Hi folks. Hope everyone is having a great 2022 so far. Have been having fun going through the 1921 census and was curious to discover that my great-grandmother worked as a laundress at "Pension Hospital" in Knotty Ash. I presume by this she meant the Ministry of Pensions Hospital Knotty Ash (since the description was her own). Does anyone have any information on this hospital, particularly regarding its location? From newspaper articles I can see that it was used as a military hospital after WW1 and was described as being "adjacent to Knotty Ash Station" at the time the hospital was demolished and the land sold in 1925. I'm 99.9% sure this was neither a predecessor of Alder Hey or Broadgreen/Highfield Sanitorium. I suspect that, like the former Ministry of Pensions Hospital in Mossley Hill it was established by the American Red Cross. I've checked the 1927 OS Map of Knotty Ash (two years after the hospital was demolished) and there is a large area of what look to be nissen huts/temporary buildings to the west of the former station which could have been the site Can anyone help me out with any more specific details? Thanks in advance! Andy, Sydney Australia
Just found out that the…
Just found out that the American Red Cross did indeed establish a hospital in 1918-1919 in Knotty Ash. Contemporary ARC accounts talk of a "series of tents" erected in Springfield Park that were later replaced by "brick and concrete" permanent buildings. I'm now thinking the hospital may have been to the east (rather than west) of the former Knotty Ash station. The 1927 O.S. map does indeed show what look like permanent buildings on the eastern side of the railway line in the western half of Springfield Park (i.e. the part not now occupied by Alder Hey). Since they were apparently demolished in 1925 though I can't understand how they would be on the 1927 map two years later. Anyone able to confirm any of this?
Just a thought, Andy. When…
Just a thought, Andy. When you do a lookup in the 1921 Census, on the transcript page, FMP provide a contemporary map showing the area where the person was living. Assuming they used a map which predated the demolition of the hospital, there's a chance it will accurately show the location. I believe (I haven't checked so may be wrong) that if you go back to look at an entry you have already paid for, you can see it a second time for free, so worth a try perhaps?