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Colchester Military HospitalInformation and history about the Colchester Military Hospital Colchester Military Hospital was one of several army hospitals in England, UK. It is now closed and has been demolished. It closed when the QEMH Woolwich opened in 1977. Colchester Military Hospital was demolished some time later and local army medical needs were met, and still are, by the new Medical Reception Station (MRS) Colchester. History of Colchester HospitalColchester barracks area in Essex, England has always been a busy garrison and when the new barracks were built in 1856 a 20 hut hospital complex was built. This was replaced with a fine looking red brick hospital in 1896. The photograph of Colchester Military Hospital below is of that era. 
Colchester Military Hospital was able to treat about 221 patients in side rooms and eight traditional wards. A QARANC wall plaque and shield is available to buy through Amazon. The QA shield is hand made and ready to hang on the wall. . Buy Now. 
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.
Sister Roach 
The nephew of 32323 Gunner Gerald Albert Morris of the 10th Reinforcements,
12th Field Artillery Brigade, 46th Battalion, Australian Imperial Forces is trying to trace any possible living relatives of a Sister Roach (QAIMNS) who nursed his late
uncle during the First World War some time between 1917 and 1918 at the military hospital in Colchester UK. Below are photographs taken by Gunner Morris of the
Australian Army of Nursing Sister Roach, the Corporal of the Ward and groups of fellow Australian Soldiers.
If you can help with any information please contact
Qaranc.co.uk.
Hospital Ward World War One: 
The photo below is marked The Corporal of the Ward 
The image below is marked At The Old Oak Tree. Can anyone help with any information about the significance of the tree? 
One reader has kindly added some information: I'm afraid I cant be terribly specific but the term old oak tree may well relate to an ancient oak tree reputedly 650 years old. It is situated in Fingringhoe village just outside Colchester on the road to West Mersea. During my time based on Colchester with 3RRF in the 70s there was and I still believe is a firing range at Fingringhoe which dates back to that period and maybe well before that too. Having copied the picture and played with it a bit it may well be that the soldiers in the picture were actually on a day at the ranges sharpening up their small arms skills and live firing. I courted a young Scottish nurse who was stationed at the BMH at one time. My eldest daughter was also born there (not mothered by the young nurse) shortly after I left the army in 1974.This occurred because she was already in the system as it were for the birth. I remember that the BHM also treated some of the local civilian population although again I cant be certain of this. Bill Vanstone Ex 3RRF 
A soldiers club: 
Gunner Gerald Albert Morris can be seen in the middle of this group of World War One military patients: 
Below are a group of three Tommies 
More building work was undertaken over many decades as the health care needs of soldiers changed and as medical and nursing advances were made. This included a pathology laboratory in 1934 and a reception annexe in 1951. Two operating theatres were added in 1963. This picture of Colchester Military Hospital would have been of this time: 
The book Sub Cruce Candida: A Celebration of One Hundred Years of Army Nursing  has photos of QAs working in the wards of Colchester Military Hospital.
After the major wars of World War I and II and the Korean War the Colchester Military Hospital accepted civilian patients in 1959. The local civvy hospital at the time was Essex County Hospital. The working capacity of the hospital had been reduced by this time and was down to about 90 beds spread over 7 wards. One third were occupied by civilian patients and by the early 1970s more civilian patients were admitted to the army hospital. By the time of its official closure in early 1978 Colchester Military Hospital were caring for 114 patients in 8 wards and employed 150 army personal and 100 civilian staff. The date I have been given as the closure of Colchester Military Hospital was the 17 December 1977 though some sources have stated 1978. There was a great deal of local support to keep Colchester Military Hospital but it sadly closed and the building was demolished. Ghost of Colchester HospitalThe Colchester Military Hospital was said to be haunted. There were several sightings of a ghost nurse in a Victorian nursing uniform walking down a corridor. She would suddenly vanish into thin air. During World War II a patient reported a nurse in the same type of old fashioned nursing uniform changing his bandages. It was thought that the ghost was back helping her patients. There are more QA and army hauntings on the Army Ghosts page. I would love to expand this page with more details about this former army hospital and include more photographs. If you are a former or serving member of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps we would love your help. If you would like to contribute any info, photographs or share your memories of Colchester Military Hospital then please contact me. Photographs of Colchester Military HospitalHere are some more photographs of Colchester Military Hospital that have been kindly sent to the QARANC website team: 
The pictures below were taken during differnet stages of the demolition of BMH Colchester. Parts of the land are now a housing estate whilst others are within Merville Barracks, home to 16 Air Assault Brigade and The Parachute Regiment. 
The Real Tenko The latest book about British Army nurses and nursing describes a dark chapter in the history of the QAs. The Real Tenko: Extraordinary True Stories of Women Prisoners of the Japanese  by Mark Felton is an account of the fall of the Far East to Japan. It comprehensively covers war atrocities performed by the Japanese troops to women stationed in places such as Singapore and Hong Kong. This included Sisters of the QAs who were stationed in hospitals such as
BMH Bowen Road Hong Kong and
BMH Singapore. Read the Qaranc.co.uk review or
Buy Now
with free delivery available.
View more British Army Nursing Books - with free delivery available. 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. For the official Army QARANC webpage please go to www.army.mod.uk/home.aspx For the QARANC Association website please go to www.army.mod.uk/army-medical-services/qaranc/9884.aspx *********************************************** Help Needed A reader of Qaranc.co.uk is researching the exhumation of Heinrich Himmler in Luneberg, Germany circa 1945-46. He thinks that two nurses from the QAIMNS attended the exhumation due to the poor state of health of Walter Schellenberg. He would like to learn if any of the nurses kept a diary of the events leading up to the exhumation or sent any personal letters home to friends or family that may have provided an insight into Walter Schellenberg and the exhumation. Please contact Qaranc.co.uk if you have any information. Qaranc.co.uk have recently learnt about two former Military Hospitals that we would like to write about. These are the British Military Hospital at Wuppertal in Germany and BMH Benghazi. If you know any information, would like to share your memories or have photographs that we can use on the site then please contact Qaranc.co.uk A reader is writing an article about the demise of the Military Hospital for the RAMC Magazine and seeks some help. There was, in Kuala Lumpur, a hospital called BMH Kinrara. He would like to know when it opened and closed, what happened to the buildings and the staff. He thinks that Kinrara closed as Terendak opened and that the staff were transferred across to 34 Company RAMC? He would also like any information about the Military Maternity Hospital, Penang. If you can help then please contact Qaranc.co.uk There is a lovely photo of three QA Midwives from the 1960s about half way down on the Royal Herbert Hospital page. If you can help with information about the Maternity Unit in Woolwich or identify the QA Officers then please contact Qaranc.co.uk The BMH Dhekelia has new photos which includes a stunning picture of the demolition of the original building and some staff photos. The contributor would like some help with the date it was demolished and would love to hear from anyone who worked with her relative. |
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