Cambridge Military Hospital CMH Aldershot

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The other four are described at the end of this article. The CMH was built by Messrs Martin Wells and Co. of Aldershot. The building costs were approximately £45,758. The first patients admitted to the CMH were on Friday 18 July 1879. They either walked or were taken by cart ambulance from the Connaught Hospital. Juliet Piggott cites in her book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S) that the House of Commons were presented with the plans of the Cambridge Military Hospital Aldershot as early as the year 1858. Early Matrons at the CMH Aldershot included Dame Maud McCarthy. The book Sub Cruce Candida: A Celebration of One Hundred Years of Army Nursing has many historical photographs of nurses, wards and the exterior of the Cambridge Military Hospital. These photos include the front view, the bell tower, a visit by the Colonel-in-Chief, Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, to the QARANC Preliminary Training School and the School of Nursing and the junior ranks dining room and the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital which includes the maternity and post natal wards. Help Needed: Qaranc.co.uk would like to add a page about the QA lanyard but need some help. Can anyone please help with a photo of the lanyard on the uniform and a photo of just the lanyard? It would also be helpful if anyone can give some tips on how to site and fit the lanyard. Please use the e-mail address on the contact page. Thank you! Sisters In Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story Sisters In Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story by Nicola Tyrer is an account of the QAs during the two World Wars. It includes first hand accounts of the Queen Alexandra nurses who were in the dressing stations, casualty clearing stations and field hospitals of Dunkirk, D Day, the fall of Singapore and many more locations where the QAIMNS served. Buy Now. Sisters In Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story is also available as a talking book read by the actress Barbara Flynn and Sian Thomas. Buy Now. View More British Army Nursing Books - with free delivery available. The book A British Army Nurse In the Korean War written by Captain Jilly McNair of the QARANC describes life at the Cambridge Military Hospital in the early 1950s and her interviews with Matron in her office when Capt McNair learnt she was to be posted to Japan as part of the Commonwealth Forces treating injured soldiers from the Korea. Prior to her posting Captain Elizabeth Jilly McNair had worked on ward 6 which was the acute surgical orthopaedic ward. More Information. How Did The CMH Get Its Name? The title had nothing to do with the Cambridge area but came from His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army at the time. The Duke of Cambridge opened the CMH Aldershot in July 1879. The Design Of The Hospital The hospital was built on a hill because current clinical thinking at the time thought that the wind would sweep away any infection and clean the air. The CMH was famed for its supposedly mile long corridor. We have never measured it but walking from casualty down to the children's ward often felt like it! The original plan was to have a series of self contained wards for regiments all joined onto the corridor. It was hoped that this would also reduce cross infection. By the time the hospital opened it had been decided to run the hospital as areas of treatment rather than type of cap badge. The hospital soon became a fully functioning hospital and was the first in the UK to receive battle casualties directly from the front of World War One. The Cambridge Military Hospital was the first British Military Hospital to open a plastic surgery unit. This was opened by Captain Gillies. He had been in France on leave in June 1915 and met the surgeon Hippolyte Morestin and watched him perform facial reconstructions on patients with cancer. He learnt from the surgeon and brought his experience and new knowledge to England and was soon operating on soldiers back from the Battle of the Somme of World War One with facial gunshot and shrapnel wounds and injuries. Dental work was performed by William Kelsey Fry and the plastic surgery unit was overseen by Sir W. Arbuthnot. Over the decades the hospital grew and not only treated soldiers and their families but local civilians. Departments grew and included an accident and emergency unit, children's, medical, plastic surgical, general surgery, burns, gynaecological, intensive care and orthopaedic wards. Departments included several theatres, an X-ray unit, an out patients department and a large laboratory at the rear of the CMH. This was called the Leishman Laboratory. It was opened by Lady Leishman in 1932, wife of Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) Chair of Pathology Sir William Leishman. The Louise Margaret Hospital The Louise Margaret Hospital was annexed to the CMH and cared for pre and post natal women and their babies. There was also a special care baby unit (SCBU). The Louise Margaret Hospital opened in 1898 and its function was initially to care for