Silk sash with Red Cross emblem and embroidered gold star
Production date
1914-1918
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Details
Description
Silk sash with Red Cross emblem and embroidered gold star (1914-1918).
Collection Type
Objects
Media/Materials
History
The sash belonged to Brigadier Norman and was made at The Rookery, Bromley Common, Hospital For Wounded during the First World War.
The Rookery was an auxiliary hospital which was open between October 1914 and May 1915. The hospital consisted of three large rooms with eighteen beds and was located in the home of Mr and Mrs Archibald Cameron Norman who loaned their rooms out for this purpose. This practice was quite common, with a variety of buildings such town halls, schools and private houses, both in the country and in cities offered up for use.
Auxiliary hospitals were attached to central Military Hospitals, which looked after patients who remained under military control. There were over 3,000 auxiliary hospitals administered by Red Cross county directors. In many cases, women in the local neighbourhood volunteered on a part-time basis. Auxiliary hospitals drew on members who were too old or young for work in a military hospital. Many were unable to leave home for six months due to family commitments but were willing to sign a three-month hospital contract. The hospitals often needed to supplement voluntary work with paid roles, such as cooks. Local medics also volunteered, despite the extra strain that the medical profession was already under at that time.
The patients at these hospitals were generally less seriously wounded than at other hospitals and they just needed to convalesce. The servicemen preferred the auxiliary hospitals to military hospitals because they were not so strict, they were less crowded, and the surroundings were more homely.
The Rookery was an auxiliary hospital which was open between October 1914 and May 1915. The hospital consisted of three large rooms with eighteen beds and was located in the home of Mr and Mrs Archibald Cameron Norman who loaned their rooms out for this purpose. This practice was quite common, with a variety of buildings such town halls, schools and private houses, both in the country and in cities offered up for use.
Auxiliary hospitals were attached to central Military Hospitals, which looked after patients who remained under military control. There were over 3,000 auxiliary hospitals administered by Red Cross county directors. In many cases, women in the local neighbourhood volunteered on a part-time basis. Auxiliary hospitals drew on members who were too old or young for work in a military hospital. Many were unable to leave home for six months due to family commitments but were willing to sign a three-month hospital contract. The hospitals often needed to supplement voluntary work with paid roles, such as cooks. Local medics also volunteered, despite the extra strain that the medical profession was already under at that time.
The patients at these hospitals were generally less seriously wounded than at other hospitals and they just needed to convalesce. The servicemen preferred the auxiliary hospitals to military hospitals because they were not so strict, they were less crowded, and the surroundings were more homely.
Catalogue Number
923/64
Associated Person and Role
British Red Cross Society. Kent Branch
Associated Person
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