"...someone had to go to the hospital to find a nurse ... I volunteered and soon found myself fighting through the snowdrifts..."
Eric is a retired Education Officer. For many years he was a Senior Advisory Teacherfor the County of Staffordshire where his work involved supporting and teaching children with severe disabilities, who were originally from mainstream schools. He's originally from Lancashire, but now lives in Barleston, Staffordshire. Eric considers himself 'proud to be a potter.'
The winter of 1947 was perhaps the worst in living memory. A thick blanket of snow, six feet deep in parts, covered the whole of North Staffordshire. At this time I was a teacher at Standon Farm residential boys school. The boys were confined to the school building as as might be expected, they became very restless. One boy secretly wired a steel handrail to the electricity main...a second boy touched the rail, got a severe shock before falling headlong down some concrete steps, injuring his forehead. He needed medical treatment, but as the roads were blocked and the telephone was dead, someone had to go to the hospital to find a nurse that could come over and see him. I volunteered and soon found myself fighting through the snow drifts. I explained breathlessly when I got there what had happened. Sister Smith volunteered to help straight away. She grabbed her first aid box and hand in hand we struggled through the snow. At times it was waist deep and I had to carry Audrey piggyback fashion when the going became really difficult. When we got to the school David, the injured boy, had been taken up to the sick bay where Audrey quickly cleaned and stitched the wound. Then we had to brace ourselves for the return journey. This time we found the going very much easier, but there were still stretches where I had to carry Audrey on my back. At the hospital I was given a most welcome cup of tea and I was delighted when Audrey invited me to attend the next nurse's dance to be held once the snow had cleared up. I'll always remember the winter of 1947, not just because of the snow, but because that's when I met Audrey. The woman I was going to marry. | 
