's not something to trifle over.

One drop too much, you could kill the patient.

Not enough, he wakes up inthe middle of the operation.

But there's a shortage of anesthetists.

And not just in our unit fromwhat Captain Mooney was saying.

What's this?

They've announced an anesthetist training

program for nurses.

Might put a few noses out of joint.

But it's a good initiative.

Kit, is that a Victoria newspaper?

Yes.

But it's two months old.

Are there any future nurseanesthetists at this table?

Hilda?

Oh, I don't think I'm suitable.

Oh, that's not what Isaw in the theater, Sister.

[laughs] [sighs] Alice?

Oh, I don't think I'm fit for new tricks.

I need someone to catch my mistakes.

[sighs]

We'll get to theSchimmelbusch masks later.

No doubt you all need afew goes getting it right.

But, first, Sister Steele,I'm about to open an abscess.

What form of anesthesia would you use?

Local anesthetic, ethyl chloride.

Using Richardson's apparatus.

Correct.

And for anintra-abdominal, Sister--

Sister Ross King?

Chloroform, using the opendrop method for induction,

followed by ether.

That's correct.

Unless the patient haslow blood pressure or other

idiosyncrasies, in which case the better

choice would be nitrous oxide-ethyl

chloride combination.

Very thorough.

Thank you, Sister.

Now I can't stress this enough.

You don't have to look so surprised.

My faculties are quite intact.

DOCTOR: --and terrible accidentshave been known to happen

when a flame is held too near.

[ambient camp sounds]

I poked my head into the Sister's mess.

I couldn't see you.

I've been making enemies there of late.

Have you got news?

Please.

Alice, I don't think we should hold out.

ALICE: For?

For getting Harry's grave made up.

Well, what do you mean?

One of the men from his battalion

told me they couldn't get to the ones

who'd fallen between the lines.

[coughing]

Should I make you a lemon toddy?

What about the--

the wounded?

The stretcher bearers weren't collecting them.

Well, for days, one could see an arm wave.

But it was impossible to get tothem beyond a certain distance.

So if he wasn't brought backto our side by our people,

then the Germans have taken him.

[sound of battle]

[distant screaming]

SOLDIER: I'm hit!

I'm hit!

He could have been taken prisoner.

Or buried in a mass grave.

The report is that he was killed in action.

But no one knows what happened to his body.

If the Germans found him, and he was dead,

then why isn't his name on their list?

Well, if-- if he'd losthis ID and his paperwork,

then they wouldn't know what name

to put on their death list.

[dramatic music]

[footsteps]

Dear Miss Deakin, Iwould be terribly grateful

if you could forward me any information you find

surrounding the death of Lieutenant Harry

Larry Moffitt, 53rd Battalion.

[sobbing] He is reported tohave been killed in action.

But as I have not beeninformed of a place of burial,

nor received any news thathis body has been retrieved,

I am considering the not very cheerful

possibility that he may have been taken

prisoner behind German lines.

[footsteps]

[sobbing]

[poignant music]

That's it.

You're up.

Hello, Sister Ross King.

Good morning, Matron Finlay.

There's a-- just going tomake a start on the pre-ops.

Actually, the boy in bed fourhasn't touched his breakfast.

Could you try?

Alice, I know you've had a rough trot.

I mean, it must've been horrendous what you've--

I better--

You will let me know if you need

anything though, won't you?

[footsteps]

Are we ready to have somethingto eat, Private Foster?

Not hungry.

That's not something we hear very often.

What's the point?

I can't bloody move, can I?

My girl back home won't want to marry me.

Why do you think that?

Who wants a man who can't dance?

The woman who loves him regardless.

Come on.

Just a bite.

[sighs]

MATRON FINLAY: A spoonful ofheroin mixture twice daily

should fix up your cold.

Now I want you to take tomorrowoff while we can spare you.

Thank you, Matron.

[coughing]

Make that three days off.

I'm sorry?

You've been working 14 days straight, Alice.

