Community and the Voluntary Hospitals in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 1900-1946: Economy, Society, Culture. Edward Cheetham A
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Community and the Voluntary Hospitals in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 1900-1946: Economy, Society, Culture. Edward Cheetham A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In collaboration with the Midlands 4 Cities Doctoral Training Partnership September 2020 i Copyright Statement The copyright in this work is held by the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the author. ii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Nick Hayes, for the constant support and hard work he has put into this thesis with me. Over these last few years, he has become a true friend and confidant. My wife, Alice, and daughter, Edith, whose love, patience, and fortitude have made this long piece of work possible. My parents, who have supported me every step of the way, in this, and throughout my life. My friends and family, too numerous to mention, who have made this difficult undertaking so much more tolerable with their humour and love. Further to these thanks, I would like to add my sincere gratitude to the workers and archivists of the Derbyshire Record Office, who welcomed me and my research, and aided me in countless ways. iii Abstract This thesis spans the first half of the 20th Century, charting the progress and challenges of the voluntary hospital system in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The voluntary hospitals were the key sites of acute medical care for the working-classes from their foundations in the late 18th Century to their demise after the Second World War. Funded by a mixture of charitable donations, mutualist mass-contribution schemes, and occasional state aid in times of crisis, the voluntary hospitals were otherwise independent from any overarching authority, subject only to the demands of their community. This thesis looks at how the voluntary hospitals operated in the mixed socioeconomic background of two Midland counties with drastic regional variation: geographically, socially, and economically. Home to many voluntary hospitals, ranging from the larger Derbyshire Infirmary and Nottingham General in the county capitals, down to tiny cottage hospitals ensconced in the industrial towns and rolling dales. Fundamentally, the thesis asks the question: to what extent are voluntary hospitals reflections of their community? To answer this, myriad sources from over a dozen different hospitals are drawn upon, addressing matters of finance, civil society, recreation and leisure, charity and philanthropy, leadership, mutualism and self-help, war and crisis. It looks at the large-scale fundraising events organised in the towns, the carnivals and parades, as well as the financial schemes masterminded by the hospitals to cultivate a sense of medical security for the populace, as well as financial security for the hospitals. It looks at each ‘era’ within its own context, using context at both a national and - more importantly - local level. iv Contents Community and the Voluntary Hospitals in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, 1900-1946: Economy, Society, Culture. ....................................................................................................................................... i Edward Cheetham.................................................................................................................................... i A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ............................................................................................................... i In collaboration with the Midlands 4 Cities Doctoral Training Partnership ............................................ i September 2020 ....................................................................................................................................... i Copyright Statement ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ iii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. iv Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Hospital Voluntarism .......................................................................................................................... 1 Figure 0.1: Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, c.1900............................................................................... 6 Figure 0.2: Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital, 1931. ............................................ 7 Chapter 1: 1900-1913 – Old world, new hospitals ............................................................................... 20 Leadership in the hospitals ............................................................................................................... 25 Figure 1.1: Sir Henry H Bemrose, Derby, 1898. ................................................................................ 27 Figure 1.2: Ms Eliza Ogden, c.1910. .................................................................................................. 28 Incomes ............................................................................................................................................. 31 Table 1.1: Nottingham General and Derbyshire Infirmary Subscriptions, 1900-1914. ................ 34 Active Fundraising: Pageantry and Participation in the Hospitals .................................................... 38 Figure 1.3. First prize-winning cart decorated with nurse, doctor and patient. C.1914. ............. 42 Smaller Hospitals in Urban and Rural Industrial Environments ........................................................ 44 Figure 1.4: Nurses at Ilkeston General Hospital c.1920., Display Collection, Ilkeston Community Hospital. ........................................................................................................................................ 45 Chapter 2: 1914-1919 – The Impact of War ......................................................................................... 55 Beds, waiting lists, and War Office grants ........................................................................................ 57 Table 2.1: Hospital Beds, Derbyshire Infirmary, Nottingham General, Chesterfield Hospital, Buxton Devonshire, 1914-1917. ................................................................................................... 58 Figure 2.1: Soldier and Civilian patients, Devonshire Hospital, Buxton, 1918 .............................. 61 Table 2.2: Total War Office grants to Nottingham General, Derbyshire Infirmary, Devonshire Hospital, Chesterfield Hospital, 1914-1919. ................................................................................. 67 Table 2.3: Nottingham General, Derbyshire Infirmary, Chesterfield Hospital, Devonshire Hospital Total Income, War Office Income, 1913-1919. ............................................................................ 68 Figure 2.2: ‘Apparatus For Loosening Stiff Joints’, 1917. The patients pictured are soldiers, wearing the ‘Hospital Blues’ uniform worn for convalescence. ................................................... 69 ii Table 2.4: Total Patients for Nottingham General, Derbyshire Infirmary, Chesterfield Hospital, Devonshire Hospital, 1914-1920. .................................................................................................. 70 Table 2.5: Total incomes, War Office grants, and percentages for Nottingham General, Derbyshire Infirmary, Chesterfield Hospital, Devonshire Hospital, 1914-1920............................ 71 Table 2.6: Total in-patients, war patients, and percentages for Nottingham General, Derbyshire Infirmary, Chesterfield Hospital, Devonshire Hospital, 1914-1920 .............................................. 71 Figure 2.3: Cover of Devonshire Hospital Annual Report, 1917. .................................................. 74 Staff at War ....................................................................................................................................... 74 Figure 2.4: ‘Join the RAMC’ recruitment poster, c.1914, IWM. .................................................... 75 Hospital Voluntarism during the Great War. .................................................................................... 81 Graph 2.1: Nottingham General Income 1913-1919 .................................................................... 82 Graph 2.2: Nottingham General Expenditure, 1913-1919. ........................................................... 83 Graph 2.3: Derbyshire Infirmary Income, 1913-1919 ................................................................... 83 Graph 2.4: Derbyshire Infirmary Expenditure, 1913-1919 ........................................................... 84 Graph 2.5: Chesterfield Hospital Income, 1913-1919..................................................................