the wives and children of servicemen. It was named after Princess Louise Margaret, the Duchess of Connaught whose husband was the Duke of Connaught who was at the time the GOC of Aldershot Command (cited in the book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S) by Juliet Piggott). Those who have visited the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital may recall the narrow and shallow staircases. They were designed to allow nurses to run quickly up and down the stairs in their long nursing dressses. The Louise Margaret Hospital continued to care for the spouses and children of the army until 1958 when its function and name changed to a maternity hospital. The book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S) by Juliet Piggott has a photo of a nurse and doctor with a baby in the Infant Care Centre of the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital, Aldershot. The first pupil midwives to undertake Part I of the Midwifery Training was at the Louise Margaret Hospital in Aldershot. They were four officers and four sergeants (cited in the book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S) by Juliet Piggott). The book Sub Cruce Candida: A Celebration of One Hundred Years of Army Nursing has a lovely photo of former soldier and TV comedian Arthur English, his wife Teresa and their new born baby daughter Clare Louise at the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital in January 1980. The Louise Margaret Hospital closed on the 18 January 1995. Adjoined to the Louise Margaret Hospital was the school of nursing. Beyond this was the RAMC officers' accommodation. The junior ranks accommodation was at the rear with each sex separated by the mortuary and chapel of rest! The male accommodation for junior ranks was of particular note being the pre-war spiders' type barrack block. QARANC officers had their own mess and accommodation at the front of the hospital. The black and white photo below is of the gates to the female accommodation spider hut at the CMH Aldershot taken in 1969 . More modern accommodation was build further behind the spiders though these huts were still used in the 1990s. QAs may well remember the draughts and leaking roofs! CMH Clock Tower An architectural and distinguishing feature of the Cambridge Military Hospital was the clock tower. There were three bells in the clock tower, one large bell and two smaller bells. The larger bell had a twin. They were known as the Sebastopol bells. The other of the pair is at Windsor Castle. These bells were captured from the Russians during the Crimea War. They were originally from the Church of the Twelve Apostles in Sebastopol. Each bell weighed 17cwt 1qr 21lb and were cast by Nicholas Samtoun of Moscow. After their capture as a war trophy they were put on display at the Woolwich Royal Arsenal in February 1856. One bell then went to Windsor Castle whilst the other was erected at the Aldershot Headquarters Office between Gun Hill and Middle Hill. A tradition was started where a sentry would ring the bell, like a gong, each hour. When the CMH was built it moved to the clock tower. The tradition of the hourly ring was maintained until 1914 when it was disturbing patients sleep. In March 1961 it moved once more. This time it went to Steeles Road. It was moved one last time to outside Gun Hill House. The two smaller bells had the inscription "Cast by Gillet Bland & Co., clock makers to Her Majesty, Croydon 1878 London". These bells also rang out, but at quarter intervals until 1914. Their is a beautiful picture of the Cambridge Military Hospital on the QA March page which has a profile of the CMH Clock Tower. This is on a recording of the Royal Army Medical Corps music which includes Grey and Scarlett. It is available to purchase from the AMS RHQ. Boer War Memorial Aldershot At the top of Hospital Hill, between the CMH and what was the QARANC Officers Mess is a Boer War Memorial to the South Africa Campaign of 1899 to 1902. It commemorates the 314 officers and servicemen of the newly formed Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) that were killed during the Boer War. It was unveiled by King Edward VII on Empire Day, 24 May 1905. Members of the Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit MDHU Frimley Park hold parades here on Remembrance Day. World War Two The Cambridge Military Hospital were one of the first UK military hospitals to have QAs on stand by to nurse the wounded and injured of World War Two. Sisters of the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) were put on stand by to travel to Egypt as early as 1938 when news of the annexation of Czechoslovakia was announced. These sisters were due to travel to India and were place on a two hour stand by. There is more written about this in Quiet Heroines: Nurses of the Second World War by Brenda McBryde. Freedom of Aldershot On the 27 June 1973 the QARANC, RAMC and RADC were given the Freedom of Aldershot, the home of the British Army. The event was marked with a parade and ceremony. The Casket Bearer was presented with a Scroll that conveyed the Freedom and this was placed in a silver casket and trooped through the parade in slow time with the Casket