Burlish Camp
United States General Hospitals 114 and 297 (September 1944 – June 1945)
114th GENERAL HOSPITAL
U.S HOSPITAL PLANT No. 4171
BEWDLEY CAMP No.2
Opened: 1st September 1944
Closed: 29th June 1945
Commanding Officer :
Colonel Stuart A. Cameron until October 1944
Colonel John B. Chester from November 1944
Unit strength: 58 Officers, 1 Warrant Officer, 83 Nurses, 452 Enlisted Men, 2 Hospital Dietitians, 2 Physical Therapy Aides and 5 Red Cross Workers.
Bed capacity: 1442 patients
The 114th General Hospital arrived at Gourock, Scotland on 5th August 1944 and boarded a train for Bewdley Station the following day.
The Hospital officially opened for patients on 1st September 1944.
The first hospital train with casualties for the 114th arrived at Stourport Station on 20th September 1944.
Approximately 4,500 casualties were dealt with, the majority arriving at the Stourport railhead in hospital trains from ports and airfields in the south of England.
297th GENERAL HOSPITAL
U.S HOSPITAL PLANT No. 4170
BEWDLEY CAMP No. 1
Opened: 17th July 1944
Closed: 29th June 1945
Commanding Officer: Colonel Francis W. Pruitt
Unit strength: 56 Officers, 1 Warrant Officer, 83 Nurses, 500 Enlisted Men, 3 Hospital Dietitians, 3 Physical Therapy Aides and 5 Red Cross Workers.
Bed capacity: 1442 patients.
The 297th General Hospital arrived at Gourock, Scotland on 6th June 1944 and boarded a train for Llandudno which was a hospital training area.
On 19th June the organisation proceeded by rail to Bewdley.
The first hospital train with 293 casualties for the 297th General Hospital arrived at Stourport Station on 19th July 1944.
During the period of operation a total of 7,570 casualties were dealt with.
On the 24th and 25th August 1944 the 114th and 297th General Hospitals departed from Kidderminster by train for Southampton where they boarded the liner Queen Elizabeth for New York.
Maps and photographs on this site provide the framework of the location of the hospitals and the details of the many buildings. How we now might wish in the intervening years since WW2 that people had spent more time recording the experiences of the wartime generation. This is especially true of the many who were involved in the support services which by WW2 were already outnumbering the frontline servicemen yet without whom the battlefront would have been unsustainable. To them perhaps, their contribution seeming less glamorous than the fighting servicemen, they were just doing their necessary duty. We have been in touch with two organisations in the United States who have been at work gathering wartime reminiscence including from non-combatant service. Visiting these websites will access some interesting material.
Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War - Tennesseans and War
From these and other sources we have some material recounting personal reminiscence of the Servicemen and women at the 114th and 297th General Hospitals, or family memories of their accounts. Please be aware that some of their personal accounts contain views that reflect the time of the late second world war and some inaccuracies that reflect that in World War 2 you were told what you needed to know and did not ask too many questions.
114th General Hospital.
Lt. Francis Schmitt. Dentist. The Family of Lt. Schmitt have posted his wartime photographs online with Picasa. We reproduce some that are particularly relevant to our site and are currently hoping to receive a written submission from the family
Dr. Kesterson Edited extract from a recording made for the World War II Records - Tennesseans and War. Photograph from the Schmitt collection.
297th General Hospital
Lt. Lilian Krell Lillian returned to the hospital sites many years after and assisted the Turley brothers with photographs for their book “Camp Bewdley”. She has been a great supporter of this project. In addition to the photographs on this site we are editing a video of Lillian Speaking about her wartime experiences to add to the site. A book about her experiences is to be published by WW 2 Experience. (See above)
Private (later Corporal) Robert Walton
This full account is written by Pte Waltons son a retired US Army Major, now a lecturer in Modern world history in Albany New York State. This excellent piece throws interesting sidelights on many aspects of recruitment, deployment and the influence of the WW 2 management of U.S. troops on post war events.