Aldershot Military Hospital
Encyclopedia
Aldershot Military Hospital is a name given to up to three hospitals in Aldershot
, Hampshire
, which served the various British army
camps there.
The hospital was founded sometime after the Crimean War
, during which the military medical services had been found to be less than adequate by Florence Nightingale
. Three separate hospitals were built over time and served separate areas in the military encampment.
The first hospital was a wooden hutted structure, near the Garrison
Church for lunatics and infectious diseases, as well as providing some family accommodataion. The Union Hospital, converted out of a private residence which had been transformed into a workhouse
, the Union Poor House, came next. It was small, but for the time, well-equipped.
It was replaced by the Cambridge Hospital named after the head of the British Army
and son of George III. In the First World War, it was the first base hospital to receive casualties directly from the Western Front
.
The Cambridge was also the first place where plastic surgery was performed in the British Empire
. Captain Gillies (later Sir Harold Gillies
), met Morestin, while he was on leave in Paris in 1915, who was reconstructing faces in the Val-de-Grace
Hospital in Paris. He fell in love with the work, and at the end of 1915 was sent back from France to start a Plastic Unit in the Cambridge Hospital. It soon moved out to Roehampton
After the Second World War, with the decline in importance of Britain
's military commitments, civilians were admitted to the hospital, but the hospital pioneered the supply of portable operating theatres and supplies for frontline duties. The hospital also contained the Army Chest Unit.
It was closed partly due to the increasing disadvantages of the old building.
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, which served the various British army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
camps there.
The hospital was founded sometime after the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, during which the military medical services had been found to be less than adequate by Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
. Three separate hospitals were built over time and served separate areas in the military encampment.
The first hospital was a wooden hutted structure, near the Garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
Church for lunatics and infectious diseases, as well as providing some family accommodataion. The Union Hospital, converted out of a private residence which had been transformed into a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
, the Union Poor House, came next. It was small, but for the time, well-equipped.
It was replaced by the Cambridge Hospital named after the head of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and son of George III. In the First World War, it was the first base hospital to receive casualties directly from the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
.
The Cambridge was also the first place where plastic surgery was performed in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Captain Gillies (later Sir Harold Gillies
Harold Gillies
Sir Harold Delf Gillies was a New Zealand-born, and later London based, otolaryngologist who is widely considered as the father of plastic surgery.-Personal life:Gillies was born in Dunedin, New Zealand...
), met Morestin, while he was on leave in Paris in 1915, who was reconstructing faces in the Val-de-Grace
Val-de-Grâce
This article describes the hospital and former abbey. For the main article on Mansart and Lemercier's central church, see Church of the Val-de-Grâce....
Hospital in Paris. He fell in love with the work, and at the end of 1915 was sent back from France to start a Plastic Unit in the Cambridge Hospital. It soon moved out to Roehampton
After the Second World War, with the decline in importance of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's military commitments, civilians were admitted to the hospital, but the hospital pioneered the supply of portable operating theatres and supplies for frontline duties. The hospital also contained the Army Chest Unit.
It was closed partly due to the increasing disadvantages of the old building.