In remembrance of the sacrifices made by so many people during the First World War Susan Acott, CEO talks about the war and how it affected life at the Dartford Hospitals during the conflict. We hope you find it interesting. “One hundred years ago this year the world was plunged into the first truly global war. It proved catastrophic for a generation of young men and women, destroyed states and empires, only to create new tensions which resulted in a second world war twenty years later. This year we commemorate and remember the sacrifice of so many and reflect on how World War 1 changed social attitudes as well as the map of Europe. It is an opportunity to look at our history and learn from it, trying to avoid the mistakes and arrogance of the past which culminated in the devastation of a generation. It is also interesting from a historical perspective and we see our current state compared to that which our forebears faced. Dartford Hospitals received a range of casualties from WW1. Its history of dealing with small pox gave a legacy of hospital capacity and nursing expertise which was deployed to deal with war casualties in 1915. As wounded service men began to arrive back in the UK in great number, the British Red Cross and other organisations established auxiliary hospitals to ease the pressure on large military hospitals. Over 5000 buildings in England were offered free of charge to the war office. Auxiliary hospitals were classified as Class A (bedridden casualties) Class B (for convalescent and ambulant patients). Specialised units were set up for shell shocked or neurasthenic patients. The rates paid to auxiliary hospitals were less than for the large military hospitals. In January 1915 the standard maximum rate was 15p per day for an occupied bed day. By 1918, this had risen to 16p per day. This was quite inadequate given the inflated cost of food and hospitals relied on public donations. Dartford has an interesting history of hospitals, with several being originally built to cater for London’s infectious diseases (small pox, diphtheria and scarlet fever). During the war the hospitals were used by American and Australian forces and the lower Southern became a German Prisoner of War hospital. The following hospitals existed or were created in and around Dartford for the First World War: • West Hill Hospital, Dartford • Long Reach Hospital, Dartford • Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford • No 3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Shooters Hill, Welling • Bexley Hospital, Old Bexley Lane, Bexley • Bexley & Welling Hospital, Bexleyheath • Ingress Abbey V.A.D. Hospital, Ingress Park, Greenhithe • Orchard Military Hospital, Dartford • Queen’s Auxiliary Hospital, Sidcup, Kent • The Southern, Dartford On the 4th August 1914 Germany invaded Belgium and this brought Britain into the War. Germany had already declared war on Russia and France. Austria had already declared war on Serbia and then invaded on the 12th August. On the 23rd August, Japan entered the war against Germany. By the end of October, Russia declared war on Turkey. In November, Britain annexed Cyprus and declared Egypt a protectorate. The Western front formed during October and Paris was saved from the German advance. At home, pubs had to close at 10pm instead of 11pm and income tax was doubled. The first battle of Ypres ended and by the end of October 1914, 30,000 British soldiers were already dead. On the 26th October, HMS Bulwark blew up at Sheerness killing 700. Towards the end of the year, the Germans commenced a bombing bombardment of East Coast Towns. In 1915, ocean voyage had become very dangerous. All sides tried to blockade each other to prevent war materials getting through. All ships headed to Great Britain were told to be on the lookout for U boats and take precautionary measures such as zig zagging and traveling at speed. On the 7th May, Captain William Turner slowed the Lusitania down because of fog. The RMS Lusitania was a luxurious liner primarily used to ferry people across the Atlantic. On board were 1959 people, 159 of whom were American. Approximately 14 miles off the coast of Kinsale on the Southern Coast of Ireland a U boat launched a torpedo which hit the Lusitania. She sank within 18 minutes with the death of 1198 civilians. The disaster shocked the world and hastened the entry of the US into the war. At home in Dartford, Irish nurses who had gone home for a few weeks were prevented from returning by worried families who did not want them to sail. Matron received several ‘unfit to return’ notes to cover their absence. The war of 1914 was a troublesome time for matron, trying to cope with emotional problems of so many young woman, confined to barracks, missing their families and loved ones in the trenches. Smoking and drinking could cause dismissal. Feel pity for assistant nurse class 2 Victoria Stains who in august, was caught smoking in her bedroom and also that she had visited the Bull Hotel in Dartford with a soldier who had previously been a patient in the hospital. Matron sacked Nurse Stains and her parents were called to fetch her. Life remained pressurised for matron after the war as well. Over 1000 refugees from Eastern Europe were admitted who were thought to have had small pox contacts. Once they had left, the post war years were initially dominated by ‘influenza and fever outbreaks. A world wide ‘flu epidemic swept the world after the war and scarlet fever and diphtheria were common. Mortality from these was heavy and inevitably, morbidity amongst the nursing staff was high as well. In reality, little could be done for fevers and the ‘magic’ penicillin was still many years away.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 10:28:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015