Shropshire Routes to Roots

In 1919 the building of the new hospital at Park Hall had been secured by the donation of £25,000 from the British Red Cross Society and a further £9,000 from the Shropshire War Memorial Fund. Work started immediately on converting the long wards of the military hospital. Agnes Hunt's belief in the therapeutic value of fresh air meant that one side of the wards were open to the elements.

A long corridor connected the ten different wards, which included eight open-sided wards, one private and a "warm " ward for those recovering from operations. The budget of £5,000 was to kit out the hospital.

This memorial chapel to Emily Goodford was constructed at the new hospital by her good friend Agnes Hunt. Sadly Emily, who was crucial to the work at Baschurch, died in 1920 and never saw the completion of the hospital.

Nurses were keen to train at the hospital and one of the earliest schools of physiotherapy outside London was started by Agnes Hunt. This image shows the physiotherapy school in 1952. The old massage department was one of the buildings destroyed in the fire of 1948.

Many children were now being sent to the hospital from not only Shropshire but surrounding counties. Their conditions often required treatment for many months and even years. So that their education should not suffer, a school was started within the hospital. Here you can see children being taught from their beds.

Workshops employing disabled adults and former patients were started to provide equipment needed. In 1927 a piece of land next to the hospital, known as the Derwen was bought. Here Agnes Hunt poured her energy into creating a training college for the disabled where they might learn a trade and earn a living. The photograph shown here is of the Carpenters' shop at the Derwen Training College. Today Derwen College is still thriving, providing students with learning and physical disabilities a unique opportunity for vocational, educational and personal development.

The Second World War again saw soldiers at the hospital, which became a centre for the treatment of battle casualties. The number of beds rose from 360 at the beginning of the war to 715 in 1945.

In 1948 a fire destroyed nearly half of the hospital buildings. Although this was a disaster, no-one was injured. The hospital took this opportunity to rebuild and expand. Additions included a new X-ray department, a research block, a day hospital and an occupational therapy unit.

This photograph shows the subsequent X-ray department built after the fire.