War was declared on August 1, 1914. I awoke that morning and walked over to say good morning to the man I'm going to marry... one day. It's a short walk, only a couple of streets separated us. It was on that walk that I passed by the Military Nursing Reserve's booth on the street. They were recruiting women for nurses. I walked by with complete disregard and carried on. It was when I arrived to see my sweet love, Richard. It was my belief that morning, that everything was still wonderful and our lives would still be perfect together. However, it came to my better knowledge that life was going to change. Richard got a letter in the mail drafting him into the army. It was terrible, he had two days to spend with me before he got sent away to fight a war. After I found out the news, I marched right back to the Military Nursing Reserve's booth and signed my name up. If Richard was going to fight, I had to do something too. I hoped and prayed that we would be stationed together, or at least close... but that never happened.

I left five days after Richard and was bound for London. Before I left, my father gave my this journal. It was meant to help me keep my thoughts clear and focused while I'm away. I would've written earlier, it's been nearly four months since I got it. I just haven't had any time to myself besides the few hours to sleep, if that. I've never seen so many wounded people. Men are constantly being carried in on stretchers or others back's. Everyone seems to be missing a limb or are burned beyond belief. I've been seeing men here burned so badly, they don't hardly have skin on their body.

When I first got to London everything was a mess. Most of the nurse's had backed-out on the trip for it was thought to be to dangerous. That thought was true, the danger here is much greater then back home. There was twelve other women nurses with me, along with five men doctor's. When we first arrived at the hospital, we were all very focused on unpacking crates and getting everything working right. The hospital that we are located in originated as a school, so we had to do a lot of work at first. But we didn't have much time, as soon as we got there men starting coming in with serious wounds. The great amount of injured soldiers and the diminished number of hospital helpers keep us working all day and night. It's seems strange to me that there are still men left to fight with this many injured here alone. I can only imagine all of the other hospitals...

I left my home and my family to help the Allied forces and the world. It was my belief that I would be lucky enough to be stationed near my dear Richard. That has been far from the situation. The last time I heard from him was when he wrote me a letter the night before he finished his training. Since then, I've heard nothing... and I've been endlessly worrying about him. There isn't a thing I can do though, I have my hands to their fullest with the soldiers already. I can only wish and hope that he hasn't ended up in any hospitals looking like the soldiers I've been seeing.

It seems life hasn't only be tough on the people in the war. My mother and father back home have been struggling to get by. It seems a great depression has fallen upon the entire nation, and my mother has lost her job for her employer wasn't making enough money anymore to hire any help. My father tells me that money is scarce if not impossible to find, and employment almost seems a joke. He says that people have no money to spend, so no business's are making any money either. He says that all the money everywhere is tied up in the war. He's probably right. I think the entire world is struggling to survive lately.