I need to keep you fit.

What will I do for three whole days?

One franc for egg and chips?

See why I insisted you and Norm come with us?

Are we getting the usual?

One eggs?

Two eggs.

No, no.

I'm not hungry.

Do you not want to be here?

No.

No, of course I do.

You were so determinedthat we come here tonight.

Eh.

I--

Shh, shh, shh.

[SINGING] Peg o' my heart, I love you.

Don't let us part.

I love you.

I always knew it would be you, since I

heard your lilting laughter.

It's your Irish heart I'm after.

Peg o' my heart, your glances makes

my heart say how's chances?

Come be my own.

Come make your home in my heart.

Olive Lillian CreswellHaynes, will you be my wife?

Oh!

Can you say it again?

[laughs] Will you marry me?

Yes!

Yes!

[applause and cheering]

[poignant music]

OLIVE: My dear mother,you all seem so concerned

about me at home so I thought I'd

better get married after all.

Pat has written to ask fatherand see if you'll approve.

Think your folks will like me, kiddo?

Everyone likes you.

OLIVE: We're not going to getmarried until apres la guerre,

and that might be 20 years.

Write to him, won't you?

We haven't decided much other than to wait

until the war is over.

That omelet was really something.

I wish I could have taken asnap before we mopped it up.

I hope to get some leave and see you all soon.

Love, Olive.

I always knew the way to Olive's heart

was through her stomach.

[coughing]

Are you all right?

[coughing] They ought to getmarried while they still can.

[coughing]

[poignant music]

[retching] [wheezing]

[poignant music]

Fiancee.

[sighs] Fiancee.

[wheezing]

I'll make sure she gets it.

What's her address?

Your fiancee's address?

Christ--

Christchurch?

Which suburb in Christchurch?

[wheezing] Private Foster?

[death rattle] [exhales]

[sighs]

[footsteps]

His injuries.

I couldn't do artificial respiration.

He had a broken spineand a lung full of fluid.

There was nothing you could do.

[footsteps]

[poignant music]

Let me have yourattention, please, Sisters.

The following nurses have been chosen

to continue their anesthetics training

and will henceforth be rostered in theater.

Sister McNaughton, witha score of 94 out of 100.

Congratulations.

Why is he reading out the results?

The wretch.

Sister Ross King, witha score of 91 out of 100.

Bravo.

Good work, Alice.

Really good work.

CAPTAIN MOONEY: Third Sister chosen--

I've failed.CAPTAIN MOONEY: --full marks.

It's all right.

CAPTAIN MOONEY: 100 out of 100.

I mean I really like the wards.

CAPTAIN MOONEY: Sister Steele.

Sorry.

What did he say?

Looks like you've got asteadier hand in surgery.

[phonograph playing]

Can you feel that, Private?

Didn't feel a thing.

Is it over already?

Almost.

[phonograph playing]

It's interesting how the weak patients

often need more anestheticthan the florid, muscular ones.

That throat patient you had looked tricky.

Alice, the Germans have sentthrough a prisoner of war list.

Harry's name isn't on it, which means

we still don't know where he's been buried,

or if he's been buried.

[dramatic music]

[splashing]

[wheezing]

[speaking in german]

Moffit.

If he can't tell them his name,

then he doesn't get put on the prisoner list.

And his name still hasn'tappeared on any death list.

[panting]

[footsteps]

[sighs]

Might not be an outright no.

We cannot give our permission.

Their exact words.

People at home don't know what it's like.

We have to face things out here.

[sighs] So what have youtell them about them about Pat?

I told them that he built me a shower,

that his real name is Norval,and that he wears specs.

- [laughs] - What's funny?

You didn't think to tellthem that he just received

his commission for lieutenant?

That he studied law at Melbourne Varsity?

I would marry Pat regardlessof whether he had a bean

or a prospect of making one.- Yes.

Pat's wonderful.

But all your parents know isthat their beloved daughter is

about to get hitched in Franceto a short-sighted handy man

called Norval.

