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Endell Street Military Hospital

Endell Street Military Hospital was a First World War military hospital located on Endell Street in Covent Garden, central London. The hospital was substantially staffed by suffragettes.

Establishment of the hospital
The concept of the Women's Hospital Corps was created and instituted in 1914. Previously met with hostility by officials, Doctors Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson decided to bypass the British government by going directly to the French Embassy with their offer to run a military hospital in Wimereux, France. Their idea was accepted and they were granted work permits to travel to France. In less than two weeks, Murray and Anderson were able to recruit enough medically trained women to staff an entire hospital; doctors, nurses, orderlies, and clerks. The women created uniforms and raised funds for the supplies needed. It was constructed in the former St Giles Union Workhouse on Endell Street in Covent Garden, Central London. The empty workhouse had room for a larger hospital to operate. Most of the hospital equipment came from the military hospital in Wimereux, France following its closure in January 1915. Endell Street Hospital cared for some 26,000 patients during the five years it was active. A small ward for service women was opened, late in the hospital's life. Some satellite hospitals were also established including Dollis Hill House Auxiliary Hospital which opened in 1916. ==Staff==
Staff
Leading the hospital, Murray was named Doctor in Charge and Anderson was named Chief Surgeon. Many of the clinicians who staffed the hospital had previously worked at the hospital in Wimereux. When that hospital closed, the suffragettes were relocated to the new Endell Street hospital. At Endell Street, these clinicians worked in what was considered female-appropriate jobs as nurses, orderlies, and clerks. The hospital also staffed women as drivers, dentists, pathologists, and surgeons. Librarians and entertainment officers visited with the patients to heighten morale. Gardeners helped in the courtyard and people without family or friends at the hospital came to spend time with a lonely patient. The hospital adopted the WSPU's motto of "Deeds, Not Words". The women hoped that eventually the hospital and their deeds would prove women's equality and their ability to fulfil their duties as citizens. The RAMC felt that the women would not be properly trained to care for and control soldiers in the military setting. They were proven wrong when the women received all positive acknowledgments due to their "feminine touches" around the hospital. Flowers, bright colours, and proper lighting—all of which contrasted with the drabness of military hospitals—were attributed to the women's ability to consider the patient's psychological health as well as their physical health. During the hospital's active years, Endell Street Military Hospital staff were able to publish seven publications in The Lancet. The papers were in written in collaboration with the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service and included an analysis of a series of cases of anaerobic infection. They collaborated with the Pasteur Institute in trials of gas gangrene antiserum by Frances Ivens from the Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont. Endell Street and Royaumont together produced the first hospital-based research papers published by female British doctors. ==Closure==
Closure
In 1917, Murray and Anderson each received the CBE for their work in the hospital. In October 1919, Endell Street received orders to evacuate and close the hospital. Endell Street Military Hospital closed in December 1919. The hospital was subsequently demolished and the site now forms part of the area occupied by the Oasis Sports Centre. In November 2017 the Imperial War Museum made an award to Alison Ramsey of Digital Drama for "Deeds Not Words; Suffragette Surgeons of WWI", a film about the hospital. == References==
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