During the course of the conflict, the hospital was expanded several times. It provided treatment, surgical support and some degree of convalescence to patients before they were evacuated to hospitals in the UK or returned to their units.

The hospital had a staff of 241, all from the St John Ambulance Brigade, and was considered by all who knew it to be the best designed and equipped military hospital in France, caring for over 35,000 patients throughout the war.Īs a Base Hospital, patients received by the St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital came from the Casualty Clearing Stations, which were situated a few miles behind the front line. Maintained and equipped primarily at the expense of the Order of St John, the St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital in Étaples was the largest voluntary hospital serving the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The learning resource, which is available in the Museum and online, tells the story of St John Ambulance volunteer Veronica Nisbet who, during the First World War, served as a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse at the St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital in Étaples, northern France, from 1917 – 1919.

To mark the centenary of the First World War, twelve St John Ambulance Cadets* from the London region have worked in collaboration with Museum staff to produce a digital learning resource and commemorative display as part of a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

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