Oh, la la.

[laughs]

Oh, I'm a clod!

[laughs] Imbecile!

Oh, write to them again.

And don't sell him short this time.

These Indian rubber gloves would save you

rubbing your skin raw, Major.

Too bulky for my work.

Oh, I think that's a matter of opinion.

How many cases do youthink you've put under now?

Six today.

So that's 44 in total.

Have you thought of transferring

to a casualty clearing station?

Afraid of getting closer to the front?

No, no.

That's not it.

The soldiers get to the clearing stations

in just a couple of hours.

A nurse of your caliber would make a greater

difference there than here.

Ready, sir.

[groaning]

Let's go it, shall we?

[door opens]

You'll be cracking 100 soon.

Ah.

[door closes]

Thought any further about joining the CCS?

I have.

Yes.

But my friends are here.

Sister Ross King.

She's very lucky to havesuch a devoted friend.

Which reminds me, I saw an article

in one of the Victorian papersabout Lieutenant Moffit.

Lieutenant Harry Lowry Moffit has met

a soldier's death in France.

Accounts have beenwritten of the poor fellow

who dies in hospital.

There is a sadder experience,that of the gallant hero

struck down in the hour--

hour of victory.

His whole battalion was wiped out.

I know what you're thinking,but this doesn't prove anything.

I'm not thinking anything.

The Red Cross is still investigating.

They shouldn't be printing this stuff.

Ah!

For goodness sake, do youwant me to break my neck?

I'm sorry.

Alice, I know what you'vebeen through must--

Been through?

Why must everyone refer my pain as past tense?

You could straighten up your side of the dresser

while you're at it.

This hut is unbearable at the best of times.

[bugle sounding]

[distant explosions]

The doctor is on his way.

Keep that leg elevated.

SOLDIER: Help me, please!

Sister Haynes, this man needsfresh clothes and a hot drink.

SOLDIER: In here.

You're all right now.

Major, can you please help me?

How quickly can we get him into theater?

You can leave him.

He's hemorrhaging.

Get me a tourniquet and someoneto help me lift this patient!

I said the patient on bed 12.

Is that an urgent case?

Our orders now are toconserve the fighting force.

If they're moving, talking, fix them up.

They're needed back on the front.

But if they're dying--

Our orders are to concentrateon the ones that aren't.

On with it.

SOLDIER: [groaning]

I lost six men in that stunt.

You only sent three back to the line.

Every nurse worth her salt aspires

to work a clearing station.

But instead of patching them up and sending

them to a general hospital--

Shipping them to the cemetery.

This infernal army.

They've gone completely mad.

C'est la guerre.

What can we do?

[distant explosions]

SOLDIER: [wheezing]

[phonograph playing]

[footsteps]

[sighs] [groaning]

Has your pain gotten worse?

No, Sister.

It's just a sad song.

Oh, I have more records.

No.

Leave it, please.

Helps me remember.

[sniffs]

- Home? - Yeah.

Home.

Hey, mate.

It's fine.

Thank you.

My country, [sighs]

Where are you from?

Southern Queensland.

What about you?

City of Churches, Adelaide.

I suppose you miss it.

I suppose I do.

Me and my mate jumped atthe chance to come over,

fight for Australia, [sighs]get paid to see the world.

Just feels wrong to be goingback to the front without him.

He used to say to me, littleforward here, bit back there.

Always death.

Except for us.

[footsteps]

Sister?

What is it?

Just tell me.

It's Pete.

- Oh, no. - No.

It's her sister's husband.

He's been killed.

[distant explosions]

[train whistle in distance]

You never know when yournumber's up in this game.

[poignant music]

OLIVE: My dear mother, I got your letter

telling me you didn't want me to be engaged

and that would be poor.

Pat has his positionwaiting for him back home.

He's a lawyer.

Everyone thinks the world of Pat.

He's a Second Lieutenant now.

So many of us are losing loved ones.

