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Question

I have just purchased a picture postcard of the Red Cross Hospital barge 'Bittern' on a waterway at Bradford on Avon. It is of the First World War period and I would be grateful if you could provide me with any information on this boat.

Question asked on

04 July 2011

Answer

Hospital barges are unusual craft, although there were a large number in use during the First World War on the canals and rivers in France. This barge appears to be on the Kennet and Avon Canal, which runs around the southern side of Bradford on Avon. The narrow boat 'Bittern' was purchased by the Red Cross for use as a hospital boat and was used during the summers of 1917 and 1918. Wounded and convalescent soldiers were taken from a hospital in the village of Winsley, later the Winsley Chest Hospital - now closed, to Bradford on Avon and back. The horse that drew the barge was stabled at the 'Canal Tavern' in Bradford and I believe that the barge was moored at the wharf nearby.

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