Guard. Lt Gen Sir James Baird the Director General Army Medical Services (DGAMS) received the Freedom on behalf of the Army Medical Services (AMS). Five companies took part in the Freedom of Aldershot parade and the fourth company consisted of QAs from the QARANC Training Centre (QATC), the Cambridge Military Hospital and the Louise Margaret Maternity Hospital. The commander of the QA company was Major Margaret Stephenson and the Regimental Sergeant Major was RSM WOI Hayes. The last tune to be played during the Freedom of Aldershot parade March Past was Grey and Scarlet (cited in the book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S) by Juliet Piggott). The book Sub Cruce Candida: A Celebration of One Hundred Years of Army Nursing has a photo of the parade. First Gulf War During the First Gulf War Conflict of 1990 to 1991 the staff of the Cambridge Military Hospital were mobilised to Iraq and Kuwait. The hospital closed and the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital (QEMH), Woolwich stayed open and received battle casualties and sick soldiers. Read More. Visits by Princess Margaret The book Sub Cruce Candida: A Celebration of One Hundred Years of Army Nursing has photos of the visits by Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, the Colonel in Chief of the QAIMNS, to CMH Aldershot in 1995 and 1996. Cambridge Military Hospital Closure The Cambridge Military Hospital closed down on the 2 February 1996. Many factors were given as the reason for its closure. This includes the restructuring of a more mobile army needing to train and utilise their nurses for front line treatments in field hospitals. Soldiers brought back to the UK could easily be treated in civilian hospitals. Another reason for the closure of the CMH was because it was an old historic building that cost too much to maintain and repair. For example asbestos was found in the walls and the ceilings and was expensive to safely remove. The upper floor was unable to be used for patient care because of fire health and safety. This reduced the bed capacity of the hospital. Other health and safety issues involved the kitchens that needed upgrading and the water supply throughout the hospital often had a yellow tinge from running through cast iron pipes. The Army Medical Services exercised the Freedom of the Borough of Rushmoor and marched through Aldershot on Thursday 11 January 1996. Members of the 130 officers and soldiers in the parade consisted of the QARANC, RAMC, RADC, RLC and AGC and they were commanded by Lt Col Mick French RAMC. The Band of the Parachute Regiment, who served with members of 33 Field Hospital who largely comprised of staff of the CMH during the First Gulf War, led the march. The saluting dais was located outside The Princes Hall in Aldershot town and the salute was taken by the Director General of the Army Medical Services, Major General F B Mayes CB QHS L/RAMC and the Lady Mayor of Rushmoor, Mrs Pat Devereux. A small reception was held before the parade in Princes Hall and the Lady Major of Rushmoor, Mrs Pat Devereux, presented a commemorative silver salver as thanks from the population of Aldershot to the AMS for service to the community to Major General F B Mayes CB QHS L/RAMC, DGAMS. In attendance were the Commanding Officer of the Cambridge Military Hospital Brigadier M Daly L/RAMC and the Matron Lt Col P Moody QARANC. Past Matrons and COs of the CMH were in attendance. In the evening a Beating Retreat Ceremony event took place outside the CMH. (Cited in an article by Major P A Conway QARANC in Vol 11 No 2 of The Gazette of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Association). Many of the staff were posted to the newly opened MDHU Frimley Park. The address of the Cambridge Military Hospital was: Cambridge Military Hospital Hospital Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 2AN The CMH had a ghost of a grey lady. More about her can be read on the Army and Nurses Ghosts Page. Other Military Hospitals In Aldershot The first military hospital in Aldershot was situated near the Garrison Church and opposite the eventual site for the CMH. It treated mentally ill and soldiers with infectious diseases. The Union Hospital became the second army hospital in Aldershot. It was built at South Camp, behind Salamanca barracks in the 1860s. It was originally a private residence, a poor house and a pauper house. The Union hospital was restricted to treat 16 patients. The United Hospital was the third army hospital in North Camp. The last hospital which was eventually replaced by the CMH was the Connaught Hospital. CMH Nurses The QARANC student nurse in the photo below is SN Private Dorothy Davey who was a QA student nurse in the early 1960s. She recalls being taught anatomy and physiology by a male Scottish Captain. She thought he had said the human skeleton gives virginity to the body rather than the human skeleton gives rigidity to the body! She repeated this in her exam and was the gossip of the camp! Wherever she went fellow QAs and medical personnel would grin at her. She thought they were being friendly to her rather than having a laugh at her expense! Despite this Dorothy passed her exams achieving 78% and