Miss June Buckley
Civilian Employee 52nd General Hospital.
“I was only 16 and working in the offices of a local newspaper, my cousin Iris Rigsby, was working at the American hospital in Wolverley at the time”. “She encouraged me to apply for a job working on the switch board along side her”.
“I had to go and have a thorough medical examination and blood
test”. “I hated needles and remember crying when I got there, even though
I remember how kind the Americans were at the time”. “I remember them saying
to me ‘come on now, don’t be silly’, It was all over before I realised”. “They
even checked in my hair that day”.
June Buckley with laboratory staff at 52nd general hospital, Wolverley.
“There were not any vacancies on the switchboard when I began work at the hospital, so they sent me over to the Laboratory, where I worked under Col Wyatt”. “I soon learnt how to do bloods, use the microscopes, sterilise different equipment and make swabs, amongst numerous other duties”. “Autopsies were usually carried out at the other end of the laboratory, but I can’t remember there being many”.
“I worked at the 52nd until just a few weeks before it closed and relocated to Bristol”. “One of the GI’s, called Wesley became a regular visitor to my home, he particularly liked Christmas”. “He would bring tins of fruit, chocolate, candy and gum, but never cigarettes as my father never smoked”. “The wives of the GI’s in the laboratory would send over nylons and underwear for me”. “My whole family went to the station at Kidderminster; we stood on the platform and waved them off”.
“I remember being upset; many of them were like brothers to me”.
