Military Hospitals 1899-1903

As two of my favourite things are lists and typing, typing lists can be counted on to soothe my troubles away (yes, I know it's sad, sad, sad). So to suddenly find another long-forgotten list hidden away on my hard drive was a real bonus. The result is a page listing all British military hospitals in 1899 here:

British Military Hospitals, Worldwide, 1899

And an accompanying page with transcribed reports of some of the UKs military hospitals in 1902-3, on the eve of the reorganisation of the army medical services:

Military Hospital Reports 1902-1903

These few reports highlight how truly awful conditions were in some of the institutions, and show how far we've moved on in the last hundred years. Third Station Hospital, Aldershot, is damned by its report:

To adequately describe the glaring defects of this institution would be mere waste of time. Its immediate evacuation and demolition is the only possible way of dealing with an institution to which the name hospital should not be applied ...
... The sooner the place is struck off the List of Military Hospitals the better for the Service and for the Army, for nothing could be better calculated to crush the energy out of any Officer, to make the non-commissioned officers and men of the corps content with a low level of attainment, and to put dread of the word ‘hospital’ into the heart of any patient.

And Burnley soldiers had only this to look forward to if sick:

This hospital had been closed about a week before our visit. It was in a most deplorable condition of filth and neglect, and was quite unfit for habitation. The non-commissioned officer in charge was, at the time of our visit, under arrest, and the equipment was removed. If this hospital is ever to be reopened, much will require to be done to make it suitable for sick soldiers. In fact the whole barracks presented a picture of the most abject squalor, and the sight of them must have a strongly deterrent effect upon any man in Burnley who might think of enlisting. They were really disgraceful.

At this distance in time it seems almost amusing, but it's worth reflecting on how life has changed and what improvements we enjoy today.