Devonshire Hospital, Buxton (1916)

[balckbebeko24]

.. such a strong personality the men at 1:46 still had the power to smile..

[TheMichellepop]

this must have seemed like luxery after the hell they went thro. such little treats but so good for ther morals and health...well done. what strong men to have did what they did, u must remember these men didnt join the army and navy like the men do now, they had to go to war from all walks of life,young boys to family men. even if they didnt want to.

[nholt]

@0:40 the guy is getting waterboarded

[TheRalphus666]

@nholt Thats not waterboarding

[sauroid1]

Douche Spray Bath, nah, I think I'll skip it.

[MsOneiroi77]

@sauroid1 douch is the French for shower not a vaginal wash as in the American term

[zzzut]

All these treatments and I bet most of these guys are dead now.

[sweetypie000]

poor bastards never had a chance

[333Chrome]

WW1 was not a war but just plain slaughter, and it happened not even a 100 ago

[YOOETO]

please high comment

[akwongbeauty]

The modern day spa incorporates some hydrotherapy very similar to this. I would not be surprised if this was its origins. (Modern day aesthetic cosmetic surgery grew out of reconstructive cosmetic surgery performed on WW2 veterans.)

[GSpeedEmotion]

1:43 - 1:44 they guy it's touching his junk wth?

[capablemachine]

They're realy trying hard to put a good spin on this first world war. 

[caz4777]

I wonder if anyone has tried to find out just who the people are in this film. Some people out there would have some idea if their long ago relatives were in that hospital, or even public records might reveal who they are.

[oldskoolmacboy]

The guys in world war one had it tough. We are so lucky and the sad thing is most of us don't even realise it, we are too rapped up in our own selfish little worlds.

[ilovegoatsecks]

@ 0:32 reminds me of the farva scene in super troopers

[GenesisTree]

Wtf is with that second guy? I usually dry myself off with the towel not take it in the bath with me.

[firesidefun18]

@GenesisTree Well obviously they left it on him for privacy purposes, the camera documenting and such.

[BVILLE92]

o.O

hahaa. 

[shaycenter]

What were they thinking water baths will do?

[PepsiTasteLikeCoke]

@shaycenter i wounder too

respect to these men

[veevee305]

@shaycenter It often relieved some pain, relaxed muscles, and improved circulation, but that was about it. It was often touted as a "miracle cure" but of course that was far from true.

[burberrythug]

this is gr8 i wanta c more old films of my gr8 home town

[coldharvest]

they suffered so we could be free, the way we thank them is by continuing to be free

[glitchbreaker]

I see hitler

[Reca0205]

@glitchbreaker haha! i said the exact thing, and then after, i was reading the comments and saw this one! lol

[deemilieu]

if these people didn't get sent back to the war to be killed, they're all long gone now. sort of haunting images. i like there's no sound. images frozen in time.

[theHatchett1]

at 1.26...i could do with one of those bath shower's now-a-days!

[libertysoccer25]

The man from 1:46 until the end... it is so refreshing to see a smile on the face of a person who has probably seen hell. That was really inspiring

[DecaPierce]

pat the poor boy down will ya

[loobyloo66]

love that guy at the end, cheerful soul :D

[coolcoolcoolest]

it would be so wonderful if their grandchildren gets to see this, not a lot of kids today get such luck seeing their great grandparents in film. i'm lucky enough to see mine in a photography

[Tw3pwn]

what an embarrassing way to have a shower, getting felt up by a gay guy..

[cuxxxa]

isn't really humanic,but they were only trying to help,lack of medications and psyhiatric knowledge at that time

[tippitytop1]

totally cool!!!

[TheLatinoKingz]

they are all ghost now

[bunnygirlsaunt]

Fascinating video. It was mentioned in a comment below that the treatments would have only brought temporary relief. I suffered from Sciatica for a time, and let me tell you, even temporary relief was a blessing. God bless these men for serving our England!

