Braeside
V.A.D. Hospital
1 Connaught Avenue,
Loughton, Essex IG10 4DP
Medical
dates:
Medical
character:
Convalescent (military)
In December 1914 Braeside was accepted by the War
Office for use as an auxiliary military hospital.
The Braeside V.A.D. Hospital opened in January 1915, run mainly by volunteer members of the Essex/36 Volunteer Aid Detachment (V.A.D.). The Hospital had 15 beds and was fully equipped. It was affiliated with the Colchester Military Hospital. The first patients arrived the same month.
In the first year of opening, over 84 patients were treated and seven operations were performed.
By 1917 the Hospital had 25 beds (later increased to 33).
It closed in 1919.
Present status (September 2011)
From 1919 until 1923 the building became an annexe for the Loughton County High School for Girls while an extension was built on the main site of the School.
The building has been renamed Godiva House. The premises are used as serviced offices.
Update: December 2012
A blue plaque commemorating the use of the building as a military hospital was installed this month by Loughton Town Council.
The Braeside V.A.D. Hospital opened in January 1915, run mainly by volunteer members of the Essex/36 Volunteer Aid Detachment (V.A.D.). The Hospital had 15 beds and was fully equipped. It was affiliated with the Colchester Military Hospital. The first patients arrived the same month.
In the first year of opening, over 84 patients were treated and seven operations were performed.
By 1917 the Hospital had 25 beds (later increased to 33).
It closed in 1919.
Present status (September 2011)
From 1919 until 1923 the building became an annexe for the Loughton County High School for Girls while an extension was built on the main site of the School.
The building has been renamed Godiva House. The premises are used as serviced offices.
Update: December 2012
A blue plaque commemorating the use of the building as a military hospital was installed this month by Loughton Town Council.
Braeside, now Godiva House (above and below).
Braeside on 7th December 1918, after the war.
Hats on (above) and hats off (below).
Ernest Dean, my grandfather (second from left, front row) came from Todmorden in Lancashire. He had been wounded in Passchendaele.
(Photographs courtesy of Stewart Dean).
(Author unstated) 1915 News in brief. The Red Cross 2, 44.
(Author unstated) 1917 List of the various hospitals treating military cases in the United Kingdom. London, H.M.S.O.
Loyd AK (ed) 1917 The British Red Cross Society. The Country Branches, Vol. 1. London, British Red Cross Society.
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