"I think I have done my bit..."- The Soldiers and Staff of Hill House Hospital 1915 -1918

During World War I towns across Britain were required to step up and help the war effort. In hundreds of towns and cities, voluntary hospitals were set up to care for the waves of incoming injured. At the front of this effort was the British Red Cross and in Warwick they set up an Auxillary Hospital at Hill House. The hospital ran for three years and was staffed by local people. One of these locals was Margaret Pratt the wife of the local pharmacist. As a nurse, she kept a book which she encouraged her soldier patients to record their presence. They left poems, witticisms, paintings, drawings and jokes. Each page of this autograph book has been presented in this volume along with the history of each soldier who signed it. This is a unique first-hand look at a side of the war not often seen. A glimpse of what real soldiers thought and what ordinary people did to help support them through their sometimes horrific injuries.