In October 1914 the sudden arrival of a telegram, notifying Birchington that wounded soldiers in need of emergency hospital accommodation were being sent by train to the village, marked the start of the work of the Voluntary Aid Detachment hospital at Quex. The first patients were unexpectedly Belgian soldiers.
Our panel exhibition in the corridor of the museum will mark the centenary of their coming and tell the story of the dramatic happenings of that time. These interpretive panel displays will give you the opportunity to learn about the Belgian patients who stayed at Quex Park, utilising our extensive original archival material, film and photography collections.
Other exhibitions and events will follow throughout the First World War Centenary period as we explore the history of the Quex Park VAD hospital, which remained open until January 1919 treating hundreds of patients of many nationalities.
Entrance to these exhibitions is included with entrance to the museum, which is £8 for adults, £6 concessions.
In addition, we have a blogsite which includes a number of interesting blog entries, as well as the museum’s patient registers for the time it was a VAD hospital – a really rare and important historical record. When the above exhibitions come down, they will be put up on the blog site, so that people who were unable to get to the museum can see them.
We appreciate any publicity for these activities. Do let me know if you need any further information.
Quex Park, Park Lane, Birchington, Kent, CT7 0BH
enquiries@quexmuseum.org
