​​​Like many Portsmouth residents, Mary Verrier felt the impact of war. She had been bombed out twice and she relied upon Guildhall Square canteens, yet she continued to provide quality patient care. 

​In 1938, Mary trained as a red cross cadet assigned to the Portsmouth division. As war arrived, she was attached to First Aid Post 1- St Mary’s Hospital. This detachment possessed the only gas decontamination unit, which Mary was trained to use. Initially, St Mary’s was a workhouse infirmary, evolving later into a hospital. Today it is a walk-in healthcare centre.  

​Although posted to St Mary’s, Mary’s work took her to other parts Portsmouth. During the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Dieppe and Sanders raids, she treated casualties at Queen Alexandra hospital. Portsmouth hospitals suffered much damage from air raids, therefore patients were frequently transferred to St Mary’s (outside of the city centre). However, it wasn’t immune to attacks. One bombing resulted in the destruction of 80 nurse's rooms, matron's quarters, a kitchen and the pool, and killed several members of staff. 

​Caught in a raid once herself during a cinema date with her husband, Mary left to return to the hospital, where she was hauled in to help tackle two fires before arriving at her post where Air Raid Precaution teams were taking civilian casualties. This demonstrates the wartime determination and cooperation among Portsmouth’s population. 

​Prior to D-Day, medical training intensified at St Mary’s, with wards cleared and bodily fluids stocked up. In June 1944, Mary stood on Southsea Pier by a mobile hospital unit waving the troops goodbye. For the injured that returned, she provided specialised burn treatment at her clearing station and tended to troops and Prisoners of War with burns and blasts. She took care of physical wounds, whilst and tried to boost morale. Gifts were exchanged consisting of parcels for POW’s and poems or dances for nurses. ​ 

​In 2021, Mary passed away. She committed her life to the Red Cross and the people of Portsmouth. Mary’s memories of the Second World War reflect normality for many civilian and military personnel. Portsmouth was full of ‘hard times, happy times and hospital staff’ (Memoirs of Sister Mary Verrier, Portsmouth library).​