| On This Day 22 April 1916 the Opening of the Streatham Red Cross Hospital by the Lord Mayor of London was reported in The Graphic. The Streatham Auxiliary Red Cross Hospital was officially opened on 15th April 1916 by Sir Charles Wakefield. It could accommodate 30 beds (later increased to 33). The 3-storey building had previously been a hotel and had been donated rent-free for the duration of the war by its owner, Mrs Hughes, who also contributed towards the cost of adapting it for hospital purposes. Local inhabitants subscribed to the temporary hospital, with a view to its becoming a permanent hospital after the war. Various local businessmen contributed to the setting-up of the Hospital, donating money, furniture and clocks. The well-equipped operating theatre had been paid for with funds raised by the Streatham Hill Congregational church and the lounge and smokeroom were furnished using funds from the StreathamHill High School for Girls s (now Streatham and Clapham High School). The Hospital closed in July 1919. During its operational life, of the 930 admissions only one patient died. In 1920 Haslemere became the Streatham Red Cross Medical and Surgical Home. (Source: Lost Hospitals in London. Haselmere, 3 Christchurch Road) Image © Illustrated London News Group |   |