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Auxiliary hospitals and convalescent homes

At the direct request of the Government, the JOW ran nearly 250 auxiliary hospitals and convalescent homes for injured and recovering Service men and women. Altogether there was room for 13,384 patients. Although the Government gave them a grant, the JWO was responsible for the upkeep of these homes.

Patients in the grounds of a large house given over to the JWO for use as a Convalescent Home

Auxiliary Hospitals and Convalescent Homes were based in large houses given over to the JWO by their owners during the war. Examples include Harewood House in Yorkshire (the home of the Princess Royal), The Palace in Ely (the home of the Bishop of Ely), and Hinchingbrooke Castle in Huntingdon (the home of the Earl of Sandwich).
Nearly every department of the JWO contributed something to the homes. Nearly all staff were members of the British Red Cross or St. John Ambulance; JWO ambulances carried the wounded too and from the homes; the Stores Department supplied all the equipment, from beds and cookers to games, sports gear, handicrafts, and materials for occupational therapy.

A VAD under a pile of JWO parcels containing ‘soft goods’ for patients

Central Hospital Supplies Service Sewing Group

The Hospital Library Service sent thousands of books, and the Central Hospital Supply Service (CHSS) provided ‘soft goods’ like pyjamas, towels, bandages and bed linen. In 1939-1943 alone, the CHSS produced 2,724,000 hospital clothes.
The homes and hospitals also looked after people serving in the armed forces of countries allied to Britain. They also had 797 beds set aside for injured Civil Defence workers – about 30,000 were treated in the course of the war. 13 homes were set aside for women’s armed services.

JWO CHSS Badge

JWO Hospital Library Service

The hospitals and homes were specially adapted to meet the needs of patients. Some of the hospitals began to specialise in eye and head cases and skin complaints, while others gave the latest treatment for orthopaedic cases (disease or injury to bones).
Six JWO convalescent homes were converted into ‘Rehabilitation Centres’. These homes used electrical and other apparatus to get damaged legs and arms working again. Patients were massaged and given carefully designed exercises. Another technique was occupational therapy, where patients were taught special crafts designed to relieve boredom and exercise certain muscles.

Patients doing stretching exercises at a Rehabilitation Centre

Occupational therapy for war disabled