It's true.

You never know when yournumber's up in this game.

[poignant music]

Of course, we will waitif that is what you wish.

They're just old-fashioned is all.

It must seem sudden to them back home.

I've sent them a picture of you.

PAT [OVER TELEPHONE]: Oh, great.

Then they'll find out I'veneither looks nor money.

[laughs] Look, kiddo, don't you think

we ought to get married soon?

It's-- it's terrible that Pete'sbrother-in-law was killed.

But at least her sisterwill get a widow's pension.

I think that's the least of her concern.

PAT [OVER TELEPHONE]: Well, it'snot something to be scoffed at.

If something happened tome, you want to get a penny.

We're not married.

Look, this is the 20th century, Olive.

You don't need their permission.

I should hop along now.

PAT [OVER TELEPHONE]: I love you, Ol.

Don't be mad.

I love you too, Dooley.

[distant explosions]

[wind blowing]

I know you've been wanting news.

So I spoke to my mate at Horseferry Road.

He works in the Records Department.

Told him to look out for your Lieutenant Moffitt.

Thank you.

Got a letter from the Red Cross.

[poignant music]

WOMAN: Sister Ross King, We very much

regret to inform you that thename Lieutenant Harry Moffit,

53rd Battalion AIF has comethrough on a German death list

dated the 4th of November 1916.

What we have gathered isthat on the 19th of July,

the regiment was at L'Avant andhe went over the top at 5:40 PM

to attack the German trenches.

Lieutenant Moffitt was with Colonel Norris,

leading the battalion.

The Colonel was killed by a shell.

And Lieutenant Moffitt called out for four men

to bring him in.

No sooner had he done so, he himself

was shot in the back of the head,

and fell dead across the Colonel's body.

It must be a source of comfort for you

to know he sacrificed his life so gallantly

in attempting to recover--

[breathing raggedly]

[footsteps]

A death list came out.

Harry was on it.

[door opens]

Sister Steele?

Yes, Matron?

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

I know.

I'm on my way to see Sister Ross King now.

MATRON FINLAY: Well, I didn'tthink she'd be as upset as you.

The Surgeon General has refusedto sanction Australian Army

nurses for anesthetist work.

You'll be working in the fracture

ward for the rest of the week.

Oh.

It does appear that some in the Army

think it's an unsuitable job for a woman.

Ah, well, I suppose theymust have their reasons.

Could you tell Sister Ross King for me?

Yes.MATRON FINLAY: Oh, goodness.

Steady on.

You'll come a cropper!

Oh!

Alice?

[sighs] Oh.

[breathing raggedly] Oh!

Have you seen Alice?

She wasn't in the mess.

Maybe she's taken a walk.

Though in this icy weather--

[dramatic music]

[water splashes]

[poignant music]

[breathing raggedly]

[poignant music]

[breathing raggedly]

Alice!

Oh, thank heavens!

Oh!

[sobbing]

I'm so sorry I worried you.

No.

I'm so sorry.

[sobbing]

[footsteps]

[wind blowing heavily]

[laughs]

You're not from Christchurch, are you?

No.

Auckland.

I won't hold it against you, Hilda.

[laughs]

[wind blowing heavily]

I still haven't managed tofind poor Foster's fiancee.

He said Christchurch.

You didn't ask me where I lived.

I though you were from Dunedin.

I am.

But I have cousins in Christchurch.

If you feel dizzy or faint--

How's that now?

Good, thanks.

And I recognize that accent.

I heard yours, too.

Which island are you from?

South.

Oh.

Queenstown.

Ah.

I'm from Auckland.

[laughs] Well, I won't holdthat against you, Sister.

Why not?

Everyone else seems to.

[laughs]

How come you don't haveone of those swank badges

like the rest of the New Zealand Sisters?

There are badges?

All the Sisters at theKiwi hospital at Wisques all

had them.

Oh, well, I suppose it's because I sailed

with the Australian contingent.

