Passionate Hope

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© 2014 Doreen Scott. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse 06/03/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8118-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8119-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8120-2 (e)

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Contents

Dedications

Acknowledgements

Research

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Four

Chapter Thirty Five

Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Seven

Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty One

Chapter Forty Two

Epilogue

About the Author

Dedications

For my two lovely brothers Kenneth and Terry

And my wonderful husband Donald who alas

Have gone to Glory He was my lover and my friend.

My family Helen and Robert

Acknowledgements

TO ALL THE people who have advised and helped me including the Newcastle upon Library who tirelessly found the information for which I was looking.

The internet when I wanted to research Ukraine in 1957 it was invaluable reading.

To a local shop who found me a copy of a book on Travellers in Switzerland published in 1947 the first since the war.

The medical knowledge was of course my own, so only I am responsible for any mistakes.

To my family and friends who have been very patient. Writing is a solitary job often precluding social life my thanks to them.

And of course to Maestro Andre Rieu and his Orchestra for the company of his inspirational Music

Research

I AM VERY GRATEFUL to the staff at Newcastle Library for their unending assistance

And the wonderful internet for information about the Ukraine in 1957

The staff at the Port of Tyne about the shipping

To Barter Books who managed to find and sell me a book on Switzerland (Berne) in 1957 Published in 1947

Prologue

NEAR A VILLAGE in the Ukraine.

A young boy a short distance from the house was collecting wood for his mother to burn on the fire.

He hears the sound of a heavy truck and men singing. He thinks they have come to see his father but, he has gone to see a friend a mile away. Aaron decides to stay hidden, but he is forced to listen to the sound of his mother screaming. The men come out of the house laughing and singing and his mother is quiet. When they have gone, he makes his way back into the house. The sight which meets his eyes is terrifying. Not only is the house wrecked, but his Mother is lying sprawled on the floor, her skirt pulled up to her waist, she is covered in bruises and blood is pouring from a wound in her chest. Her face is a picture of sheer terror and pain. Instinctively he knows she is dead.

At this moment his father returns, quickly assesses the situation. Brusquely he says to his son. Go and let Batik loose. But father what will happen when she needs milking?

She will wander and find another farm and they will take care of the cow. Now Go! We have little time. Upstairs he collected as many of his paintings on canvas as he could and packed them into a rucksack along with the little money he had, some bread, cheese and water.

As they leave he sets fire to the house. The boy screams, But Papa what about mother? It is better that she be cremated than have the wolves eating her body. Carrying as many clothes as they could, they make their way to St Petersburg where there is a Sea Captain who may take them on board and set them down in a port in England. What he has not told his son is that his friend and family have also been butchered. He remembers the Pogroms. He was 12 years old when people were slaughtered, but this is no Pogrom, it is the work of renegades looking for valuables. He has an idea what they are seeking.

The ship docked at the Port of Tyne at South Shields England where they disembarked but the captain had demanded a lot of money leaving them little for their further journey. They travel miles down the east coast of England, walking and sometimes hitching a lift. Fortunately the drivers did not seem to be surprised that a father and his son are travelling together.

Ivan, as a young man, had studied painting in Europe with Armand Furneaux and Jacques D’Estard, as well as some of the Impressionist Painters. He was an artistic and accomplished painter whose pictures sold well. He had travelled from Europe to Windsor and along the way he made many friends in Norfolk so he knew the area quite well.

He sold some of his paintings to a gallery and bought a cottage near Hunstanton. There he made his home and continued painting. His son, he sent to Eton College and then to Oxford University to study Medicine. He was a conscientious student, nothing and no one was allowed to get in the way of his studies and success. He never forgot the picture of his mother tortured and killed in his home in the Ukraine. Achieving Medical Diploma at Oxford, he gained his vast surgical experience treating some of the badly injured people of World War 11. His medicine, his mother’s memory and his Father are his life.

1941 Her tummy was very swollen and painful but what upset young Jessie more than anything else was she could not fasten her lovely new kilt. On Doctor’s advice she was admitted to a Sanatorium Hospital set among the hills of south west Scotland. She was told that she would be there for six or eight weeks. Child like, after six weeks Jessie asked if she could go home. The answer was ‘not yet’ and so with childish logic of a six year old, she waited until eight weeks had passed yet again the answer was not yet. Weeks passed into months and months into years until inevitably Jessie became used to the pattern of day to day behaviour. She became accustomed to the life in hospital, and stopped asking if she could go home. The routine never varied. The meals were the same every day. There was a war on food had to be nutritious but cheap. The only difference in the routine was when her Mother came to visit on Saturday for two hours even then this became a regular habit. She brought books for Jessie, some of which were beyond her age and of which the staff disapproved, but her mother believed that in the absence of any education, reading would at least improve her English.

When her mother Jane, came to tell her excitedly about the lovely new house they were moving to, Jessie showed no interest at all. She believed there was no point in being enthusiastic as she would never go home to see it.

