In early 2015, whilst clearing a house in Camden, north London, a Mr. P. Wills came across an album with over 300 photographs plus some postcards and newspaper cuttings, relating to the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) based at Church House, Bromley, during the First World War. Nothing is known of the compiler of the album but the small selection of pictures below give a fascinating glimpse of what life was like for staff and patients alike.

The first two pictures show Church House; then there are various internal scenes plus many pictures taken in adjacent gardens. There are other external agricultural scenes and one of some policemen in the Market Square. Very few dates are included but a few of the photos bear the names of those pictured. The last few pictures show the Central Hall in London Road with post war celebrations in 1919.

The VAD system was founded in 1909 with the help of the Red Cross and Order of St. John and by the summer of 1914 there were over 2,500 Voluntary Aid Detachments in Britain. Of the 74,000 VAD members in 1914, two-thirds were women and girls.

Church House survived the Great War but, after a narrow escape on 6th September 1940, the building succumbed to incendiary bombs on the night of 17th April 1941. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get firefighters to the site because Church Road was blocked by the ruins of the Parish Church, bombed earlier in the night. Nothing remains of the building but a couple of brick walls around the Council depot and the terrace balustrade which can be seen in one of the photos below. The entrance gate and lodge, also pictured, still exist. The Central Hall was also a WW II victim.

To view a larger version of the pictures, just click on any of your choice and then use the left and right arrows to move forward or back.