Well, you're still one of us.

Yes.

Yes.

I'm a New Zealander!

That's the spirit!

SOLDIER: Back before you know it.

Transport's ready for you blokes.

Not your parents then?

My brother, my aunt, and my old headmaster.

They're ignoring me.

Ignoring you.

I've put in for leave, Olive.

Soon as I get it, we're getting married.

I'm going home.

You'd leave Norm here?

He's got three weeks leave coming up.

We'll go to England and Scotland.

You'd give up your jobfor three weeks with Norm

in Scotland?

[distant explosions]

You'd give up your job for threeweeks with Norm in Scotland?

[footsteps]

[bugle sounding]

DOCTOR: These two inside.

Let's clean you up.

Olive?

Olive?

[gasps] Gunshot wound to chest and lungs.

Lift him.

Keep him still.

Keep him very still.

[groaning]

You've immobilized him.

Time to let nature do its work.

This one we can save.

The other end, Sister.

I have seen my share of chest wounds.

And the ones from bullets alwaysfare better than shrapnel.

Less chance of infection from foreign bodies.

Sister Haynes, our orders--

I don't care about orders!

This is my fiance.

And if the Army kicks me out forsaving his life, then so be it.

Get him to the X-ray table.

If the bullet's gone through,we'll excise the wounds.

Until then, do your job.

[distant explosions]

SOLDIER: Of course.NURSE: It's not too tight?

SOLDIER: [coughing] No.

It's fine.

Thank you.

[distant explosions]

[phonograph playing]

Send it.

[phonograph playing]

[clicking]

Matron Finlay?

Oh, Sister Ross King.

Thank you for the medicine, Matron.

I'm feeling a lot better.

I'm glad to hear it.

Oh, Sister, could you passthese onto your Kiwi tent mate?

Save me the trip.

So glad they came.

So you ordered these.

I had Matron Finlay write to the New

Zealand matron-in-chief.

A lot of effort to go to for a badge.

I disagree.

It's a pleasure to beserving with you Aussies,

but we do in fact belong to the New Zealand Army.

[footsteps]

What's she up to?

[knocking]

[footsteps]

Matron Wilson!

Sister Steele, how nice to see you.

You're back from London?

Yes.

And I'm quite pleased to be back on the ground.

Was there something we can help you with?

Yes.

[door closes]

As you know, the Surgeon General decreed

that Australian nurses were nolonger to work as anesthetists.

Well, I'm a New Zealander.

In the short time that Iworked as a nurse anesthetist,

I put 130 cases under with no mortalities.

I'd like to be rosteredback on in theater, please.

Do you have a copy of the order handy?

Ah.

You're quite right.

Surgeon General very specifically

states that Australian nurses are forbidden

to work as anesthetists.

Says nothing about New Zealand nurses.

[laughs]

I suppose it depends on how you look at it.

[laughs]

The Shipways warms the thing through this flask

of hot water.

So it conserves body heat.

Must be excellent for long surgeries.

Precisely.

Welcome back, Sister Steele.

[phonograph playing]

[door opens]

How was your firstshift back as anesthetist?

Busy.

And fascinating.

If there is one good thingcoming out of this war

it is the advancement and technology.

Today I learned how to use the Shipways.

I'm so sorry.

I'm such a braggart.

You're not even allowed to do it anymore.

Hilda.

I'm more suited to the wards anyway.

I'm actually starting to enjoybeing around people again.

People who aren't unconscious.

In fact, one of the Canadian patients

lent me his book of poetry.

Private Foster's fiancee,24 Cobb Street, Woolston,

Christchurch.

[sighs]

[footsteps]

The bullet went straight through.

I just had to deal with thedamage it did in transit.

Where do you think he'll be sent?

Rouen? Amiens?

Probably Wimereaux.

From there, sent back to England to convalesce.

And then from Blighty back to the front.

I wouldn't think so.

I know you played it downto get him into surgery,

but it still is a nasty wound.

