By February 1918, it was documented that there were 41 patients at the hospital. “The men seem pleased with their surroundings and are well looked after and catered for by the staff”.
A billiard table was lent by Mrs Barbara MacAndrew of Lukesland which proved to be very popular with the patients, during the hours in which play was permitted! Matches were later held at the Constitutional Club giving the patients the opportunity to take on members of the local community. The parish magazine also stated that the men badly required the use of a field for football “they have a football, but for want of a ground cannot use it. The exercise would do a world of good to those permitted by the doctor to play. Will some landowner or farmer come to the rescue? Little if any damage would be done to the field”. Entertainment for the patients was further enhanced with the arrival of “an excellent second-hand upright grand piano”, bought for £32. Various concerts were enjoyed by patients and staff alike.
Throughout the period of the hospital’s presence in Ivybridge, the generosity of the local community was unwavering. On 3 Jul 1918, a garden Fete was held inviting all the subscribers to the hospital. The proceedings opened with an “al fresco” concert by the patients, who, “as on previous occasions, delighted their audience with a high-class selection”. The Committee of patients also provided an excellent programme of sports, “carried out with zest, an accident to one patient in the three-legged race caused some concern; he has made a good recovery”. At the conclusion of the sports Mrs Mildmay presented the prizes, and expressed her thanks to all who had helped to establish and maintain the hospital, as well as to those who contributed to the success of the fete, special mention being made of the generosity of the owners of Stowford Lodge for placing the house and grounds at the disposal, rent free, of the British Red Cross Society; and to Mr R.P. Clapperton for the use of the lawn field for the sports. Mrs Mildmay was suitably thanked for her kind attendance and unflagging interest.
In July 1918 orders were issued by the Southern Command that the Hospital would no longer be used for the reception of neurasthenic cases, the last left on August 3rd, “to the great regret of officers, staff, and patients”. Neurasthenic patients were men suffering from what is termed today as post-traumatic stress disorders but at the time ‘shell shock’, severe reaction to the intense warfare and enemy bombardment endured, with symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, headache, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, neuralgia and a generally depressed mood. Following a brief closure of the hospital, ‘general cases’ began to arrive from 9 Sept, when 35 patients were admitted from various sections of the 4th Southern General Hospital, Plymouth. The number of beds has been reduced from 50 to 45, in accordance with the wishes of the Surgeon-General Inspector of Hospitals.
On 5 Oct 1918, “Our Day” was celebrated in Ivybridge where Red Cross flags were offered for sale with all the proceeds going to the Red Cross work overseas.
On the morning of the 11th November 1918 the ringing of the large bell informed the people of Ivybridge that the Armistice with Germany had been signed. All the patients and staff paraded to the Parish Church to attend the Thanksgiving Service in the evening, and later an impromptu Concert was held in the hospital. To commemorate the occasion each patient received a souvenir cigarette case with a card, suitably inscribed ‘the gift of Subscribers to the Totnes Division V.A. Hospitals Fund’.
Mrs E.W. Hawker, Assist. Commandant, presented the gifts and addressed the patients “ in a felicitous and telling manner on the duties and responsibilities awaiting each in the reconstruction of the nation’s affairs”.
A real musical treat was provided on Christmas Day by the “Music in War Time Concert Party” under the direction of Mr F.W. Taylor, baritone of the Royal Choral Society; the party included Miss Florence Chambers, Contralto, Queen’s Hall Concerts; Miss Florence Hood, the celebrated Australian violinist; Miss Una Bourne, the famous Australian pianist; and Mr Harry Moreton, a humourist well-known to London concert-goers. The concert was greatly appreciated with “hearty applause and grateful thanks were accorded to the artistes, who are continually touring the country to entertain the sick and wounded in hospitals”.
With the war at an end, the hospital finally closed in January 1919.