RAF Hospital Cosford was a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
staffed
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 ...
at
RAF Cosford
Royal Air Force Cosford or RAF Cosford (formerly DCAE Cosford) is a Royal Air Force station in Cosford, Shropshire, Cosford, Shropshire, just to the northwest of Wolverhampton and next to Albrighton, Bridgnorth, Albrighton.
History
Origins
RA ...
,
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, England. The hospital opened in 1940, and was one of a handful of
Second World War
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 opposin ...
era RAF hospitals that were kept open post Second World War, remaining a military asset until 1977, although it also treated non-service patients. It was known for its personnel reception centre (No. 106 PRC), which dealt with returning prisoners of war in 1945.
History
The hospital was built on the north eastern part of RAF Cosford, separated from the main technical site by the
A41. Originally, the station sick quarters, consisted of several wards, were built as a series of huts on the north western corner of Fulton Block on the main site. However, the regional hospital was developed from 1939 onwards on the eastern site of RAF Cosford. When this newer hospital was opened in 1940, with a complement of eight medical officers, the hutted hospital buildings next to Fulton Block were combined into an infectious diseases hospital. In 1941, a burns unit was added to the main hospital, which by the end of the war, had treated 42,000 patients.
The specialised unit had 13 beds, equipped to deal with burns victims, and two dedicated saline baths for treatment.
During the Second World War, Cosford became one of the specialist dental units, supplying treatment and training for dental officers. Between 1943 and 1945, a total of 1,128 dental patients were treated ranging from impacted wisdom teeth and cysts, to fractured jaws. Apart from in the depths of winter, extra facilities were pressed into action on the concreted areas outside of the main hospital, with temporary lighting and heating provided. These areas were used for those who were "offensive-smelling long term cases".
The requirement for the number of beds reflected the hospitals role in either wartime or its service support. It should also be noted that Cosford Hospital was open to non-service personnel in the local community after 1948, and the dependents of serving personnel.
No. 106 Personnel Reception Centre
No. 106 Personnel Reception Centre (No. 106 PRC) operated from the hospital between 7 March and August 1945. It was a component of No. 24 Technical (training) Command, and would utilise the nearby airfields of
RAF Seighford
RAF Seighford is a former Royal Air Force station located northwest of Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The site was opened as a satellite/relief landing ground for RAF Hixon, to the east.
From 1956 until 1965, the airfield and associated b ...
and
RAF Wheaton Aston
Royal Air Force Wheaton Aston or more simply RAF Wheaton Aston was a Royal Air Force station located just outside of the village of Wheaton Aston in Staffordshire, England. The base was actually in the hamlet of Little Onn which is north west ...
to ferry former PoWs into the PRC. The PRC was set up to process returning Air Force Prisoners of War (PoW) from the European and Far East Theatres. The necessity for the PRC was reflected in the numbers of PoWs returning from Europe in April and May 1945, which numbered into the tens of thousands. Among the many famous faces that went through No. 106 PRC, was
Douglas Bader
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...
, who flew into Cosford on his own, and apologised for arriving in the middle of the night.
It was realised that most of the returning PoWs would be drawn from the officer cadre, and space at Cosford was made available by transferring technical training for airmen back to
RAF Halton
Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...
in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. Due to the volume of returning PoWs, extra flights were laid on to other RAF stations;
Dunsfold
Dunsfold is a village in the borough of Waverley, Surrey, England, 8.7 miles (14 kilometres) south of Guildford. It lies in the Weald and reaches in the north the southern escarpment of the Greensand Ridge. It includes the Wey and Arun Canal ...
,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
Hixon,
Oakley,
Odiham
Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres wi ...
, Seighford,
Westcott and
Wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
, and all Royal Air Force personnel would be taken to Cosford. Some were posted straight into the hospital, whereas others could be posted onto No. 4 Medical Rehabilitation Centre, which was also located at Cosford, and saw some patients being assessed in a commandeered section of Fulton Block. An estimation of numbers determined that space at Cosford would allow 3,600 patients at Cosford, with an overspill at
RAF Hednesford
Royal Air Force Hednesford or more simply RAF Hednesford is a former Royal Air Force station situated south-east of Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
History
The RAF station of Hednesford was built just south of Cannock Chase, above the vill ...
. It was planned that up to 600 cases a day could be dealt with, but on at least three occasions, over 900 PoWs were assessed within one day. All told, 11,003 returning British PoWs were assessed at Cosford between March and August 1945.
Post war history
On the formation of the NHS in 1948, civilian patients were allowed to use most of the RAF Hospitals up and down the United Kingdom. Among the RAF Hospitals, only
St Athan
St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated to t ...
had a midwifery department in 1948, but by 1950, Cosford had opened its midwifery and maternity unit. In the 1960s, the hospital at Cosford was used to conduct research into hypertension.
The hospital was announced for closure in early 1977, and was closed on 31 December 1977. In its fnal years, funding for the hospital was allocated solely from NHS accounts, and as such, it was treated as an NHS hospital. The last matron recalled seven RAF staff stood "..in the drizzling rain as the flag
icwas hauled down for the last time." The main hospital buildings were demolished in 1980.
Badge
The
Badge
A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fi ...
was authorised by the Queen in 1963, and carried the motto of ''Via ad salutem'' ( la, The road to health).
Notable people
*
John Ainsworth-Davis
John Creyghton Ainsworth-Davis (23 April 1895 – 3 January 1976) was a Welsh surgeon and sprint runner who won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Ainsworth-Davis studied at Westminster School. Durin ...
*
Iris Bower
Iris "Fluffy" Bower (12 April 1915 – 18 December 2005) (also known as Iris Ogilvie) was a British nurse who served in the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service during Second World War. She was one of only two women in Normandy durin ...
, nurse at the hospital
*
John Cooke, medical officer who commanded the medical division at the hospital in the 1950s
*
Rosaline Few
Rosaline Few (born 20 January 1955) is a British athlete. She competed in the women's high jump at the 1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 ...
, athlete, was treated at the hospital in February 1977 for suspected appendicitis after taking part in the high jump at an athletics event at RAF Cosford
*
Suzi Perry
Suzi Perry (born 3 May 1970) is a British television presenter, currently covering MotoGP for BT Sport. She is best known for covering MotoGP for the BBC for 13 years, ''The Gadget Show'' on Channel 5 for 8 years and the BBC's Formula One cove ...
, born at the hospital in the 1970s
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosford, RAF Hospital
Hospital buildings completed in 1940
Military units and formations established in 1940
1940 establishments in England
Military units and formations disestablished in 1977
Defunct hospitals in England
Hospitals in Shropshire
Military hospitals in the United Kingdom
Royal Air Force Medical Services
British military hospitals