Three Belgian hospital patients outside Quex House

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Three Belgian hospital patients outside Quex House

Three Belgian hospital patients standing outside the front of Quex House. The verandah behind them was outside the Drawing Room where A Ward was situated. The Belgian patients wore their own uniform or civilian clothes - they were not required to wear the hospital blues that Imperial patients wore. The man in the centre has a bandage around his head. The man on the left is wearing carpet slippers, which were commonly supplied for VAD patients to wear indoors. The Quex Park VAD Hospital opened on 15 October 1914 and closed on 31 January 1919. The hospital was run by Kent/178, the Birchington Detachment. The Commandant was Hannah Powell-Cotton (1881-1964), wife of Major Percy HG Powell-Cotton (1866-1940) of Quex Park, founder of the Powell-Cotton Museum. Date: 1915

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Media ID 14305160

© The Powell-Cotton Museum Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library

Bandage Behind Belgian Blues Carpet Civilian Closed Commandant Commonly Cotton Detachment Hannah Indoors Opened Patients Powell Required Situated Slippers Supplied Three Verandah Ward Wear Wore January

EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative photograph captures the moment three Belgian hospital patients take a break outside Quex House in Birchington-on-Sea, England, during the First World War. The patients, dressed in their own clothing, stand casually on the verandah, which was located outside the Drawing Room where A Ward was situated. The man in the center of the image wears a bandage around his head, while the man on the left dons carpet slippers, a common provision for Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) patients to wear indoors. Quex Park VAD Hospital opened on October 15, 1914, and remained in operation until January 31, 1919. The hospital was run by Kent/178, the Birchington Detachment, and was overseen by Commandant Hannah Powell-Cotton, the wife of Major Percy HG Powell-Cotton, the founder of the Powell-Cotton Museum. The Belgian patients, likely displaced by the conflict in their own country, were not required to wear the hospital blues that Imperial patients did. This poignant image offers a glimpse into the daily life of the patients at the Quex Park VAD Hospital during wartime. The hospital provided essential care and support to those in need, and this photograph serves as a reminder of the humanitarian efforts that took place during this tumultuous period in history.

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