Pathe's John Parsons interviews people arriving at London Airport from the AIOC's terminal in Abadan after the Iran oil nationalisation in 1951Credit: British Pathe's archives [Cuts from 51/81.]Interviewing Nurse. JP: Re: Patients? Nurse: No, no Europeans left at all. There are no British people left in Abadan now. ... The only people British are Consulate people. SV Interviewing Nurses Miss Hughes and Miss Henry. JP: feelings on leaving Abadan? Hughes: It's a sort of mixed feeling really. Rather sad. Henry: Yes, I feel very sad about leaving the Hospital. We were very happy there and it was a very nice Hospital. It was rather awful walking out and leaving all our patients and all our friends behind us. JP: Re going back? Hughes: Well, I'd like to. JP: Future? Hughes: We're going back home. JP: Did you leave much behind? Hughes: No, not very much, uniforms, and various household effects. JP: Serious cases? Hughes: In the acute surgical ward, there were acute cases there. There haven't been any European patients for a week or so. JP: Hear of this evacuation? Hughes: Well, we heard talks were going on for several weeks, probably months you know - I think it just came to an end. Henry: The Matron called us to her office, told us we'd be leaving on a certain day and to be ready packed. That's when we were given the official information. Interviewing Mrs Ridge. JP: Tell us your story? Mrs Ridge: Well, I think it's very sad to leave Abadan altogether. The people themselves were very sad to see us go, especially at the Hospital. All the Staff I think feel very lost. Of course, they've had British nurses there now for quite along time. Although they're doing very well with their nursing, they are by no means ready yet to run a hospital or to be Matrons, or even yet quite to be sisters. Interviewing Mr Stanfield. JP: Re feelings? S: Well, we left with a certain amount of foreboding. There's nothing very much you can really say about it, but we are all hoping to go back, if everything is settled quite peaceably. JP: What is your job out there? S: I was a motor engineer on transport. JP: Do you think in your opinion the Persians will have any chance at all of carrying on? S: At the moment the set-up is that there's a big shortage of spares and I couldn't say how long the transport's going to hang on. Probably the best estimate - Christmas. JP: What do you propose to do in the future? S: At the moment leave is my objective. Then it's up to the Company.
Posted by The Abadan Times on Monday, March 6, 2017
