100 years of Horncastle's War Memorial Hospital

​​To celebrate the Sir Joseph Banks Centre’s new exhibition on the hospital to mark 100 years since it was opened, a special event was held at the Centre on Saturday (June 15).

The main display had been transferred from Sir Joseph Banks Museum, and included some of the old photographs and documents from the hospital, a model hospital ward, and a selection of surgical and nursing instruments and uniforms.

Visitors were able to walk through the building and see how it is set up now. At the end of the tour there were refreshments available in the main waiting room.

Chairman of the War Memorial Hospital, Julian Millington, said that the event was a “great success” and that the Horncastle War Memorial Trustees and the Horncastle History and Heritage Society, who produced the exhibition, were delighted with the support of the local residents.

"Thanks must also go to the volunteers from the Horncastle History and Heritage Society, who were available in the Jubilee Room throughout the day and to the ladies who manned the refreshment stand.”

The War Memorial Hospital and dispensary, one of the first in Lincolnshire, was opened in 1924 and the exhibition at the Sir Joseph Banks Centre charts the changes and challenges of health care in Horncastle, from the establishment and creation of the War Memorial Hospital to the battle to save it.

Although the wards were closed in 1998, thanks to the tenacity of the people in Horncastle, the hospital was re-badged as the War Memorial Centre and continues to provide health care.

The exhibition is open to visitors every Thursday to Saturday til June 29.