Blue Uniform worn by Hospital Patients (Soldiers)

[Guest amandaccc]

Hi all

Apologies if there is information on this anywhere else but i cant put my finger on it

I am part of a European project currently running on WWI and during my research of Papworth hospital and Addenbrookes and the the First Eastern General Hospitals in Cambridgeshire, both Papworth and the First Eastern General show patients wearing a blue uniform with a red tie and no one seems to be able to tell me what the origin of this uniform is -

1) Was it UK wide

2) Was it Europe wide

3) Where did it come from

4) Why did soldiers wear it

Any help on this would be great

Thanks

Amanda

[T8HANTS]

Put Hospital Blues into the search box

[CGM]

Commonly called "Hospital Blues"

A search for this title, in FORUMS (not THIS TOPIC) will bring up a lot of threads

Look for "Can Anyone Shed Any Light on This Uniform ?" and others which look appropriate.

CGM

[FROGSMILE]

Hi all

Apologies if there is information on this anywhere else but i cant put my finger on it

I am part of a European project currently running on WWI and during my research of Papworth hospital and Addenbrookes and the the First Eastern General Hospitals in Cambridgeshire, both Papworth and the First Eastern General show patients wearing a blue uniform with a red tie and no one seems to be able to tell me what the origin of this uniform is -

1) Was it UK wide

2) Was it Europe wide

3) Where did it come from

4) Why did soldiers wear it

Any help on this would be great

Thanks

Amanda

Amanda, to save you trawling through the large number of posts I will attempt to answer the more straightforward parts of your query. I hope that it helps.

My understanding is that hospital Blues were first issued during the Crimean War and arose from the public outcry engendered by William Howard Russell's dispatches that brought attention to the suffering of the wounded. This is turn attracted Queen Victoria's attention and before long the special blue uniforms were issued and a large military hospital built at Netley, Southampton, for the better treatment of the wounded. The uniforms were the same blue flannel, lined in white that served their purpose throughout the Boer War, WW1, WW2, Korea and as late as the 1960s, when they were finally withdrawn and replaced by issue striped pyjamas and dressing gowns, but on a much smaller scale. These latter have also since been withdrawn (along with the military hospitals). If you look you can see that the later pattern appears to be just a cropped version (as in coat cut into a jacket) of the original. There were few sizes and most men had to turn up trouser cuffs to fit. The lapels were originally designed to be fastened at the neck and so when turned back for the white shirt and red tie also showed a portion of white lining.

There is an interesting link showing the scale of effort involved in treating WW1 wounded here: http://rusholmearchi...itals-1914-1918

And an explanation regarding the use of hospital Blues here: http://wellcomelibra...oldiers-in.html

[wainfleet]

Regularly but incorrectly called "Hospital Blues" on here of late, the correct term is "Hospital Blue".

[centurion]

Regularly but incorrectly called "Hospital Blues" on here of late, the correct term is "Hospital Blue".

No quite correct - Hospital Blue is the colour Hospital Blues are the suit

[Jools33]

I have a question on this topic, were the Hospital Blues the same for all the services? Was there any difference or any way to differentiate if the patient was in the army or navy? Thanks

[Sue Light]

I can't say what the 'normal' wear was in Naval hospitals, but I've recently acquired this postcard of a Naval auxiliary hospital in the UK which shows a clear difference compared to an army hospital.

Sue

[seaJane]

Ask http://www.haslarheritagegroup.co.uk/, I'm sure they also have some naval photographs.

[CarolBrodie]

I thought you might be interested to see this photograph taken of patients at the Red Cross Hospital, Druffield near Derby in April 1918, clearly shows Hospital Blue uniform ! My Grandpa is third from the left back row; he was injured in France and sent home to recover, I'm trying to find out where he was injured and what happened to him. I know he went back to France after his stay at Druffield. When he eventually came home he was deaf and replied upon a hearing aid foe the rest of his life, he also had problems with embedded shrapnel particles for years after.

Just thought the photograph may be of interest.

