Duffield Derbyshire.co.uk

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Red Cross Hospital

The Red Cross hospital in Duffield only existed for a short time during the years of the Great War 1914 -1918. The building was originally built and designed in 1913 as a church hall but was requisitioned in November 1914 until April 1919 to accommodate Belgium refugees and later to serve as a Red Cross hospital for the wounded and convalescing soldiers of the Great War. Volunteer nurses came from local society and during the time the hospital was in operation treated over 700 soldiers. One of our village doctors today Dr. Barbara Leyland, tells me that her grandmother helped run the hospital at the time. The building survives to this day as a private residence.

Several of the above photos where reproduced with the kind permission of Picture the Past.org.uk Many thanks also to Mr. David Gardner of Bristol who also supplied a couple of photos which ignited my interest in researching the history of the hospital. David’s uncle served in the London Rifle regiment during the Great war and was sent to Duffield for treatment. The story behind Picture the Past The libraries and museums of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have in their collections, hundreds of thousands of historic photographs, slides, negatives, glass plates, postcards and engravings recalling the history of the local communities over the last hundred years and more. In the past, these treasures were held in filing cabinets and anyone who wanted to see them would have to make a trip to the library or museum - perhaps to several different locations. Thanks to a major award from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the four authorities are now working in partnership to digitise the images and make them available on the Internet, through their unique website. Picture the Past.org.uk Acknowledgements also to the Bromby Collection for providing the photos.