He won't be seeing you action again.

Thank you, Major.

Thank you.

NURSE: There you go.

I know you like dreamingup excuses to see me,

but this is a bit extreme.

I have something to tell you.

Me first.

I'm going to marry you Pat Dooley

and I don't give twohoots what my parents say.

Your father cabled.

What did he say?

[sighs] [laughs] You neverreally doubted it, did you?

- [laughs] - Oh, ah!

Does it hurt?

Yeah.

[laughs] [sighs]

[sighs] Melbourne or Adelaide?

Melbourne.

Cats or dogs?

Well, can't we have both?

I want a black and whitecat it's not too much white.

And a Fox terrier?

We'll call him Bully and--

Omelette.

[laughs]

That all sounds marvelous.

There's just one thing Ineed to do before I go home.

NURSE: I know that Pat'sgood at building showers,

but what else does he do?

OLIVE: He's terribly bright.

He's from Victoria.

And all his friends say hewas cleverest in his year

at Melbourne Varsity.

He's just the top trick.

He's always out for other people.

And he's got one brother and one sister.

[poignant music]

Poor Hilda's had a monsterof a roommate in yours truly.

[laughs] You must be sick of getting

asked how you're faring.

But--

I long for him all the time.

It's intolerable.

I feel like I've lost everything.

What Harry saw in you, you haven't lost that.

You still have a future.

You haven't lost everything.

Is that Major Prior?

NURSE: Who's that Red Cross Blue Bird?

Elsie!

[exclaiming happily]

Ah!

[laughs]

[sobbing]

I was at No.

4 Randwick.

And it was only a matter of time before the Army

sent Syd back to the war.

Then I heard the Red Cross were asking

for nurses for the Frenchmilitary hospitals.

So I resigned from theAustralian Nursing Service

and set sail five days later.

Now I'm at Amiens.

I see the Red Cross don'tobject to you being married.

All they wanted werenurses who could speak French

and weren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

[speaking in french]

I beg your pardon?

She said, your French is terrible.

[laughter]

How's Captain Cook?

It's Major Cook now.

He's in England but tells mehe'll be in France any minute.

Are you still reading "The Rubuyat"?

I haven't been able to yet.

Although one of my patientsgot me onto an American poem

by a woman named Ellen Gates.

May I read it?

Mhm.

[footsteps]

I shall not cry, return,return, nor wipe my tears away.

But just as long as sunsetsburn and dawns make no delay,

I shall be lonesome.

I shall miss your hand, yourvoice, your smile, your kiss.

[poignant music]

ALICE: Not always shall this parting

be for though I travel slow Itoo may claim eternity and find

the way you go.

And so I do my task and waitthe opening of the outer gate.

[poignant music]

[footsteps]

Some of these boys I feelI've seen three or more times.

We'll be nothing more thanan army of rag dolls soon.

And Britain wants asixth Australian Division.

How can we make that without conscription?

They're talking about another referendum.

Our boys take dose afterdose until they're killed

and the rotters stay home talking.

[sighs]

[footsteps]

Alice, I think we shouldvolunteer for the casualty

clearing station.

All right.

I think a change would be good for both of us.

Well.

Olive went on and on about those omelettes.

Don't you think we ought to try one?

Bonzer!

[laughs] I'd better get back.

[footsteps]

[phonograph playing]

- Checkpoint. - Passes?

Fritz must be about.

Syd's unit's been moved.

He's been posted to Fricourt.

Could you take a coupleof passengers to Fricourt.

I'd take you ladies all the way to Berlin.

As long as you've got passes.

Passes?

Of course.

The Army might move Syd tomorrow, Fraser.

A bomb might drop on us tomorrow.

There might not be a tomorrow.

If we wait, our chance of getting to Fricourt

drives away.

[explosions]

I'm looking for Major Sidney Cook.

His company's at the front.

When are they expected back?

Should've been here by now.

[airplane overhead]

Alice! Alice!

[panting]

[dramatic music]