Description:In addition to her Ambulance work, Duchess Millicent established a Tent Hospital, first at Malo-les-Bains near Dunkirk and then at Bourbourg. In October 1915 the Duchess was requested to transfer her hospital’s services to the British Forces stationed at Calais. Referred to as No. 9 Red Cross Hospital Millicent Sutherland Ambulance, the hospital was based in huts on the beaches at Calais. By January 1916 the Hospital had 8 wards and was equipped to deal with 100 patients.
The hospital played a huge role in providing medical aid to Allied troops, including soldiers wounded at the Battle of the Somme. The hospital was also a pioneer in medical treatment methods, implementing the Carrell-Dakin method of treating wounds. This encouraged greater financial assistance from the Red Cross, and by August 1917 the hospital had 160 beds.
Amongst Duchess Millicent’s papers are many letters relating to her work at No.9 Red Cross Hospital. A letter written to the Duchess during this period by James B. Simpson thanks her 'for all your kind help to Bertie in getting him out to No. 9 Hospital, and I hope he will be able to help you in many ways.’ The letter also refers to the pioneering Carrel-Dakin treatment implemented at Millie’s hospital. Simpson writes: ‘I read with great interest an article from No. 9 Hospital on the Carrel Dakin method of treating wounds written in the Journal of the Naval Medical Service…a new method but which so many people do not take the trouble to give’.
Many of the letters received by Duchess Millicent at this time reminisce about days before the war, providing an insight into people’s personal perception of the conflict. James Simpson writes in his letter:
‘Our life in Sutherland in the old days seems so far away now and so impossible. How can we ever have lived in peace and comfort as we did, with nothing to worry one’.
To learn more about No. 9 Red Cross Hospital and the Carrell-Dakin Method, click on the image on the left.