WAR HOSPITAL CLOSES

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

WAR HOSPITAL CLOSES

FAMOUS FOR PLASTIC SURGERY. 20,000 PATIENTS TREATED. A hospital that became known all over the world for the wonderful work performed there in remodelling the shattered faces of wounded soldiers is.being closed this month. It is the Queen’s Hospital, Sidcup, which has been in existence for 12 years. Since its opening in 1917, .the hospital has dealt with nearly 20,000 patients. Now only GO are left, and these will be drafted to other hospitals. Miracles of surgery were performed there on war victims by Major H. D. Gillies —also known to the public as an international golfer—and his staff. Faces broken by shell and rifle wounds so that they seemed scarcely human were built up again with amazing skill, until the men were able to take their place among their fellows without shrinking. The treatment of individual cases often took years, and 30 or 40 operations were sometimes necessary. The chief clerk of the hospital told a reporter that at first the hospital dealt with facial wounds only. This was when the hospital was controlled by the War Office, but later the Ministry of Pensions took charge, and since then every type of war wound has been treated. The hospital and grounds were bought with money provided by the Prince of Wales’ Fund. A committee, which still officiates, set up and equipped the 20 wards and other buildings, and when the Ministry of Pensions took charge handed over the hopital rent and tax free. The great advantage of the hospital was its spacious grounds, where the patients, some of whom were so terribly disfigured that even the hardened attendants were affected, could walk without fear of prying eyes. Colonel J. R. Colvin has had charge of the hospital since its inception.