The First Eastern General Hospital (1914–1919) of the Royal Army Medical Corps at Cambridge

Abstract

The First Eastern General Hospital (1914–1919) from its inception at the Leys School, its growth and establishment at Trinity College Cambridge and then its further move to the cricket grounds of King’s College and Clare College (now the site of the University Library), exemplifies the determination and desire of Cambridge University to contribute to the humanitarian effort during World War I. It is also a prime example of the sheer sacrifice and altruism of the medical profession across its ranks to offer its services in times of need. From its day of mobilisation on 5 August and its first patient admission on 16 August 1914 through 30 June 1918, the last month for which hospital data exist, the First Eastern General Hospital admitted 62,664 patients from Home, Expeditionary, Belgian and Mediterranean Forces. In the last month alone, it admitted more than 2000 personnel. By its closure, there were only 437 deaths, a mortality rate of 0.69 per cent. It paved the way for Auxiliary Hospitals to which 2500 of its patients were transferred. Both Barnwell and Cherry Hinton Military Hospitals, set up to care for venereal disease patients, sprang from the First Eastern General and followed its organisation and staff arrangements after the parent closed.