Hospitals: Harefield and Uxbridge

Harefield Hospital

After the disaster at Gallipoli, in the First World War, thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers were left stranded in the Middle East injured and far away from home. Harefield Park and Manor House, which was owned by Australian Billyard Leake, opened it's doors to these soldiers and was known as the Australian Auxiliary Hospital.

After 1918 the Leake's family felt unable to move back into their home, so they sold it instead to Middlesex County Council, who were looking for a suitable sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis, thanks to it's abundant fresh air and sunlight.

In more modern times Harefield Hospital has been the site of incredible medical innovations such as research in penicillin by Sir Alexander Flemming, the advent of heart surgery in 1947, as well as world-renowned expertise in the treatment of chest, oesophagus and lung diseases.

Uxbridge Canadian Convalescent Hospital

In 1915 the British government purchased Hillingdon House with the intention of using it as a prisoner of war camp. After strong objection from the local population it instead became the site of a Canadian Convalescent Hospital.

The patients that came through the hospital doors were those being evacuated from the Western Front. The first patient was admitted to the hospital on the 4 October 1915. Just a year later there were 512 patients being treated across the site.

As well as Hillingdon House, there were 16 Salonika Huts, a gym and a theatre within the 40 to 50 acres of land. The Canadian Red Cross also built a canteen that would seat and serve 500 people at a time.

By December 1917 the Canadian patients had been moved to other Canadian Hospitals across the country and the Royal Flying Corps Armament School had begun training there on the property. The sound of gunfire disturbed the once quiet town of Uxbridge and before long more buildings had been erected and RAF were fully established in Uxbridge.