A special tribute will be paid on Remembrance Day to the medical staff who cared for wounded soldiers in Kirkburton.
Kirkburton History group has been researching all the women who worked at the military hospital in Kirkburton during World War One.
The hospital was in the Territorial Army Drill Hall on Shelley Lane and was later to become a doctors surgery. Since then the surgery has moved to new premises and the old one demolished to be used as a car park.
At 12 noon this Friday a special memorial board will be unveiled at Kirkburton Library on Turnshaw Road, Kirkburton.
When the First World War began in 1914, Britain did not expect such huge numbers of casualties and existing military medical facilities were soon overwhelmed. Even with many civilian hospitals turned over for military use, so great was the demand for beds that auxiliary military hospitals had to be opened in halls and large houses around the country.
The main Huddersfield War Hospital at Royds Hall, Paddock, opened on October 4, 1915, and was supported by a number of smaller auxiliary hospitals in the surrounding area.
The Kirkburton Military Hospital took over the Drill Hall, Shelley Lane from ‘G’ Company, 5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment. It opened on November 29, 1915, with 20 beds and closed on the December 32, 1918.
Occasionally tents were put up in the grounds which could accommodate up to 12 extra casualties when needed. In total 765 soldiers were treated at the hospital – 552 surgical and 213 medical cases.
The British Red Cross and the Order of St John were jointly responsible for the hospital. It was run by a medical officer, commandant, quartermaster, matron, sister and a large number of local volunteers from the Voluntary Aid Detachment, known as VADs. Many villagers also freely gave their time to support the hospital.
Roger Armitage from the group said: “We as a group have had funding from the Heritage Lottery fund for our main memorial board for the men from the village and have used some of the money also to research and erect a board to commemorate the women from the village who gave their time to look after the wounded.”
