Page 49 - Bulletin 11 2007

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allocated certain regiments to which its efforts would be directed. For the Cape Province
this required that £2,000 be collected monthly of which £800 was to come from the

Peninsula. Raising this sum fell mainly to the ladies of the Peninsula who organized street
collections every Saturday, concerts, fetes, and private contributions. (Mayor’s Minute,

1915 & 1916).

One of the local collection initiatives involved a couple, Mr and Mrs A. H. White, who

styled themselves as “Enery and Arriet” with their horse-cart. Other organisers were Mrs
Murray Rawbone, and Mr and Mrs Dockrall. (Figs. 1.29 & 1.30).

As the various war theatres settled into semi-static conditions, with millions of men

fighting to gain a few yards of shell-torn territory, the casualty lists lengthened

exponentially. Wounded Australian and New Zealand troops passed through Cape Town en
route home, while numerous wounded Union troops from the GSWA, GEA, and the

Western Front also returned to recuperate. The main military hospitals were Victoria

Hospital, Wynberg (No. 1 General Hospital), Alexandra Hospital, Maitland (No. 2 General
Hospital), and Woodstock (No. 7 Auxiliary Hospital). These had dealt with over 24,408

patients by 1917. (Brann, 1989). Numerous private homes served as Convalescent Homes:
‘Trovato’ and ‘Newlands House’ for men, ‘Balgarthen’ and ‘Belle Alliance’ for officers,

and ‘Rodwell’ for nurses. (Fowle, 1919). There were houses in St. James named
‘Balgarthen’ and ‘Rodwell’ but it is not known if these were the same as the ones referred

to by Colonel Fowle.

The standard reception programme took the form of a round the mountain drive, usually

hosted by members of the RAC, with lunch at a hotel. Hout Bay, Muizenberg and Strand
were popular destinations. (Mayor’s Minute, 1917). This continued throughout the war

years. (Figs. 1.31 – 1.35).