was posted to BMH Iserlohn. Lt General Sir Brian Horrocks In the introduction to the book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S) by Juliet Piggott, Lt General Sir Brian Horrocks tells of his admiration for the QAs and how his life was saved by the expert care of the QAIMNS (Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service) who nursed him at the Cambridge Military Hospital in 1943. General Horrocks held each QA in such high esteem he broke military law for them! He describes how on one Hogmanay night many of the nurses had been invited to a New Year dance in an Officers Mess in Aldershot. The rules stated that each QA nurse must be back at their accommodation by 11pm. However this meant they would miss seeing in the New Year with the bells at midnight. The nurses got together and approached the General who was by this time well used to them popping into his side room for a chat because he was a popular long term patient recovering from a bullet wound during service in North Africa to the chest that affected many internal organs and exited his spine. The General proved good company and was a popular patient. The group of nurses had a cunning plan - they wanted to use the Lt General Sir Brian Horrocks ground floor window to get back into the hospital without any authority realising they were late home. All went well until the Head Night Sister witnessed one young nurse emerge from the General's room. She gave chase and the nurse ran to her accommodation and jumped into bed pretending to be asleep. Her plan back fired when the Head Night Sister got to her room and woke up the nurse and asked why she was asleep with her hat on! The nurse promptly found herself on a charge. Memories Of The CMH This photo of a group of PTS student nurses from the late 1960s at the CMH Aldershot was taken by Angela Coote. She thinks her fellow student nurses were Olga Borkowski and the other students were Wendy ? and ? Can you help Angela with the names? If so please contact the QARANC.co.uk team and we shall pass on details. Thank you! Angela recalls being billeted in spider huts at the bottom of the hill which can be seen in the photograph to the left. Of her time at the Cambridge Military Hospital Angela fondly says: We all used to troop up to no. 1 spider at night in our pyjamas as that was where the TV was. One television between us all! Huge sign on the gate saying OUT OF BOUNDS TO ALL MALE PERSONNEL. Though most of us knew where the hole in the wire fence was! Those were the days of bed checks at 22.59 unless you had a late pass until 2359. I can remember nearly passing out in the ironing room with the fumes from the spray starch we all used on our ward dresses. Each unit had a different way of pressing their dress to individualize it. For example the girls from Woolwich would press a sharp crease across the shoulders of the dress whilst No 1 Coy pressed a crease from the middle of the pocket to the hem. We sent a willing shopper off to Oxford Street to buy paper ward caps by the dozen which had just been developed. This saved us spending hours in the Dhobi room trying to make a sad old piece of soggy muslin sit up and look like a cap. We earned the princely sum of £4 19s 9d (just under £5) per week. Read more memories from Angela Coote on the BMH Iserlohn page. I recall some fairly spectacular parties in the midwives' block below Cambridge Military Hospital at Aldershot. They would typically commence with an evening in Queenie's bar in town and with a decision to lay in stocks of cheap wine at the off-licence and head back to the block - any Billy Connolly record brings back memories. It was a source of much amusement and a lot of leg-pulling that the QA nurses would not go down the hill past the mortuary after dark! (Ken RAMC) If you have a memories of the CMH or other time or place during your service in the QAs and would like it to appear at the QARANC website then please contact us and help keep the QA history accessible to our readers. A British Army Nurse In the Korean War A newly published book about the QARANC is A British Army Nurse In the Korean War by Elizabeth Jilly McNair. QA Sister McNair saw active service in Korea and Japan and this book is based on her letters home and photographs she took during her 18 months spent nursing at the British Commonwealth General Hospital in Kure, Japan and the British Commonwealth Zone Medical Unit in Seoul, Korea. Buy Now! If you would like to contribute to this page, suggest changes or inclusions to this website or would like to send me a photograph then please e-mail me. The photos and pictures on this page have been kindly sent to us for inclusion on this page. If you would like to contribute photographs then please contact us. Findextrawork Since leaving the QA's we have done an assortment of self employed work and jobs, some which only take an hour a week, others have been full time. We have written about these at our other website Findextrawork at www.findextrawork.co.uk where we share the information for free to help others with information and resources about earning more money. Visit Findextrawork for more information. 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