RAF Hospital Uxbridge
Encyclopedia
RAF Hospital Uxbridge was a military hospital
within the Royal Air Force
station RAF Uxbridge
.
arrived at the hospital in 1932 to recover after the amputation of both of his legs following a flying accident. It was during his stay that he met the Desoutter brothers who were pioneering the use of lightweight aluminium
for the production of prosthetic limbs. Bader was fitted with the new style of legs and returned to active service with the RAF, to become known as "the legless pilot".
In early 1940, the officers' hospital on the station became the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Hospital.
Military hospital
Military hospital is a hospital, which is generally located on a military base and is reserved for the use of military personnel, their dependents or other authorized users....
within the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force station in Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Its grounds covered originally belonging to the Hillingdon House estate, which was purchased by the British Government in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF...
.
History
Douglas BaderDouglas Bader
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL was a Royal Air Force fighter ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.Bader joined the...
arrived at the hospital in 1932 to recover after the amputation of both of his legs following a flying accident. It was during his stay that he met the Desoutter brothers who were pioneering the use of lightweight aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
for the production of prosthetic limbs. Bader was fitted with the new style of legs and returned to active service with the RAF, to become known as "the legless pilot".
In early 1940, the officers' hospital on the station became the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
Hospital.