HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
4.19 WORLD WAR I AND THE AUXILIARY MILITARY HOSPITAL. No personal documents of the Tattons have survived for this period, except those for the auxiliary military hospital which was set up at Cuerden Hall. Reginald Tatton would have been 51 when war broke out and his sons would be of military age, Arthur 21 and Harry 18. Arthur took a commission in the Rifle Brigade in which he won an M.C. and achieved the rank of Captain. Nothing is known of Harry except that he was still alive in 1929.69 The Admittance Register and detailed accounts of the auxiliary military hospital in contrast to the other documents, present in an evocative way the tragedy of World War I. It appears that the Tattons set up the hospital at Cuerden on their own initiative and furnished it with beds, bed linen and other equipment during April and May of 1915. True to their social habits much of it was ordered through Harrods of London. It seems that the Tattons continued to live there, providing various services to the hospital. One soldier, for example, is recorded as having written to Mr. Tatton and there are regular entries in the monthly accounts for items supplied by Mr. Tatton.
Being chiefly a convalescent hospital many of the patients were mobile and they provided their own entertainment. One patient is recorded as being "a good clog dancer", another a "good pianist" and another "a singer". From the accounts, details of their food and the range of menus can be gauged. In one instance a gift of grouse was recorded, perhaps Mr. Tatton had had a good day on a moorland shoot. J. Alleyn Robinson appears to have been continuing as Tatton's agent: his signature appears in the hospital accounts in 1916 certifying their audit. Such entries give the light side of life at Cuerden Hall during these years, but a glance at the Case History columns of the Register, at the entries for each patient, make sombre reading.70
Soldiers, from privates to sergeants, are recorded from all over Britain, as well as from Australia and Canada.
Preston Herald - Saturday 08 June 1918
69 John Champness research notes, 1984, Lancashire archive reference DDX 3046/34
70 DDTA acc. 5865 Cuerden Auxiliary Hospital records 1915-19 Box 2
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Preston Herald - Saturday 22 April 1916