Musical Beds

Well the talk last week at Bradford Family History Society “Musical beds – Military use of Bradford’s Hospitals in WW1” complete with elevator music went down well. It was based on a lot of research which like a jigsaw puzzle took a lot of piecing together, as a result it contained a lot of information that people hadn’t previously known. 

I contacted two of the schools that feature in the talk to see if they were interested in finding out more. I could just go and repeat the talk for them but I would like to do something more interactive with the children, time and budget allowing!

I have been busy writing for the book, first turning the musical beds talk into part of a chapter and also writing up some of the research I undertook at the National Archives. It is starting to come together well, the chapters are taking shape!

I have also been busy networking, catching up with the PeaceMuseum, Local Councillors, other History Press Great War Authors and other local WW1 projects including ShipleyWW1 and Keighley's Men of Worth. 

I am hoping to create a series of talks that can be given over the course of the centenary, ‘Musical Beds’ and ‘Raspberries and Cream Cakes’ being just two of them. As you can tell from the titles I try and engage the audience in the material and find amusing tales in what might otherwise be a sombre topic.

HLF funding for research into First World War Hospital, Leeds

It was great to hear news of the successful funding bid of HeadingleyLitFest into life at 2nd Northern General Hospital, Becketts Park, Leeds.

The hospital had only recently been built for the City of Leeds Training College when shortly after hostilities broke out it was established as the 2nd Northern General Hospital.

The first batch of wounded soldiers to arrive in Bradford in October 1914 first came via the 2nd Northern General Hospital and they continued to send patients to various Bradford hospitals until the Bradford War Hospital was established in December 1915. I will be sharing with them the information that I have gathered on the work of the 2nd Northern General Hospital and hope that they might also uncover more information about the hospital work in Bradford during the course of their research.

The project will come to a climax in time for the seventh annual LitFest in March 2014 with the production of an illustrated publication and a dramatic performance based on its contents.

Can you help?

They are looking for letters, diaries and articles in newspapers, and trying to trace the descendants of people who were there – the grandchildren perhaps. They intend to put out appeals in print and online to find them, hoping that they have memories and photos to share.

If you can help, visit HeadingleyLitFest.blogspot.co.uk or contact headingleyhospital@gmail.com

Bradford Royal Eye and Ear Hospital

The Royal Eye and Ear Hospital was a subscription hospital which treated some of the first wounded soldiers to arrive in Bradford in October 1914. It continued to treat wounded soldiers throughout the war although numbers decreased as other provision was made in the city. It also played an important service in removing foreign objects from the eyes of munitions workers treating at least 5,000 cases during the course of the war.

40,000,000 Eggs wanted - but not the chocolate variety

“I should just like your girls to see the delight on that fellow’s face. He looked like the egg had dropped down from heaven. I believe if a man came along with a £20 note in one hand and an egg in the other he’d take the egg”

National Egg Collection for the Wounded© IWM (Art.IWM PST 10836)

The National Egg Collection for the Wounded was started August 1915 it aimed at first to collect a million eggs for the wounded. The scheme proved was very successful actually achieving an average of one million eggs a month. In February 1917 during the special ‘Children’s Week’ 300,000 eggs were collected when the weather was very bad and eggs scarce.

By January 1918 the scheme had sent over seven million eggs to hospitals at home and over 25 million to hospitals abroad. But at this time the national egg shortage had grown, some people, frightened by the orders of the Food Controller and the Board of Agriculture, had disposed of their chickens as they didn’t think they would be able to get food for them. The shortage of imported supplies and increased demands from the hospitals at this time also exacerbated the difference between supply and demand. “There are more wounded than there ever were and less eggs to give them.”

The war office asked for a further quarter of a million eggs per month over and above the existing supplies. An appeal was launched to reach a target of 40,000,000 eggs. People were asked to sacrifice their own eggs for the soldiers.

Poultry farmers could despatch the eggs for free to the Central London Depot, or to one of the 2,000 local depots across the UK, and the eggs were distributed to the hospitals by the war office. People who had their own chickens were asked to give a tithe of their eggs each week. Those without chickens were encouraged to give money so that eggs could be brought.

