WW1 Hospital Wards/Huts & Marquee Tents

[glennr]

Hi - I have many postcard images of the interiors of New Zealand military hospital wards in the UK. The single beds are lined down both sides of the ward allowing room for a pathway through the centre. Some appear to also have a stove in the centre of the hut. 

 

I'm interested to learn the little known facts...what was the make of bed provided to the New Zealand military hospitals in the UK (manufacturer's name, built in the UK?, must have been a significant production of these during the war.). They seem to be a metal frame and some set on trolley wheels to maneuver about. Was there a standard issue of blankets, and presumably the nurses/VADs/orderlies applied 'hospital corners' when making up the beds. I believe some huts/wards had stoves - anyone know the make of stove. And the flooring I guess was either exposed timber boards or linoleum?

 

Interestingly too, at least some (maybe all?) erected huts in the grounds of the New Zealand military hospitals in the UK had walls made from asbestos board. I'm assuming they had corrugated iron roofs.

 

And aside from the huts were the large marquee tents. I'm familiar with the smaller bell tents (and have seen pictures of these with the bell tent erected over a wooden deck/floor in camp) but I wonder what sort of history sits with the larger hospital tents used in the grounds of many of the hospitals. They certainly served an important purpose to help supplement the number of beds available at the hospital for the incoming wounded. Were they marked WD as military property, how many beds could these tents accommodate etc.