Home > Birmingham in WW1> 1st and 2nd Birmingham War Hospitals

The urgent need for more suitable hospital accommodation forced the authorities to consider many alternatives. The Army Council specified the need for 50,000 beds, in established buildings with appropriate facilities, located near to a railway station. In consequence, the Asylum War Hospital Scheme was launched in January 1915.
Formation
The asylums in the United Kingdom were sorted into 9 Groups. One asylum in each group would be cleared of its current patients, who would be transferred into the others in the Group. The emptied building would then be converted into a military hospital.
The Birmingham War Hospitals

The Birmingham City Asylum at Rubery Hill was chosen from the Midlands region's Group 4 of asylums, together with its annexe at Hollymoor. These became the 1st and 2nd Birmingham War Hospitals, with 1100 and 930 beds respectively. In all, 1334 patients were relocated to other asylums, including some very violent cases. The first military casualties were received on 5 July 1915 (Hollymoor) and 30 July 1915 (Rubery).

1st BWH closed on 31 March 1919, having treated 20,000 casualties. 2nd BWH closed on 1 March 1920, having treated 16,800 men. In the later stages of the war, Hollymoor had been converted into a specialist Orthopaedic Hospital.
See also this section on the 1st Southern General Hospital.