LOST HOSPITALS OF LONDON

Lady Northcliffe's
Hospital for Officers
14 Grosvenor Crescent, Belgravia,  SW1X 7EE
Medical dates:

Medical character:
1915 -1919

Convalescent (military)
In 1915 Lady Northcliffe, wife of the newspaper proprietor and publishing magnate Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, opened an auxiliary hospital for wounded officers at 14 Grosvenor Crescent.

The Hospital had 20 beds and was a section (primary hospital) of Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital in Millbank.  It had three wards and one single room (which, at one time, served to accommodate a wounded general).  The operating theatre had white marble walls.

The wards and Officers' Day Room were decorated under Lady Northcliffe's personal direction, with furniture obtained from one of Lord Northcliffe's country houses.  A large bowl of flowers was placed beside each bed to give a 'homely' appearance.  Lady Northcliffe, dressed in a white nursing uniform, presided over matters.

The Hospital closed in 1919.

Present status (May 2010)

After the war the building became the headquarters of the  British Red Cross Society.  Today it is the offices of the law firm Child & Child.

194 Grosvenor Crescent
No. 14 Grosvenor Crescent.

193 and 194 Grosvenor Crescent
Nos. 13 and 14 Grosvenor Crescent.  

No. 13 (on the left) was also an auxiliary hospital during WW1 - the Chelsea V.A.D. Hospital.
References
(Author unstated) 1917 List of the various hospitals treating military cases in the United Kingdom.  London, H.M.S.O.

Carson WE 1918 Northcliffe: Britain's Man of Power.  New York, Dodge Publishing Co (Reprinted as a facsimile in 2008 by Lewis Press).

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com
http://query.nytimes.com
Return to alphabetical list
Return to home page