As Jessie’s birthdays passed she became inured to the daily routine. At night with all the ward doors closed to keep out the light, she lay in her bed on the veranda in the darkness sometimes hearing the hum of aeroplane engines. The nurses said there was a difference in the engine noise of British aeroplanes. They said the Germans were probably going up to bomb Glasgow. Why they should want to do that and kill people in Glasgow horrified Jessie. The aeroplanes did not come if there was a moon shining and then she could lie and watch the rats playing on the veranda. They did not frighten her.

Chapter One

ONE DAY WHEN her mother visited and, to Jessie’s great surprise, as she had only been out of bed for a few weeks, Jane suggested they go for a walk to a shelter in the hospital grounds. She had even brought a coat for Jessie. The bright yellow daffodils were dancing in the brisk cold March breeze. There, Jane told Jessie her beloved Daddy had died from a massive brain haemorrhage. Jessie deeply distressed, walked back to the ward, where they were met by Ward Sister who told Jane You leave her to us Mother we will look after her. You go and get your bus. She will soon settle down. We will get her a cup of tea and tuck her up in bed Reluctantly Jane had to leave her but, what else could she do? In her bed Jessie was left to cry herself to sleep until one night a nurse came to her bedside. Prodding Jessie’s body through the bedclothes she said Come on dear, look at me. A very tear stained Jessie emerged from her cocoon of bedclothes. I know the Nurse continued that your Daddy has died and I’m sorry, but you must understand there are hundreds of little girls and boys who like you have lost their Daddy in this horrific war. They were brave fighting this terrible evil so that you and everyone else can be free. And do you think your Daddy would like you shouting and berating God for taking your beloved Daddy from you or would he want you to be the brave girl he knows you are? The Nurse left and returned with a cup of cocoa for Jessie, who with tear stained face offered the Nurse a biscuit from her locker. Thank you I will have one and keep it for later. Her drink finished Jessie snuggled down in the bedclothes. The Nurse kissed her on the cheek and went back to the ward closing the door behind her. Jessie did not see the Nurse again neither did she know her name. But, that night Jessie apologised to God but also made a promise to Him as well as to herself that one day she would be a doctor who could cure brain haemorrhages and, treat children as little people not something to be ignored and tossed aside as if they did not matter. In the days that followed Jessie matured beyond her years.

A few weeks after her father’s death the Doctor came to her bedside and said You can go home. She did not believe him but what was worse Jessie did not want to go home. Where was home and who are the people there? she questioned.

When Jane arrived to collect Jessie, she was very excited Mr. Austin has brought a car to take you home dear isn’t that kind of him?

Yes I suppose so she whispered. Sitting in the front of the car the thought came into her mind, ‘My Daddy should be driving this car’ which of course was his job. But he never will again. All she could feel was cold and numb.

1946 Coming home after five years in hospital, Jessie felt like a stranger. Her elder brother Alex now eighteen, is in the RAF doing his National Service. Her sister Aileen now seventeen, is working in a Department Store. Neither of whom has she seen in all the time she was in hospital. Such is the age gap, they have nothing in common. She also has a three year old brother Jamie, she has never met. Her only contact with the family was her Mother who visited her in hospital once a week and her father very occasionally. Now he has gone.

The family had moved house. When she went into hospital they lived on the top floor of a Victorian house in Durrisbridge, now thanks to Mr Austin who used his influence to find this house for the family, they are living in a large semi detached house on a small private estate outside Durrisbridge. Apart from needing more space, for the family, they thought that if there was a room especially for Jessie she may be discharged from hospital sooner. Despite their thoughts and wishes, this did not happen until years later. This place has no memories for Jessie. She remembered Mr Austin. He is the man who employed her Daddy on the Cairnmuir Estate, where they had a lovely cottage. They moved to the rooms in Durrisbridge when Daddy went into the army.

Her bed in the hospital for years was out on a veranda day and night, summer and winter. Her room in the house was small and even with the windows wide open she was claustrophobic and often felt the need to run out into the garden at night just to help her to breath. Very gradually she became accustomed to the bedroom which looked out on to a field where she sometimes watched the rabbits play.

During the day when her mother was out at work in a library, her brother was, at four years old at school, and she was alone, Jessie’s love of music was born. She listened to the wireless and learned to love classical music. When she had heard a piece of music a few times she could play it on an ancient piano they had, but not too loudly so as not to disturb the neighbours. Piano concertos were out certainly no Tchaikovosky music.

After resting at home for nearly a year, the doctor agreed that Jessie could attend school. The first day of term when Jessie commenced Secondary Academy School at twelve years old, she was nervous about being with crowds of people. But, within a few moments a girl called Morag McDonald came running across to her Jessie, its’ wonderful to see you. And then seeing Jessie’s blank expression she added I sat beside you when we first went to school, don’t you remember? Jessie did not remember but she was not going to tell her, she was only too pleased to have a friend. Morag was the complete opposite of Jessie. Her questions on life were usually about boys or how do they manage to kiss so long at the end of a film She made Jessie laugh. Jessie’s ambition was to study medicine and become a doctor. Nothing else would do. She was hungry for knowledge, often asking for extra lessons particularly in Maths, Latin and the Sciences sometimes working late into the evening. The Science Master who gave her extra lessons at his house was rumoured to have made one of the students pregnant and had to marry her. When Jane voiced her concern, Jessie replied sharply Its’ science I am going for, he’s not getting into my knickers. Jane was shocked at such a forthright reply.

