Photographs (4) of staff and patients at Kitchener Military Hospital, 1918

These snapshots were taken at the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton, a military hospital caring for soldiers wounded in World War I. Vernon St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, was sent here in April 2018 to recover from injuries he sustained while fighting in France. His battalion had seen heavy fighting and suffered a large number of casualties. He can be seen in the group of soldiers in army hospital uniform standing in the back row on the far right.

While at the Kitchener hospital Vernon, a talented musician, was encouraged to play in and listen to recitals as part of his recovery. Sadly, like so many men, he was suffering from shell shock.

The snapshots suggest that the injuries and trauma which these men must have endured is somewhat alleviated by the cheeriness of the nurses.

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