The 118th General Hospital was a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

built in 1942 at

Riverwood, New South Wales Riverwood is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Riverwood is located 18 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Riverwood is split between the local g ...

. This was the largest military hospital in Australia, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Known as the 118 General Hospital it was planned as a hospital centre of five hospitals consisting of 490 timber barracks-type buildings, which could house a total of 4,250 beds and accommodate up to 1,250 patients and 3,500 staff. The hospital was formed by doctors and nurses from the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

Hospital in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The hospital staff arrived in Sydney during June 1942 and ran a 400-bed hospital from August 1942, with a section at the

Hydro Majestic Hotel The Hydro Majestic Hotel is located in Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia. The hotel is located on a clifftop overlooking the Megalong Valley on the western side of the Great Western Highway. The hotel is heritage listed and is notable f ...

Medlow Bath Medlow Bath ( postcode: 2780) is an Australian small town located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between and . Its altitude is about and it is about west-north-west of the Sydney central business district and north-west of ...

. Mrs

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, wife of the US President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, visited the 118 General Hospital on 8 September 1943. The US Army vacated the hospital in 1945 and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

occupied many of the buildings in January 1945 and the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

used the remainder of the other buildings. After World War II the site passed to the New South Wales Housing Commission from March 1946 and the huts were used to ease the post-war housing shortage. Many streets in Riverwood remain named after U.S. places, such as Kentucky Road, Michigan Road, Roosevelt Avenue, and Washington Avenue.

References

See also