“You people in your comfortable homes have not the remotest idea what the eggs mean to us out here, to say nothing of the pleasure they give. A chaps been out in the trenches for a year, eighteen months, perhaps 2 years; he’s never seen an egg! He wakes up one morning and finds himself in a clean and comfortable bed. Someone comes along with one of your fine newly laid eggs. I should just like your girls to see the delight on that fellow’s face.”

So when enjoying your eggs this Easter spare a thought to those who sacrificed their lives and those at home who sacrificed their eggs during the First World War.

Sources

British Journal of Nursing 21^st August 1915

Save our Soldiers, An Appeal for the National Egg Collection for the wounded
Flight, 18th January 1917

Clayton Auxiliary Hospital

Clayton Auxiliary Hospital opened in April 1917 it was the female Infirmary block of the North Bierley Union Hospital. It accommodated 114 soldiers brought from the Bradford War Hospital. Prior to this it had been used to train nurses and to accommodate patients displaced by the utilisation of the whole of the whole of the Bradford Union Institution as a War hospital.

In July 1918 it was expanded by the utilisation of 3 hospital tents accommodating 30-40 soldiers.

For more information read the full article.


If anyone has any further knowledge of the use of Clayton Auxiliary Hospital or North Bierley Union during WW1 or of nurses who lived there after this time it would be lovely to hear more.

Bowling Park Colony

Bowling Park Auxiliary Hospital opened on 16^th April 1915. It was used until St Luke’s War Hospital was opened in December 1915. It accommodated 80 soldiers brought from the 2^nd Northern War Hospital at Leeds and later the East Leeds War Hospital.

The grounds of Bowling Park was also used as a camp for the Second Pal’s Battalion in May 1915 before they moved on to Ripon.

If anyone has any further knowledge of the use of Bowling Park Colony during WW1 or of nurses who lived there after this time it would be lovely to hear more.

Field House Auxiliary Hospital

Field House Auxiliary Hospital opened on 24^th February 1915. It was used of the majority of the war (although it was shut for a period it reopened due to the demand for beds) finally closing in February 1919.  At its height it accommodated 88 soldiers and was run by the St John’s Ambulance Brigade. For more information read the full article.

I hope to find time to search more newspapers for details of when the Field House Hospital closed and reopened as no specific dates are given in the Bradford Royal Infirmary annual reports. 

If anyone has any further knowledge of the use of Field House during WW1 or of nurses who lived there after this time it would be lovely to hear more.

Bradford’s military hospitals - overview

It is well known that Bradford had its own base War Hospital but this does not paint the whole picture as there were many more auxiliary hospitals that also treated wounded soldiers. It is difficult to provide total figures for the number of soldiers treated in Bradford as some were transferred from Hospitals in Leeds to a variety of auxiliary hospitals before the first Red Cross Trains brought wounded soldiers straight from France to the Bradford War Hospital in November 1915. 

Several blogs in coming weeks and months will provide information about the various military hospitals however here is an overview of the different hospitals that treated wounded soldiers first the three main hospitals that could take patients straight from disembarkation and then the auxiliary hospitals. 

Bradford War Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital run by Bradford Board of Guardians
Abram Peel Hospital, Leeds Road Hospital run by Bradford Corporation
Bradford Military Hospital, this was either at Bradford Moor Barracks or at Belle Vue Barracks

Bowling Park Auxiliary Hospital, Bradford Board of Guardians home for male imbeciles
Clayton Auxiliary Hospital, North Bierley Union Infirmary
Field House Auxiliary Hospital, Bradford Royal Infirmary’s convalescent home
Guiseley Auxiliary Hospital, not sure which hospital/private home this was
Royal Ear and Eye Hospital, Bradford a voluntary subscription hospital
Salt's Auxiliary Hospital, Saltaire Sir Titus Salt Hospital, charitable hospital
Woodlands Auxiliary Hospital, Rawdon, Bradford Royal Infirmary’s convalescent home

If you have any information on the location of the Bradford Military Hospital or the Guiseley Auxiliary Hospital please get in touch so that a more complete picture can be painted.