Unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Services 

 Search  &  Help Recruits Military History Hall of Heroes Indigenous Slouch hat + ARMY Today Uniforms Badges

 Colours & Flags Weapons Food Equipment Assorted Medals Armour Navy Air Power 

Nurses - Medical Tributes Poetry - Music Posters & Signs Leaders The Enemy Humour Links Killing Anzac

Click to escape. Subject to Crown Copyright
Category: War Cemeteries

Click to go up one level

Netley Military Cemetery

Netley Military Cemetery is within the grounds of the Royal Victoria Country Park, accessed by a man-made causeway. It is situated in a quiet corner well away from the old hospital site and the day to day activities going on in the park. The Cemetery occupies an area of some 17 acres and holds the dead of both World Wars from several countries including 49 Aussies and 12 Kiwis. www.netleyabbey.info

ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL

The 

Hospital Chapel

The Chapel is all that remains of the massive 435m long three storey Royal Victoria Military Hospital.

Built on a site purchased for £15,000, Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone on 19th May 1856.

 The 2 tonne Welsh granite stone was laid above a copper casket containing the plans of the hospital, the first Victoria Cross, a silver Crimea medal with all four campaign bars, and coins of the realm.  The stone bore the inscription:

‘This stone was laid on the 19th day of May in the year of our Lord, 1856, by Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the foundation stone of the Victoria Military Hospital intended for the reception of the sick and wounded soldiers of her Army.’

The building was completed at a cost of £350,000 in 1863.  As with most hospitals since, it was over budget and late.

Royal Victoria Military Hospital


Although visually grand and attractive, it was neither convenient nor practical.    

Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to the hospital, arriving by boat at the pier erected out into Southampton Water. The 170m long pier was built in 1865 to receive ships bringing back war casualties. It was made redundant when a new railway line was built in 1900 to link the hospital with the main line at Netley.

It is estimated that some 50,000 patients were treated at the hospital during the First World War.

In 1944, the hospital was taken over by United States Forces and 68,000 patients were treated over an eighteen month period.

After the end of the war, the hospital continued to care for those returning from overseas service, but the high cost of running the building eventually led to its closure in 1958.

In June 1963, a serious fire, probably started by vandals in the now dilapidated building, badly damaged the structure, and its fate was settled. In 1966 the bulldozers moved in.

The psychiatric hospital remained open until 1978. In 1979 Hampshire County Council purchased the grounds and buildings.

Apart from the Royal Chapel, the Officers Mess building remains and has been turned into luxury apartments.

In May 1980 the Hospital grounds were opened to the public as the Royal Victoria Country Park.

Regt No

Rank

Name

Unit/Corps

Date died

Age

2774A

Private

ANDERSON R.F.

39 Battalion AIF

30 Aug 1918

24

  484

Private

ARMSTRONG R

2 Battalion AIF

27 Jul 1915

32

 

Private

BRAY Clive R.

9 Battalion AIF

13 Mar 1917

28 

360

 

BROWN E.T.

4 Battalion AIF

24 May 1915

26

4465 

Private

CHIFFITH A.

46 Battalion AIF

15 Aug 1916

 

 852

Private

CHRISTMAS J.F.

26 Battalion AIF

30 Aug 1916

25

 

 

CHURCH Theo Mark

(Marconi Operator)

22 Mar 1915

 

 2343

Private

CROFT J.H. 

3 Battalion AIF

27 Jul 1916

25

3375 

Private

CROSS J.S. 

56 Battalion AIF

20 Mar 1918

 

4165

Private

DOYLE  F.B.

6 Battalion AIF

16 Dec 1916

19 

3550

Private

DUNCAN A.A.

Aust Machine-Gun Corps

3 May 1918

 

1527

Private

ELDRIDGE J.C.

3 Battalion AIF

3 Jun 1915

23

   3747

Private

FORREST J.

10 Battalion AIF

22 Nov 1916

20

717

Corporal

FOWLEY J.H.

Aust. Veterinary Corps

26 Oct 1917

26

  13287

Private

FRANCIS A.R. (MM)

Aust. Army Medical Corps

6 Sep 1916

 

 810

Private

GAMBREY R.

21 Battalion AIF

31 Oct 1917

 

   1096

Trooper

GUEST L.A.

7th Australian Light Horse

17 Nov 1915

 

1865A

Private

HARDING T.A.

46 Battalion AIF

16 Sep 1916

19

 

Lieutenant

HARRINGTON R. (DCM)

59 Battalion & 4th Lt Horse

10 Jun 1918

29

4301A

Private

JAMES J.C. 

2 Battalion AIF

2 Aug 1916

 

692

 

JAMES  E.J.

16 Battalion AIF

28  May 1915

 

   98 

Sapper

JONES G.L.

Australian Engineers

27 Sep 1918

52

1550

Private

JONES Horace N.

18 Battalion AIF

13 Sep 1915

23

2840A

LCorporal

KANIERS W.J.

1 Aust. Pioneer Battalion

30 Aug 1918

27

3696 

Private KERR A. 57 Battalion AIF

5 Oct 1918

34

4563

 

LANDSDOWNE L.R.

30 Battalion AIF

21 Jun 1917

 

919

Sergeant

LAYLOR W.M.

5th Brigade AIF, HQ

11 Apr 1917

34

  5241

Sergeant

LEE F.J. 

Aust Army Service Corps

19 Jan 1918

 

  1145

Private

MARSHALL V.C.

26 Battalion AIF

26 Sep 1915

 

3142

Gunner

MATHESON H.T.

