Brighton Pavillion hospital for soldiers

[wilkokcl]

Hello,

In WWI my gggrandfather was a doctor in Brighton, Sussex. He worked at the Royal Pavillion (King George IV's strange seaside palace!) which had been converted in to a hospital for soldiers who had lost limbs.

I have a number of photographs from then and wonder if anyone is interested in seeing them. If so I can post a few more here of both the soldiers and nursing staff. In this photo the distinctive Pavillion with exotic domes is visible in the top right. Questions I have wondered are:

1. What are the uniforms of the soldiers (the poor chap in the wheel chair looks

almost like a child)

2. Are the nurses civillians or wearing 'military' uniforms - if there was such a

thing.

3. Are the nurses wearing medals? It looks like a medal with the letter R inside.

4. who's the chap on the left who doesn't appear to be wounded. Maybe he was in

charge of the hospital?

Mark.

[squirrel]

The two soldiers on crutches and the one in the wheelchair are wearing Hospital Uniform; blue suit with white facings on the jacket, white shirt and red tie. They are wearing their service dress headgear which was worn with the "hospital blues".

Tha man standing to the left of the one in the wheelchair is an RAMC Corporal Medical Orderly.

As far as the nurses are concerned, they look like Army Nurses, but someone else will have to answer this for you. I think their capes were grey with red edging but am not certain and I don't know what the medals/brooches signify.

Hope this helps. There is another recent thread on the site about The Brighton Pavilion being used as a WW1 hospital which might be of interest and please do post your other photos for us to see. Thanks for sharing this one.

[Sue Light]

2. Are the nurses civillians or wearing 'military' uniforms - if there was such a

  thing.

3.  Are the nurses wearing medals?  It looks like a medal with the letter R inside.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The nurses are members of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve - 10,400 [or so] trained nurses who were employed by the War Office 'for the duration,' to augment the small regular QAIMNS. All members of the three military nursing services, QAIMNS, QAIMNS Reserve and the Territorial Force Nursing Service wore service badges - different for each service. These nurses are wearing the silver badges of the Reserve.

The uniforms comprised a grey dress, white apron and hat, and for the QAIMNS Reserve and TFNS a shoulder cape of grey with scarlet facings - for members of the regular QAIMNS it was solid red - not many 'red capes' in WW1!

Sue

[wilkokcl]

Thanks for the info people - much appreciated.

Here's another photo from the family album. I am pretty sure it must be in Brighton and is on the same page as those showing the Pavillion. But no clues here as to the exact location of what may have been a purpose built hospital 'ward'.

As before all observations, comments, uniform identification etc very much appreciated. Thanks,

Mark

(and even if you know nothing (like me!) I hope you enjoy the picture.

[Christina]

Please do share the rest of your photos with us, my Grandfather was wounded and lost a leg, I am unable to find his service record. Who knows some of us in this position may just see our relative in one of your photos.

Regards

Christina

[wilkokcl]

OK here's another one. Almost certainly in Brighton but maybe one of the proper hospitals this time.

I note how clean the ward is and also quite decorative - eg the tablecloth!

No signs of military uniforms though and the nurses appear to be wearing conventional clothing.

Mark.

[wilkokcl]

What's the name for a group of nurses? A flock perhaps......

Anyway, this one's taken close to what is now the Dome concert hall out on the balcony - obviously tea break time for the girls. Image quality is not the best, but you can clearly see each nurse is wearing the "R" badge described by Sue above.

Any ideas why the nurses on the far right are wearing a different uniform with a big cross on the front?

Mark.

[Sue Light]

Mark

What about 'bevy,' or 'gaggle' - or maybe in the Army an 'intimidation' would be more appropriate!

Great photos, especially the last one – I’ve killed for images less interesting that that one! I suppose there are no names on the back – too much to hope for. The ‘hut’ picture is a standard ward hut of the time, and I don’t think it was taken at Pavilion Hospital – it was used exclusively for limbless soldiers, and apart from one man, the others seem to be limbs intact. So if it was taken in Brighton it would either have been at Kitchener Military Hospital, or at No.2 Eastern General [TF], which was in Dyke Road, and also at Stamford Road Schools. In some ways I think No.2 Eastern General would be more likely, as the two nurses at the rear of the hut are dressed in the uniform of Special Military Probationers, rather than VADs, and there were far more SMPs in the Territorial Force Nursing Service, than in QAIMNS.

The second picture is a civilian hospital, and it looks like it was taken on a women’s ward, but the era is the same. Obviously posed – I can’t imagine that all those nurses would be on duty in a ward at any one time – they were probably ‘imported’ especially for the occasion, and the woman in the chair on the right seems to nursing a baby.

The third one is a mixed group of QAIMNS Reserve sisters and staff nurses, and the other two women in the background are VADs. It’s great to see such a happy, informal photo of a large group of nurses, and it definitely puts paid to the wicked stories that the QAs were a group of passed over spinsters who cracked mirrors and spat out gooseberries!

Sue

[wilkokcl]

Great photos, especially the last one – I’ve killed for images less interesting that that one!

Sue,

Glad you like it. I think it puts paid to the idea that they were a load of old spinsters who had no fun at all. The impression I get from all these pictures is a group of friends together who had many a giggle together in their spare time.

I suppose there are no names on the back – too much to hope for.

Sadly not - they are snaps in a family album and not formal group pictures. They're stuck in with glue but i'm pretty sure there wouldn't be much info on the back. I can however identify one of the doctors and a nurse as they are family. I haven't got round to researching this properly yet so do you think there is much to find out? I'd rather assumed there wouldn't be much in the archives as they are not really military personnel and seemed to have served at home not overseas.

Wish I could work out where these were taken,

Mark.

[wilkokcl]

Here's another one - I've no idea where this but it seems to include the same nurses as those near the Pavillion.

The lady on the second right seems to be wearing her medal and they again all seem to be good friends.

Enjoy,

Mark

[Sue Light]

Thank you Mark - one of those photos that probably has low interest for the Forum in general, but what do I care! The VAD on the left looks as though she's had to be persuaded to come out onto the balcony, and needs an encouraging hand. The building in the background looks slightly institutional, but the foreground with a balcony on two adjacent windows is perhaps more likely to have been a large house?

The photos have got more 'life' in them than most I've seen - you can almost hear the women talking!

Sue

[wilkokcl]

Here's another one for you Sue (or is anyone else looking at these as well?!)

2 nurses in the Pavillion gardens and the Dome concert hall in the bacground. Presumably they didn't wear those medals every day and put them on for a photo opportunity. Any ideas when they would have been awarded them?

Mark

[waspexile]

Only just read this as have only just got on the forum.

Great pictures of Brighton - while researching my great-uncles movements during the war i came across a newspaper article which said that the Poorhouse/workhouse in Brighton was emptied to provide much needed hospital space.

Rather bizarrely the occupants of the poorhouse were sent to stay in the rather grand Downs Hotel in Hassocks (a few miles up the road the other side of the South Downs) History doesnt record if they got a better deal than the injured soldiers but i would say its a dead cert they were more comfortable. I doubt they got kippers in the morning though!

David

[Neil Clark]

Fantastic photogrpahs of pre-MRSA era!

I really enjoyed looking at them

Thanks