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Auction: 23113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 391

Three: Private C. J. Foster, Norfolk Regiment

1914-15 Star (16248 Pte C. J. Foster. Norf. R.); British War and Victory Medals (16248 Pte. C. J. Foster. Norf. R.); Silver War Badge (231690) very fine (4)

Charles J. Foster enlisted on 9 November 1914 and served in France from 30 August 1915. He suffered a Gun Shot Wound to Lower left leg and was consequently discharged on 24 August 1917. His Silver War Badge is confirmed on the roll.

The lot includes a Queen Mary's Workshop Brighton lapel badge. This workshop was on the East Lawn in the Royal Pavilion Garden, Brighton

In April 1916, the Pavilion reopened as a hospital for British amputees. This hospital treated over 6000 soldiers who had lost arms or legs during the war. Wounds were treated, and prosthetic limbs were fitted, but the limbless hospital did not simply care for the patients’ immediate medical needs. The Pavilion hospital was used for rehabilitation, and ensuring that the men had skills and purpose to live fulfilling lives after the war.

A workshop, named after Queen Mary, was set up in the grounds of the Pavilion. Bearing the slogan ‘Hope Welcomes All Who Enter Here’, the Queen Mary’s workshop was used to train the patients in new skills, such as engineering, grammar and cinematography. Men who had been unskilled labourers before joining the army would, having lost a limb, become skilled workers by the time they left the army.

The men were also given time and space to play sports and express themselves. The Sussex game of stoolball was regularly played, and the patients produced a monthly magazine, the Pavilion Blues, which was bought and sold in Brighton.

The limbless hospital received its last patients in July 1919. The Pavilion was finally returned to the people of Brighton in 1920. Having been occupied by the military authorities for almost six years, the building had suffered a good deal of wear and tear. The money paid in recompense by the War Office was used to fund some early work in restoring the Pavilion.




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Sold for
£170

Starting price
£130