[moncrief1961]

I hope the water was warm

[mchudi91]

the guy at begining of the footage didnt look like he was enjoying his bath 2 much...man, i really feel 4 those who fought in ww1 & ww2....loads of respect

[DadsBlueAngel]

THis is probably M,E., FMS or early syphilis.

[stellalouise1]

Love the cheerful, animated guy at the end! It is amazing and touching to see this entire generation of people who are no longer with us. Thanks for the post.

[bavarikus]

@stellalouise1 - Yeah he´s a funny guy :-) ... you´re right, most of them passed away ca. half a century ago.



[rosrychaplet]

hey!, it's christopher reeves ancestor!!! at :15 on the left in a wheelchair with the moustache

[deemilieu]

certainly beats sitting in a dirty, cold trench somewhere in france...

[haypenny]

Obamacare

[FoothillsofWyoming]

@haypenny LOL

[lukeallcock2]

i went there for college, it is a college/university now. the rooms look the same apart from the baths in the middle on the room hehe.

[rapio98]

i live in buxton

[Necrofood]

You think we might have learned by now........

War-what is it good for

Absolutely NOTHING.

What a wonderful piece of archive footage-thank you.

[buxtonbrunette]

Amazing thing to see

[PoutinePete]

It's so bizarre seeing this after almost 100 years!

[mutantactioncell2]

Fight war no more...

[Lovro2]

aaa creepy :S

but the last guy looked cool :)

[stokepogue]

Give that lad a bath

[fordlandau]

Thanks!..this is a marvellous film...the equipment was magnificent especially the mutli spray overhead shower gizmo. As a Doctor I am aware that such treatments in a medical context lasted only till the 1940s. There is little evidence to show they would do much for real disease apart from making one feel briefly invigorated.

[Singer221fan]

That was so interesting! I agree, that last guy was wonderful. I wish more of my patients were that playful. It is true that one of the best medicines is a cheerful heart.

I agree that some methods should be returned to, however many advancements should stay. After all, just how many of these guys died 2 years later from the flu? I know that 1/3 of my grandfather's family died from it (13 kids in his family).

[clotho98]

Wow! Hey Doc, hose him off with a fire hose why don't ya?

Seriously though, this was interesting. Thanks for posting it. And that last guy was adorable!

[yunjoo94]

OMG that is horrible

[andeaver1937]

Douche spray?

I'll say no more...

[libertysoccer25]

ahhh the douche-spray bath. my favorite?

[mckinnons3]

beated, we would be better to return to these treatments, as surgery and drugs only weaken the organism...

[ExistentialGirl]

Well said.

[beatedWhisperedLie]

thats scaryyyy.

but its how we got to arrrr medical advancements today.

tryingg things.

[BobT15]

douche spray baths? lol

[fishpreacher]

What did these people do wrong? Are they being punished?

[Travisab1]

It's called Water Torture. :>)

[funnyflyingdutchgirl]

a bit scary

[p65ls]

too bad there were all exposed to lead based paint!!!

[kevtheforsaken]

and to think.. all these people in this vid are dead.

[NoNoN88]

You died ?

NIce that gotta be devestating

[mrhudds]

Amazing, I actually died there in 1920

[mamself12]

Having suffered 20years with damaged sciatic nerves,I see better treated men in this video than most treatment I got from the modern NHS.

That is amazing!!

[dlepagexnow]

Thanks for this wonderfully rare archival footage--Almost a century has passed since the 'The Great War' --- can't think of a better way to remember and honour these brave men who endured so much.

[cyeh2]

Comparing with how today's wounded veterants are treated..........Many people here in this country might want to throw their shoes at the face of G. W. B., too!

[riddingsman]

wonderful ! As know this place well..

[Caminos07]

amazing archive - thanks for posting!

[mustymodo]

strange and interesting at the same time

[leefaichai]

thanks a lot!