local red cross hospital

[geraint]

Perused a photo album today in the local archives, on this town's patients in the town's red cross hospital. Names are found under some pics, but I am unable to reconcile the names with the list of local soldiers. Did red cross hospitals in local provincial towns offer their services to local wounded men, or did patients come from a far wider geographical range?

TIA

Geraint

[Moonraker]

I can't speak with complete authority, but my impression has always been that patients were sent to whichever hospital had vacancies. I suspect that the authorities were too hard-pressed doing this to take into account where the patient lived.

Moonraker

[John Gilinsky]

Perusal of the ACI's at least from 1916 onwards indicate a mixed method of casualty distribution and/or redistribution. Certain hospitals were designated for certain types of wounds and disease/sickness. However certain hospitals were also designated for certain geographically originating soldiers (that is Australian, New Zealand, Canadian,etc...). In practice though when beds were scarce, railines congested or free soldiers from all over did end up in the strangest of hospitals. Canadians were truly scattered throughout Great Britain even though for most of the war they were concentrated in the southern parts. I should also add that many British, ANZAC and American casualties were amongst others, treated at Canadian hospitals throughout Great Britain. One cannot forget as well personal wishes of the soldier-patient combined with doctor's orders creating a certain amount of openly tolerated non-regulation casualty distribution.

John

Toronto

Canada

[geraint]

Thanks folks. The photos showed inmates and staff in informal poses for the period April- June 1916, taken by an inmate who later lived in town till the 1970s, and on moving to Birmingham presented his album to the records office.

There are about 25 patients (its still only a small cottage hospital today), and the snaps are too small to identify cap badge regiments, though the shapes show many different regiments. There are three different Scottish regiment headgear shown. The sequence showing them on an excursion to Rhyl, eating ice-cream and on a roller-coaster is fantastic! - and this in 1916!

I'll presume, from what you've both told me, that they are from everywhere!

Thanks

Geraint