Information board 14-18 Sambre Rouge - The temporary hospital in the sisters’ school

Acceding to a French officer’s request, the nuns set up a dozen beds in their old school. In practice, this temporary hospital was staffed by three Red Cross nursing graduates, namely Raoul Michot, Marie Wegehenkel and Yvonne Golière. The first wounded soldier was brought in a stretcher less than thirty minutes after the fighting began. The next wounded soldiers were brought in by people of Leernes, who carried them on their backs or dragged them in on makeshift stretchers.

Beds started to become scarce. Down comforters and thick layers of straw were used instead. "As soon as an apparently more severely wounded soldier entered, we would see the others get up, or at least try to do so, to cede their places generously to the unluckier man. It was moving to see them encourage each other, to try to buck up those in greatest pain with comforting words, even with a bit of humour" – Testimony of Doctor Emile Hautain.

The evening after the fighting had ended, the most critically wounded who could be transported were sent to Fontaine-L’Evêque’s hospital. At the same time, and in concert with Doctor Hautain, the Wespes neighbourhood set up an additional Red Cross post in the building that housed in the girls’ school.

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