Christmas at the Hospital, December 1905
CHRISTMAS at this Hospital, in Hackney Road, Bethnal Green, was celebrated in the quiet way suitable to a house of the sick. On Sunday the parents were, as in former years, invited to take tea the wards with the nurses and with their children, and this old custom at the Hackney Road Hospital is always much appreciated. In the evening, stockings were hung on the beds of all who were not too ill to appreciate and understand the matter, in preparation for the visit of Santa Claus. Every child had the stocking filled, and on Christmas morning these gifts were supplemented by presents from the New Year and the Old Year, represented respectively by a little convalescent girl patient and one of the resident doctors, both suitably attired for the occasion. Christmas trees were erected in one of the wards on each floor, and a grand distribution of toys and useful gifts from them took place on Boxing Day and on Thursday, which was the official day for the children's Christmas treat. The Hon. Chaplain the Rev W. G. Morcom conducted a short service in some of the wards in the afternoon of Christmas Day, and the usual services were held on the Sunday previous. The children in some of the wards learned some carols, which they greatly enjoyed singing. On Friday, December 29th, the annual treat was given to the out-patients, who always greatly enjoy this event. The Hospital has 116 beds, but as many as 125 little patients are now in the wards, as a rule, extra beds having to be made up to meet the pressure.
The Christmas Tree on Goldsmith's Ward, 1905
This picture showing the magnificent tree was published in The Bystander, on 3 January 1906
Photos of Previous Years
New Years Celebrations, December 1903
This photograph was taken on 29 December 1903 and shows a very similar scene, including the Punch and Judy show!
Christmas Day, December 1904
One of the wards at the North Eastern Hospital, 25 December 1904