First English hospital for wounded Kiwis
The New Zealand Military Hospital at Walton-on-Thames was the first English hospital to be established for Kiwi soldiers during the First World War. It was officially opened on Saturday 31 July 1915, in a ceremony attended by “one of the largest gatherings of New Zealanders that has ever assembled" in the UK. (Evening Post, 24 September 1915, p.4)
This film clip shows NZ High Commissioner Thomas Mackenzie and William Lord Plunket at the hospital’s official opening ceremony on 31 July 1915. Lord Plunket was a former Governor of New Zealand and the chair of the NZ War Contingent Association, formed on London at the outbreak of the war to support wounded NZ troops. The Association helped to select the hospital premises, and its members later visited convalescing patients.
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First English hospital for wounded Kiwis
The New Zealand Military Hospital at Walton-on-Thames was the first English hospital to be established for Kiwi soldiers during the First World War. It was officially opened on Saturday 31 July 1915, in a ceremony attended by “one of the largest gatherings of New Zealanders that has ever assembled" in the UK. (Evening Post, 24 September 1915, p.4)
This film clip shows NZ High Commissioner Thomas Mackenzie and William Lord Plunket at the hospital’s official opening ceremony on 31 July 1915. Lord Plunket was a former Governor of New Zealand and the chair of the NZ War Contingent Association, formed on London at the outbreak of the war to support wounded NZ troops. The Association helped to select the hospital premises, and its members later visited convalescing patients.
Year: 1915
Length: 00:52
Production Company: Pathé Freres
Credits: Made from original material preserved by the BFI National Archive
Source: Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Catalogue Reference: F232651 [Pathe Gazette] 1915
People: Lord Plunket (Governor General), Thomas Mackenzie (New Zealand High Commissioner)
Location: Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom
The New Zealand Military Hospital (also known as NZ General Hospital no. 2) was located in a refurbished villa, Mount Felix House, in the village of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, southwest London. It was set among fields, gardens and trees to encourage a peaceful recovery for New Zealand soldiers. The hospital building is now demolished, but it is remembered in the name of one of the village’s main streets, New Zealand Avenue.
This short, silent piece of film is an excerpt of the footage shot at the opening ceremony on Saturday 31 July 1915. It features Lord Plunket and Thomas Mackenzie, New Zealand’s High Commissioner, touring the grounds of the hospital accompanied by several nurses and military personnel. Mackenzie addresses a crowd of people, making a speech to officially open the hospital.