Aldershot, Cambridge Military Hospital 1891

Photo ref: 28672

The winter and spring of 1958 I was an ACC cook in the hospital kitchen. On one night duty I contracted tonsillitis and was put in the ward upstairs where the ghost of 'Sister Aggie', as she was known to us, was supposed to haunt and give comfort at their bedside of those who were about to slip away. She did not appear to me as I was not about to die. I had to sample our food which was sent up from the kitchen in ...see more

I began my pupil nurse training at the Cambridge in 1970. I enjoyed my time there. I remember the corridors, indeed they were very long, some say a quarter of a mile lonf, and some say nearly a mile. I think I would say the latter. I was posted to Hong Kong in November 1970 and went back there in 1972.

I had my tonsils removed at the Cambridge Miltary Hospital in 1981 (aged 8).  The only memory I have of this time is of a little girl named Yvonne Cherry who stayed in the bed next to mine, she never had any visitors and spent the majority of her time looking in my locker. My father, Eric James was an ambulance driver for the Cambridge Hospital for many years.  It's a beautiful building and it is heartbreaking to think of it standing with empty corridors and dusty old cobwebs.

The Cambridge Military Hospital was apparently founded as part of the initiative begun by Florence Nightingale after the Crimean War to improve medical facilities for the Army. It was built on a grand, traditionally solid Victorian scale, and as I remember, had very long corridors, which seemed to be about a quarter of a mile long! At least, it seemed, standing at one end, the roof and floor met at the other. ...see more