During school holidays Jessie travelled by train to visit her Auntie Dora and Uncle Colin at Stanefell in Northumberland, but her books always went with her. There was always something going on. Her Aunt had the local Post Office and Grocery. Jessie sometimes helped in the shop, especially with the children who came in to spend their pennies on sweets. Their decision could take some time but Auntie Dora always said Don’t hurry them remember they may be the customers of the future and anyway she just loved the children who all knew her as Auntie Dora.

One time she was asked to provide light refreshments for a local Scout Jamboree up on the fells and that was fun. Another was the local Garden Fete when the rain which had collected in the tarpaulin covering a stall poured down over Mrs Symington-Smyth’s new hat after she had bored everyone by telling them how much it cost. She was such a snob. It was cause for much laughter.

The people in the village quickly came to know Jessie and she felt more at home here than her home in Durrisbridge. Uncle Colin encouraged her If you really want something badly enough then you must work hard and you will achieve it. If he was going fishing, Jessie often went with him, not that she was a good fisherwoman, she enjoyed the serenity and the soporific effect of the sound of the river bubbling along.

Chapter Two

JEANNIE GREGSON, BILL Austin’s Housekeeper had to take to her bed with her Rheumatism and Bill asked Jane if she would act as Housekeeper when he had guests coming for a week end at Cairnmuir. This was such a success that she continued happily so to do until one week end a guest made a nuisance of himself with Jane. He made an excuse that he needed his jug of water filled and when Jane took it to his room, he pinned her up against the wall and attempted to kiss her and undo her blouse. Her shouts were heard by Bill who told the man firmly to be on the six o clock train in the morning and, if he repeated one word of his accusations he would sue him for every penny he had. Gordon Fraser the Estate Manager, escorted him to the train and saw him off.

Jane escaped, running down the stairs and down the drive to the lodge where she was staying. The man had been making wild accusations about Bill and how he had murdered his wife in Australia. This deeply upset Jane and, when Bill came knocking on her door, she told him to go away, but he pleaded with her. He wanted to tell her the full story. She relented. Bill’s story was one of the saddest she had ever heard. His wife had a beautiful baby but it was stillborn and, after much unhappiness, his wife had gone outside one evening and hung herself. Much was made of it in the newspapers, that he was the only person present. However the Doctor and neighbouring friends acted as witnesses and the verdict was suicide. He sobbed and cried as he told Jane. He had never told anyone before and it was only because he loved Jane so much she had to know the truth.

Some days’ later walking along the beach with the dogs, Bill asked Jane to be his wife. Jane loved this man to bits. His kindness knew no bounds, nothing or no one was any trouble to him. They were married in September 1951 at the local Church in the village. Everyone came to the wedding, the Church bells rang out. Six weeks’ later the family moved from Durrisbridge to live at Cairnmuir House, welcomed by everyone. When asked her opinion about the wedding and house move, Jessie shrugged her shoulders and said It makes no difference to me where we live as I shall be at University.

It was murmured around the village by some, they were surprised that such a fit young man had not been in uniform during the war. They could not know what dangerous work he undertook for the government. He was away from home for three weeks at a time ostensibly, ‘on business.’

Chapter Three

1952 AFTER SIX years of many hours of intensive study Jessie was successful. She achieved the Higher Grades required to apply for a place at Glasgow or Edinburgh Medical Schools. For a few days Jessie walked on air until the letters arrived, she needed only to read I am sorry to inform you the rest was irrelevant. All the available places were being offered to members of the Forces that were eligible returning to civilian life. And in truth there were not many places offered to women. Her anger flared. We have had a hard time too, alright we were not shot at but we have been deprived of food and family and, some of us even our liberty. Of course she meant her time in hospital. It was unfair.

Jessie had a temper said to be typically associated with red hair, but generally, it was slow to rouse and then usually about some injustice. For all her feisty words, she was a vulnerable young girl. She avoided all parties, as they were in her words just an excuse for kissing everybody. which made her uneasy close to any male other than her Uncles and brothers.

In an effort to comfort her, Jane said Well you are only eighteen perhaps you could do something connected with medicine and apply again next year.

What could I do, work in a chemist shop I suppose? she replied with angry derision. While Jane was trying to ease her daughter’s huge disappointment, Jessie received a letter from her Auntie Dora asking if she would like to come to Stanefell for a ‘bit of a holiday’. Jessie loved Stanefell. Auntie Dora and Uncle Colin were always joking and teasing and, she enjoyed so much walking on the fells where only the occasional sound of the sheep or curlew disturbed the peace. One day at dinner Dora suggested "Why don’t you go to see the Matron at Corlesby Hospital, I believe she is