Under Bulgarian Control


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As the battle lines came closer to Skoplje, wounded poured into the Lady Paget Hospital. (MSS 97 Item 56, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. , Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.)

Following the defeat of the Serbian forces in Skoplje, wounded soldiers, from all sides, poured into the Lady Paget Hospital. Though the staff had agreed to stay and continue their mission until other accommodations could be made for the wounded, some British workers felt a nationalistic guilt at the thought of treating the enemy wounded so that they could fight the allied advance. Though the care that they gave to the wounded from both sides was acknowledged by the Bulgarians to be above reproach, there soon arose a natural tension between the Bulgarians and their British captives, making operations more difficult for Lady Paget at an administrative level. This mistrust immediately led to accusations of spying in the Red Cross unit. Although baseless, the accusations showed the Relief Fund staff that they were being closely watched in their interactions with wounded Serbian soldiers and civilians. To maintain their working relationship with their captors’, staff would need to beware of any suggestion of secrecy.  Though each side remained cautious of the other, they were mutually dependent.

 

 

Under Bulgarian Control                                                                                         Autonomy


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