Youngest British nurse to care for D-Day soldiers shared her ‘remarkable’ story
Naina Cox, who died in 2005, was aged only 16 when she cared for the returning troops.
The experiences of the youngest British nurse caring for Allied troops returning from the D-Day invasion have been shared ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Naina Cox (nee Beaven) was aged 16 when she volunteered for the British Red Cross as a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse at Portsmouth, the headquarters for the military units destined for Normandy’s Sword Beach.
Now the British Red Cross has shared a letter Ms Cox wrote to the charity in 2005 – the same year as she is understood to have died – describing her time looking after the returning soldiers.
In her letter, which is a part of the charity’s museum archives, she wrote: “My memories of D-Day are very clear.
“I was 16 years and eight months old. I joined our local Red Cross division when I was 15, Hans 28 its title.”
She adds: “As far as I can be known, I was the youngest nurse in the country to be on official duty and active duty on D-Day.”
She wrote that she had no idea what was unfolding on the shores of Normandy as D-Day arrived, saying: “Not surprisingly a war-weary people did not live with their ears glued to the radio.
“It was after midday when the full story emerged. My commandant burst into the office and said ‘Beaven, you must get permission to go home at once, put on your Red Cross uniform and report to the matron at Queen Alexandra’s Hospital.”
She continues: “On the walk there an unending stream of big army lorries passed me.
“I soon found out they contained either four or six soldiers lying on stretchers in shelf-like fashion. These were the first exhaustion cases back from the French beaches.”
She adds: “Under orders from senior nurses who had been evacuated from St George’s Hospital, Hyde Park Corner, I set to work stripping dirty clothing from the casualties, taking off old dirty emergency dressings and washing tired faces and bodies.
“As each one slowly revived, we fed them and administered cold or warm drinks.
“I don’t know how many people we helped but when I had a half a minute to stand up straight I looked outside and it was dark.
“After this, I was asked to work on the German prisoners, which I could have refused.
“In a Nissen hut away from the others, about 20 German boys occupied the beds, all about 16 to 18 years old.”
Ms Cox describes her surprise when she realised the German prisoners of war were only boys her age and adds: “Never in my short life had I seen anything so startling. Painfully thin bodies, long grey hair, shallow skin and eyes popping out of their heads.”
She also says that the soldiers were stunned to be helped by nurses like her and says: “The British Army guard told me they were all petrified and thought they were going to be poisoned. I got one to take a drink through a feeding cup; the tension eased a little.”
Ms Cox continued volunteering for the British Red Cross after D-Day and added in her letter: “As I was unpaid, just a volunteer, Britain could not award me anything. For many weeks I did similar work but not so hectic and more organised.”
British Red Cross Museum curator Mehzebin Adam-Suter said: “Naina’s story shows the remarkable work of women who were at the forefront of Red Cross relief operations following the D-Day landings, both in the UK and overseas.
“Like many of our volunteers during the war, Naina went beyond providing lifesaving first aid and medical care to the sick and wounded soldiers; she played a role in providing comfort and a sense of normalcy amid the harsh realities of war.”
A British Red Cross spokeswoman added of the reason for Ms Cox writing to the charity: “Perhaps she felt compelled to share her wartime memories – and how those small acts of kindness made a difference to the wounded soldiers who had arrived from the beaches of Normandy.
The British Red Cross’s Museum of Kindness which showcases the charity’s 150 years, is open to the public in Moorfields, London.
