Smallfield Hospital was built during the 1939-45 war by Haymeals
of Wembley beside Broadbridge Lane and to the north of the cache
location. It was to take the expected overflow of casualties from
the London Blitz and in November 1941 an RAMC unit prepared it as a
200 bed unit, but were then required to extend it to a 400 bed
hospital, which was taken over by the Canadian Army in the summer
of 1942 to provide hospital services for Canadian soldiers
stationed in Southern England. Civilian outpatients used the
hospital in an emergency.
There were sentries on either side of the gate but the only
evidence of the entrance is the lowerer curb on the Smallfield Road
just before the bridge over the M23. Dances were held and
double-decker buses brought in girls from Horley and elsewhere to
join in the fun.
In 1962 it was used in filming a scene of The Password is
Courage which starred Dirk Bogarde, and several local residents who
were hospital staff appeared in the film
The hospital closed in June 1983 and the site developed in 1992,
leaving only one row of the Lombardy Poplars which mark the
original entrance. The whole site is now fully developed as housing
with the road names reflecting the Canadian connection.
The cache is a micro container and only has a log so bring a pen
or pencil
If you would like to expand this
series please do. The only criterion is that the Hospital should no
longer exist, although the buildings can. I would just ask that you
could let me know first so I can keep track of the Hospital numbers
and names to avoid duplication.