Activities

While the grounds of the Kitchener Hospital were nowhere as large as the Royal Pavilion grounds, they were available for patients. A number of indoor facilities for the patients included a gymnasium, a shooting gallery and recreation rooms. [1]

The daily routine of the hospital included breakfast at 8:00 am, lunch at 12:00 noon and dinner at 5:30 pm. All able bodied patients were expected to participate in military parades and a routine march through the town of one hour daily weather permitting. [2]

In terms of spiritual needs, the Sikh soldiers were very appreciative of the construction of a Gurdwara and the provision of Guru Granth Sahibs. [3]. Colonel Seton also requested the Imam of the Woking mosque to visit the Kitchener Hospital to discuss setting up a mosque for the Muslim patients. [4]

Footnotes

1. “The Kitchener Indian Hospital”, The British Medical Journal (April 3, 1915) 614

2. Ibid.

3. David Omissi, “Europe Through Indian Eyes”, English Historical Review (Vol. 122, Numb 496, 2007) 379

4. The Islamic Review & Muslim India, ed. Chwaja Kamal ud Din, Laulvie Sadr un Din (Vol. III, No. 4, April 1915, Woking, England) 166