4th Southern Gen/Hosp Plymouth HQ&Staff photo

[Skipman]

I have a loan of a large photograph 4ftx1ft of the whole HQ and Staff of the 4th Southern General Hospital, Plymouth July 1918.

It is in a glass frame, which makes it difficult to photograph ( reflection ) Will try get better photo tomorrow, in daylight. Also as it is so large, difficult to photograph in one go, so will split it into groups, and post if anyone is interested.

It's a cracking photograph, the clarity of it does not show in this effort.

Cheers Mike

[Uncle George]

Hello Mike

 

I'm conscious that this is a very old thread, and conscious too that you only had loan of this photograph: but I wonder if you still have access to it?

 

I've recently asked for a quote from the IWM for photographs of the "Territorial Force Nursing Service at the Headquarters of the 4th Southern General Hospital situated at Devonport Workhouse at Stoke Damerel in Plymouth during the First World War."

 

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205224561

 

This building is significant to me for a number of reasons: my first cousin thrice removed (I think this is right!), Mary Jane Ross, was born there in 1860 (when it was Devonport Workhouse); and I worked in that building from1998 to 2003 (when it housed Devonport Social Services.) A photograph of the building as I remember it can be seen here:

 

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/StokeDamerel/

 

(It was demolished a few years ago - a Lidl now stands on that site.)

 

But other sources 

 

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/day-scenes-plymouth-wwi-hospital/story-20922732-detail/story.html

 

tell us that the 4th Southern General Hospital was not at that location, but at Salisbury Road School.

 

Anyway, I hope to hear from you.

 

Thanks very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Hello. I'm sorry I don't have access to it. It belonged to a friend who buys/sells/shifts all manner of militaria. I will ask him but I believe it's long-gone.

 

Mike

Somewhere on one of my Ext HDD there my be a copy of it and various segments thereof. Will have a dekko but don't get too excited.

 

Mike

[Uncle George]

Thanks for looking.

[Guest]

Uncle George. I have had a trawl through my old Ext HDD and found a few images. These are all I have and the whereabouts of the photograph are now unknown, I'm afraid. They are not great quality but I hope they will be of some use to you.

 

Mike

[Guest]

Found one more, this is the right hand portion of the photo. Have also zoomed in on wring on bottom right, and the building in top right that may help identify location?

 

Mike

[Uncle George]

Mike thank you so much for looking for and posting these images.

 

I can say with some confidence that this building is not the building in which I worked. For one reason, the third storey of that building was a later addition and the stones were of a different shade to those of the original two storeys. The photograph on the link in post #2 shows this plainly. This is not to be seen on the photograph you posted.

 

Salisbury Road School can be found on Google images, and again, it does not appear to be 'your' building.

 

According to the link I posted on Devonport Workhouse, "The main block, which no longer exists, faced to the south-east and was of three storeys. To the rear was an infirmary block, originally of two storeys but with a third storey added later, possibly in 1898 when £4,000 is recorded as having been spent on building additions." This infirmary block is, presumably, where Mary Jane was born, and was where I worked.

 

My conclusion, therefore, is that your photograph, and the Great War 4th Southern General Hospital, was in the old main block of the Devonport Workhouse. 

 

Thanks again for your help with this.

 

[Guest]

Very glad to be of assistance.

 

Mike