Catherine Black

Catherine Black MBE, RCC, SRN, nursed in France and Belgium before being appointed as private nurse to King George V. She nursed the King from 1928 until his death in 1936. Her autobiography "King's Nurse, Beggar's Nurse" is a valuable record of the social history of Ramelton at the turn of the century. Read an extract from the book here. She also wrote extensively of her experiences as a nurse at the frontline of WW1 in the Somme. Here she describes the scene in a field hospital. "At first sight most of my patients appeared to have little or nothing the matter with them, but at night the cheerful ward became a place of torment, with the occupant of every bed tossing and turning and moaning in a hell of memories let loose. They had witnessed unutterable horror that would forever alter their lives and had been asked to commit terrible deeds. One private, Arthur Hubbard, wrote to his mother explaining how he had been removed from the line due to "shell-shock", although his condition had been triggered by a particular incident. "We had strict orders not to take prisoners, no matter if wounded my first job was when I had finished cutting some of their wire away, to empty my magazine on three Germans that came out of one of their deep dugouts bleeding badly, and put them out of misery. They cried for mercy, but I had my orders, they had no feeling whatever for us poor chaps . . . it makes my head jump to think about it."

---

Nurse Catherine Black (Blackie) with King George V

Catherine Black