Australian Field Artillery

17 Apr 1918

35

 2?20A

Private

McNAUGHTON G.M.

17 Battalion AIF

9 Oct 1918

30

2723

Corporal

MONSON  J.C.

51 Battalion AIF

15 Sep 1916

45

4274

 

NAYLOR J.L.

1st Australian Pioneers

28 Aug 1918

 

648

Private

PENDLEBURY C.J.

Aust. Machine Gun Corps

7 Nov 1918

23

2222

Private

PERKINS H.G. (MM)

45 Battalion AIF

13 Jun 1918

37

  6038 

Private

PURTON J.D.

12 Battalion AIF

11 Jan 1919

 

 1984 

WO II

RENOU L.A.(DCM)

52 Battalion AIF

6 Nov 1916

24

 

Corporal

ROBERTS  David

8th. Light Horse. A.I.F.

28 Sep 1915

25

4525

Private

ROYCE G.J.B

28 Battalion AIF

14 May 1918

22

2821

Private

SMITH Clive P

20 Battalion AIF

14 Aug 1918

29

2034 

Private

TOULMIN A.D.

Aust Army Medical Corps

9 Jul 1915

20

4796

Sapper

TURNER  A.D.

Australian Tunnellers

21 Jan 1917

31

21112

Gunner

URQUART R.L.G.

Australian Field Artillery

30 Oct 1918

33

996

Private

VOWELLS P.C.

9 Battalion AIF

2 Oct 1915

25

4315

Private

WHITE G.P.

Aust Army Medical Corps

10 Aug 1916

 

3438

Serjeant

WILLIAMS M.E.

5 Battalion AIF

14 Oct 1917

 21

1626

Private

WILLIAMSON J.

5 Battalion AIF

14 Jun 1915

30

 2167

Private

WUNDENBERG F.T.

38 Battalion AIF

5 Jan 1918

36

Roll of Honour (New Zealanders)

10/3469 Private ANSTIS N.E. Wellington Regiment 5 Aug 1916 22
 10/3488 Private BLACK J. Wellington Regiment 11 Oct 1926 21
 15338  LCorporal COLLINS E.L. Rifle Brigade 27 Oct 1917 30
12/1178 Private CONE W.C. Auckland Regiment 28 Mar 1919 40
   6/213  Private CRESSWELL R.W. Canterbury Regiment 19 Oct 1915 22 
10/3880 Private FRAMPTON A.E. Wellington Regiment 6 Oct 1916 27
    4/411 Sapper HORNE J.R. New Zealand Engineers 19 July 1915  26 
 24/1106 Rifleman LESLIE K.G.  Rifle Brigade  27 June 1916 21
23/1448 Rifleman McCARTHY J.F. Rifle Brigade 31 Jan 1917 23
12/821 Private McRAE D. Auckland Regiment 20 Oct 1915 35
6/924 Private O'DONNELL W.H. Canterbury Regiment 17 Sep 1915 29

Roll of Honour (New Zealanders) WW2

23441   Sapper JANS  O.J. New Zealand Engineers 7 Sep 1940
  • Headstone details provided by Colin from Southhampton 

  • Colin has kindly offered to provide photos of individual headstones as required by family of men on the Honour Roll. Email him.

On 5 March 1855 Queen Victoria wrote a letter to Lord Panmure that hospitals 'For our sick and wounded soldiers is absolutely necessary and now is the moment to have them built'.

The planning and building of the hospital took place very quickly and a location was chosen on the eastern shore of Southampton Water to allow the hospital to have its own jetty where wounded soldiers could be landed direct from transports. Queen Victoria arrived at the newly built Netley Hospital on 19 May 1856 to lay the foundation stone. In a copper box she placed the plans of the hospital, various coins, a Crimean War Medal with the four campaign clasps, and a Victoria Cross and this was placed under the foundation stone.

Netley Hospital served as a major military hospital through various wars and campaigns and eventually closed to patients in the late 1950s. By 1958 the main part of the building was empty and remained so until a fire partly  destroyed it in June 1963. Despite opposition, the building was demolished in September 1966.

On 7 December 1966 many notable members of the Army Medical Services gathered on a very muddy demolition site and amidst much pomp and ceremony the foundation stone was raised and the copper casket recovered. Inside were the hospital plans, coins, the Crimean War Medal, and an unnamed Victoria Cross.

There was much speculation about whether this was in fact the first VC  manufactured and the one that Queen Victoria requested Lord Panmure to provide.

The Council of Colonels Commandant RAMC undertook a dialogue with Hancocks & Co to prove its authenticity. Eventually both the Victoria Cross and the Crimean Medal were suitably engraved to establish their identity and this was done in January 1967.

Taking into consideration the dates of the correspondence concerning the Cross and the date of the laying of the foundation stone at Netley, careful consideration must be given that this is in fact perhaps the first Victoria Cross and its 'presentation' to the Army Medical Services Department pre-dates the first official presentation in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857.  

Iain received a reply from the Army Medical Services Museum which states "the Netley VC was engraved to establish that it was the medal removed from below the foundation stone and to ensure there could be no reproduction". The museum is not at liberty to divulge the exact wording of the engraving.

These medals now form part of the VC display in the Army Medical Services Museum alongside a further twenty-two VCs awarded to the RAMC.

Details from, Iain Stewart 

 

Statistics : Over 35 million page visitors since  11 Nov 2002  

 

Email  

 Search   Help     Guestbook   Get Updates   Last Post    The Ode      FAQ     Digger Forum

Click for news

Digger History:  an unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Forces