Chapter: THE WOMEN'S SHELTER, WHITECHAPEL

This is a place where women, most of them old, so far as my
observation went, are taken in to sleep at a charge of 3_d._ a night.
It used to be 2_d_. until the London County Council made the provision
of sheets, etc., compulsory, when the Army was obliged to raise the
payment. This Shelter, which is almost always so full that people have
to be turned away, holds 261 women. It contains a separate room, where
children are admitted with their mothers, half price, namely
1-1/2_d._, being charged per child. There is a kitchen attached where
the inmates can buy a large mug of tea for a 1/2_d._, and a huge chunk
of bread for a second 1/2_d._; also, if I remember right, other
articles of food, if they can afford such luxuries.

The great dormitory in this Shelter, it may be mentioned, was once a
swimming-bath. Some of the women who come to this place have slept in
it almost every night for eighteen or twenty years. Others make use of
it for a few months, and then vanish for a period, especially in the
summer, when they go hop or strawberry picking, and return in the
winter. Every day, however, fresh people appear, possibly to depart on
the morrow and be seen no more.

I asked whether the aged folk had not been benefited by the Old Age
Pensions Act. The lady Officer in charge replied that it had been a
blessing to some of them. One old woman, however, would not apply for
her pension, although she was urged to take a room for herself
somewhere. She said that she was afraid if she did so, she might be
turned out and be lonely.

I visited this Shelter in the late afternoon, before it was filled up.
A number of dilapidated and antique females were sitting about in the
rooms, talking or sewing. One old lady was doing crochet work. She
told me that she made her living by it, and by flower-selling. Another
informed me that it was years since she had slept anywhere else, and
that she did not know what poor women like her would do without this
place. Another was cooking the broth. Her husband was a sea captain,
and when he died, her father had allowed her _L1_ a week until he
died. Afterwards she took to drink, and drifted here, where, I was
informed, she is doing well. And so on, and so on, _ad infinitum_. The
Hanbury Street Women's Shelter is not a cheerful spot to visit on a
dull and rainy evening.

 Rivers goes to consult with Head about his feelings of guilt. Head is surprised, and he reassures Rivers that there is no one person who could be more different from Yealland. Head tells Rivers that no matter how much influence he thinks he has, Sassoon has a mind of his own and it was Sassoon's personal decision to go back to the war. Rivers talks about his trip to the Solomon Islands as an anthropologist. The natives asked him about his way of living; when he told them some of his culture's practices, they laughed uncontrollably because the things he described were so bizarre to them. At that moment Rivers felt incredible freedom, realizing that there was no measure of culture, of morality, or of right and wrong. It was "the Great White God dethroned. Rivers returns to Craiglockhart for the monthly Board meeting and finds the hospital much quieter than when he left it. Anderson has worsened; he has not lost his fear of blood and he appears to be growing increasingly dependent on psychological help. Rivers visits Sassoon and finds him in his room in the same position as when he left him. Sassoon has finished a book, entitled Counter Attack, and has tried to remain out of trouble. He has also received some effusive letters from Owen, and he has begun to suspect that Owen had a crush on him. Rivers brings Sassoon the news that it seems very likely, if all goes well in the Board meeting the next day, that Sassoon will be sent back to France. At the Board meeting the next day, they decide to give Anderson a desk job in the War Office rather than force him to go back to civilian medicine right away. When Sassoon comes in, he salutes the three officers and gives very satisfactory answers to all their questions. He admits that he has not changed his views on the war in the least; he is still very strongly opposed to it. Nevertheless, he considers it his duty to return to France and continue to serve his country. The Board agrees, and sends him back to active military duty. Rivers says goodbye to Sassoon and reflects on the irony of the situation, that he himself should be changed so much by someone whom it is his job to change. Rivers worries about Sassoon, believing that he is going back to the war with the intention of being killed, that underneath his desire to watch over his men, Sassoon has a strong desire for death. Though Rivers has always respected authority, it is his turn to rebel. Morally, he must challenge a government that would kill an entire generation.

