Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 2. p 311

NECESSITIES FOR THE WOUNDED

Over 1400 Helpers

The large and commodious premises of which the photographs afford but tempting glimpses are occupied by the hive of workers known as the War Hospitals Supply Depot, Reading. Not a penny is paid for rent, and the decoration from top to bottom has been done on the same terms. The entire complement of workers, both inside and out, including the staff of skilled superintendents and managers, are "remunerated " in a smilar manner- the only pay being the joy of helping the wounded, many of the workers even paying a weekly toll for this privilege.This "swarm" which owes its conception to the splendid War Hospital Supplies Depot at Kensington, first saw light in the early Autumn of 1915, and a start was made in Cross Street, Reading, but no sooner had they got to work than their rent-free hive was commandeered. Thanks, however, to the energy and perspicacity of one of the governing "bees", a new and much larger hive was quickly found. And here the "bees" are busily at work from morn to eve, not only on the spot but in other hives far distant, embracing Whitley Hill, Caversham Heights, the uplands of Blewbury and the expanse of Burghfield ( a picture of which is on another page).
The Depot has certianly justified its existence, having up to July 5th 1916, made and supplied 35,754 articles, a number that could have easily been doubled had the necessary materials been available. The building at Duke Street is but the headquarters, combining with the workrooms a collecting station for the large army of outworkers, the total number of whom is well over 1,400.The needlework room illustrated, one of many, will accommodate 50-60 workers. An array of voluntary workers makes the hundred and one articles of fabric that are essential to the medical and surgical needs of our wounded soldiers, bandages of every description, swabs large and small (simple-looking articles, but requiring great patience and care), pneumonia jackets, helpless shirts etc. In another room wooden splints of various forms are being padded, a most difficult task.
The photograph of the exterior is not sufficiently large to do justice to the examples of manufacture which embrace so extensive a gamut. The large wheel in the centre is merely a collection of crutches which form one of the special lines of the depot, a very high order of perfection having been attained in this important appliance for the wounded, attention to the manufacture making all the difference to the comfort of the users. it is sad to record that when this depot first opened, there was a pathetic cry for crutches, all the then existing sources, both official and private, being incapable of supplying the great demand. Many types of splints are displayed in the window and in the showroom behind it. Is there a cause more worthy of help than the provision of absolutely necessary surgical appliances for those who have borne so much for us, or a more economical channel of administering that help than the depot in question, where raw materials are transformed into finished articles without any charge for labour or supervision, and where the enthusiasm is so keen and the ideals so high?
THE ENTRANCE
ONE OF THE NEEDLEWORK ROOMS (2 photos by Mortimer H. Crosse)