Aberystwyth hospitals during the Great War - Part 2

Back in April, we posted the first part of an illuminating and informative blog on the wartime hospitals in Aberystwyth, particularly the Red Cross hospital on the Promenade, which is now the Cambria. This month - a little belatedly due to the project event blogs of May and June - we are continuing this story, diligently and enthusiastically researched by one of our project volunteers.  

In July 1916, the first edition of the Red Cross Hospital magazine appeared, price three pence. Its editor was D. Howard Tripp of the London Irish - a member of the group of the first six patients to arrive when the hospital first opened.

Reproduced by kind permission of The National Library of Wales

The magazine contained articles by patients and nurses and included poems, jokes as well as items about war work, for example the experience of a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment)  nurse, M. Williams, about her daily work.. The magazine contained a vote of thanks to Mr Terry Hunt, a hairdresser of the Castle Shaving Saloon, St James Square who was offering to shave and cut patients hair for free. The hospital patients were referred to in the magazine as “Distinguished Visitors”. In general the tone of the magazine was quite cheerful and upbeat.  From the beginning it was limited in size by the shortages of paper but it must have been well received as the first edition was reprinted. It continued to be published until the end of 1917 when production costs were felt to be too high.

Staff and patients outside the Red Cross Hospital entrance

By early August the hospital was full and the local community had raised the magnificent sum of £1657. Frequent fund raising events continued to be held, the most popular being whist drives and concerts.  As far as the whist drives were concerned the prizes seem to have been weighted in favour of the patients. On one occasion there were twenty six prizes of which twenty were reserved for patients! Nurses and patients often contributed to the concert acts which included humorous sketches, recitations and singing. 

Further groups of recovering patients continued to arrive from Neath Hospital, one of whom arriving in October was Horace Blair of Aberystwyth who is thought to have been wounded at Mametz Wood in France in July 1916. This was an early fierce confrontation in the First Battle of the Somme  involving  the 38th (Welsh) Division of the British Army. The battle had been predicted to last for a few hours but in fact proved to be five days of horrific bloodshed during which there were 4,000 Welsh casualties.

In the autumn of 1916 The Cambrian News praised two patients at the hospital who had received  medals for bravery. The first was Private F.J. Senior of the Bedfordshire Regiment who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery in the field when he found six soldiers who had lost their way during a bombing raid and led them back to British lines whilst under heavy fire. He suffered three bullets in his left arm.  The second award was the Military Medal given to Private Hughie Jones of High Street, Penmaenmawr for conspicuous bravery in taking a machine gun single handedly. 

Aberystwyth Hospital Heroes

Reproduced by kind permission of  The National Library of Wales

Christmas 1916 was celebrated with generously donated items of food and patients were given  presents, each bought from money raised at Borth over the summer for that specific purpose.

By January 1917 the Hospital was running very smoothly and the regular entertainments continued In addition there were a variety of classes  for patients, for example in French and shorthand, and lectures on local history given by the Reverend George Eyre Evans. A popular comedy act during this time was provided by two patients – Drummer Wagner and Private Basson - whose stage names were Monty and Carlo They performed comedy acts to the delight of audiences in the town until they were discharged in January 1918 to the great disappointment,  it seems, of both patients and townspeople.

Monty and Carlo

In the summer of 1917 a group of patients decided to raise some money themselves to buy a rowing boat to help pass the time. Their fund raising efforts succeeded and they enjoyed the use of the boat until the cold weather arrived. 

As more patients continued to be admitted, those who had recovered were returned to their units.

As well as the entertainments, Christmas in 1917 at the hospital included a message from the king and a toast to the boys at the front. There was also a special celebration on Boxing Day when one of the patients married a local girl from Trefechan.

In late autumn 1918 an epidemic of Spanish flu broke out in the town and visits of patients to private homes were stopped to help prevent it spreading. Many businesses in the town were forced to close temporarily as they had insufficient staff. It seems that the hospital itself was unaffected.

Christmas of 1918 was a quiet one for the hospital as most of the patients had gone home on leave with only twenty patients remaining. They were treated to a traditional meal and there was a whist drive, dancing and games as well as an army versus navy football match.

The hospital finally closed its doors closed on 3 February 1919 after an evening of dancing.  Advertisements were placed in newspapers asking people to come to collect items they had lent to the hospital.   The matron was given an attaché case as a farewell present from the VAD nurses and she was later awarded the Order of the Royal Red Cross second class for her work.