Bull Hill, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7AH

Medical dates:

Medical character:

The Red House Auxiliary Hospital opened on 21st October 1914 in a property lent by Mr J.W. Burton.  It had 20 beds and its first patients were wounded Belgian soldiers.  The Hospital was under Eastern Command, affiliated to the Horton (County of London) War Hospital.  The nursing staff consisted of a Matron and 3 Sisters, assisted by 6 members of the Surrey/22 Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.), with the Surrey/17 V.A.D. acting as orderlies.

By the end of March 1915 it had 33 beds and was fully occupied.

By 1916 there were 36 beds.   In that year, some 306 in-patients were treated.  Many were severe cases who remained several months.  The Hospital also treated out-patients (some 80 were seen in 1916), who were men on furlough, disabled soldiers or Army Service men doing farm work.  The Hospital did not have an operating theatre or X-ray Department, but provided general treatment, massage and electrical treatments - ionisation and cataphoresis (the introduction of drugs into the body by means of an electric current) - and, later, wound irrigation.

In 1917 the number of beds was increased to 40.  The extra beds, bedding and blankets were all supplied to the Hospital by the local population.

The Hospital closed on 14th February 1919.  During its operational lifetime, 698 in-patients had been treated.  The low number reflects the seriousness of many of the cases (despite this, there were no deaths at the Hospital).  In addition, 125 out-patients and 52 soldiers on the march had also received treatment.

Present status (July 2009)

The house has been demolished and its site is now occupied by Fairmount House, an office development.