The second photograph shows him in a coat with a wound arm band

[heatherannej]

Hi ... just come across this thread. Out of interest, was the blue uniform worn in the hospitals in France & Flanders? Heather

[johntanner]

See http://greatwarphotos.com/2012/01/23/great-war-hospital-blues/

John

[heatherannej]

Ahhhhh ...... thank you for that John. Much appreciated, Heather

[GRANVILLE]

I thought you might be interested to see this photograph taken of patients at the Red Cross Hospital, Druffield near Derby in April 1918, clearly shows Hospital Blue uniform ! My Grandpa is third from the left back row; he was injured in France and sent home to recover, I'm trying to find out where he was injured and what happened to him. I know he went back to France after his stay at Druffield. When he eventually came home he was deaf and replied upon a hearing aid foe the rest of his life, he also had problems with embedded shrapnel particles for years after.

Just thought the photograph may be of interest.

The second photograph shows him in a coat with a wound arm band

Can I point out that the Derbyshire village referred to is Duffield just north of Derby. You might find this site of interest because it lists all the known War Hospital Supply Depots and the person to whom the said depot was registered. http://www.scarletfinders.co.uk/178.html

In this case there are two listed in Duffield: 1385 DUFFIELD MRS BARBER, AVENUE ROAD and: 4092 DUFFIELD MRS MORRISON, GERVASE HOUSE, but as far as I can tell these addresses were not necessarily where the actual facilities were, so in the case of Duffield there may well have been another building used for the purpose?

David

[heatherannej]

Thank you David ..... yes, I have found/am finding Sue Light and www.scarletfinders invaluable regarding anything nursing-related :-) Best Regards Heather

[GRANVILLE]

Heather.

Do you know if it's possible to do this sort of research in reverse i.e. rather that search an area to see if they had such hospitals/depots in them, but rather to try and find out which men these facilities had in their care? I have an interest in one particular village which had a similar depot, and would like to think I could figure out who passed through its doors?

David

[heatherannej]

Hi David .... well, I'd say I was in the minority on this Forum in as much as I am not, by any means, an expert so there the majority will know better than I :-) All I can say is, perhaps I started out on the bulk of this research "in reverse". I wished to discover more about two of my husband's Gt. Aunts - both were full-time head teachers but were members of the Red Cross during WW1, albeit on a part-time basis.

I contacted the Red Cross and a great archivist helped me in this regard plus offered surviving Red Cross cards for the hospitals and homes that existed within my locality during WW1 ... followed by surviving cards for the nurses whose names appeared on those cards. I was duly 'sucked in' and have been able to ID many and, thus, add to their 'being'!

I used the word "surviving" because I know that there will be places I am not holding card images for and, likewise, I know that I am not holding card images for all the nurses who worked at any specific place e.g. I have found nurses being mentioned in the local newspapers - they are noted as working at a particular hospital/home but they do not appear on the hospital/home card. If I have found a patient, it has been a complete fluke and certainly not intentional.

If you mean hospital/home (rather than a Supply Depot) at your "particular village" then perhaps the British Red Cross holds a card for nurses plus local newspapers (I use the British Library online ones for ease, not all areas/papers are complete yet) may through up the odd patient's name?

I wouldn't know where to start with patients, I'm afraid. However, I'm sure others will be able to tell you if it is possible to do that. Personally speaking, if there are means to do that I must NOT get started on patients :-)

All the best ..... Heather

[GRANVILLE]

Heather, Thanks for this.

[CarolBrodie]

Can I point out that the Derbyshire village referred to is Duffield just north of Derby. You might find this site of interest because it lists all the known War Hospital Supply Depots and the person to whom the said depot was registered. http://www.scarletfinders.co.uk/178.html

In this case there are two listed in Duffield: 1385 DUFFIELD MRS BARBER, AVENUE ROAD and: 4092 DUFFIELD MRS MORRISON, GERVASE HOUSE, but as far as I can tell these addresses were not necessarily where the actual facilities were, so in the case of Duffield there may well have been another building used for the purpose?

David

A belated thank you David, I haven't been on here for a few weeks, much appreciated

Best wishes, Carol