The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-08-31
ABODE OF KINGS
FOR SICK YANKS
Salisbury Court, Favorite Hunt
ing Box of Charles |, Now
a Hospital.
RED CROSS DOES THE WORK
American Women in England Carry on
Vast Aid for Wounded Con-
valescents to Recuperate Amid
Pleasant Surroundings.

Misunderstanding Court, an old
JacObean mansion that stands back
almost hidden by the tall elms off the
Southampton road and is said to have
been one of the favorite hunting boxes
of the first King Charles, has been
converted into a hospital for 5000
Americans by the American Red
Cross.
The work of the latter organization
now comprises more than twenty de-
partments, and is carried out by Amer
lean women who were residents of
Great Britain before the war, many
of them the wives of Englishmen and
the others wives of relatives of Amer
leans in business in this country.
Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, widow Of the
former American ambassador to Great
Britain, was a pioneer in the work of
the American Red Cross in this coun-
try.
The American Red Cross has pro-
vided a number of hospitals in Great
Britain, some of them established be-
fore America entered the war, for the
use of the British wounded; others es-
tablished since that time for the ac-
commodation of both British and
Americans.
One of the Best.
One of the finest is the MoSSley Hill
hospital at Liverpool, which is stated
by American army doctors and nurses
under Maj. lido J. Wilo, formerly pro-
fessor of surgery in the University Of
Michigan. Another American hospital
de luxe in London is the new naval
hospital on Park lane, which occupies
Aldford house, the home of Capt.
Frederick Guest, M. P, who placed it
at the disposal of the Red Cross.
There are several other American
hospitals in London, notably the Lam
caster Gate hospital for officers and
American Hospital No. "a, given by
Mr.. and Mrs. A. Chester Beatty of
New York. But the largest of all the
American hospitals in Great Britain
is that at Salisbury court.
No more ideal spot for the purpose
could be imagined. Standing in a
great park of 1856 acres of thickly-
wooded coverts and gently undulat-
ing pasture lands the grounds dip
down to a half-mile frontage along
Southampton waters.
Already the woodland acres of the
estate are ~resounding with ak and saw
and several hundred trees have been
selected to furnish the heavier tim
Der and joists for the hospital build
ings. With the Manor house as apex,
these cover over ten acres of frame
hutments.
The contracts signed by the Red
Cross provided for the opening of the
hospital with about 400 beds available
in six weeks from the time the work
started.
Tents to House Sick.
During the pleasant English sum-
mer these tent wards will be very COM
Portable and agreeable, and long be-
fore the first chilly weather of autumn
comes the frame hut wards, steam
heated, will be ready. 1t is possible
that some of the tents will be retained
for the use of convalescents or for
overflow purposes in the event of a
big offensive On the northern part of
the western front.
The hospital will have its own cleo
tric lighting plant and water supply.
There will be probably a double sys-
tenn Of water supply, water from the
river being used for ordinary purposes,
while special distilled or spring water
will be used for drinking purposes and
in the kitchens and operating rooms.
The Manor house, which will be the
central building of the Salisbury hos.
pital, is a large and handsome build
ing of what Englishmen call modern
construction, inasmuch as it dates
back only 80 years.
The house contains about fifty
rooms, and more than half of these
are large enough to be available for
use as wards containing from six to
16 beds each. The great entrance hall
is easily the feature of the interior.
1t is as large as many an American
church, open to the roof, and with a
balcony or gallery running all the way
around it.
The ambulance which will bring the
American wounded from the piers at
Southampton will approach the hos
pital by a long carriage drive through
picturesque woodland and well-kept
lawns.
The convalescent soldier will find
several miles of sunny or shaded
walks without going outside the hos
pital grounds. Strolling %northward he
will cross a broad meadow and a lit.
tie patch of woods to the hospital pig.
gerry and chicken farm, and just be-
low this he will come to the boat
house and the jetty, where he may
dangle his legs just above the water
and sit fishpole in hand, with good
prospects of a profitable catch. II