In June 1915, Major-General FT Clayton, when Inspector-General Communications, refused Lord Michelham’s offer of taking over the Royal Hotel, entirely at his expense, at Trouville suburb, Deauville. His offer was declined due to the remoteness and difficulty of supplying the hotel, which could accommodate 250 convalescing officers.¹

Two years later, on 19 April 1917, the Quartermaster-General informed the Director of Works that it had been decided to establish hospitals in the Trouville area, to the west of Le Havre, as soon as the French authorities approved. The plan was to use available buildings in the area with the Casino at Trouville accommodating 1,000 beds and the Royal Hotel at Deauville 1,000 beds. A long way short of the 20,000 beds and 10,000 convalescent places required.²

^{On 7 May the QMG convened a conference at his office with senior officers, including the Adjutant General, General Officer Commanding, Engineer in Charge, the Directors of Works, Transportation and Transport and the Director-General Medical Services. He reported that the French authorities had given their approval for the Trouville site and a new hospital centre at Trouville was sanctioned, despite the difficulties highlighted in 1915. Admiralty pressure to keep more wounded in France due to the increasing danger to Hospital Ships from enemy submarines had won the day.3}

^{An entirely new hospital camp was to be built on an area of 350 acres defined and designated ‘Trouville Hospital Centre’ on 18 July 19174.}

^{Bizarrely, in the rural Trouville area, it was to be on Mont Canisy, a plateau, some 300ft above sea-level, about two miles south of Trouville railway station. The only access to the plateau was by three very narrow roads with an average gradient of 10%. Little more than farm tracks they were unable to withstand the lorry traffic necessary to service either the building of, or supply of the camp, requiring constant maintenance.}

The cost for the rails alone amounted to £116,160 [£7,033,880 in 2024].⁶

^{Headquarters of the railway was established at Tourgeville, with a camp for sixty-five skilled personnel and repair sheds for the rolling stock. A diagrammatic board was installed in the Control Office and the movement of trains was controlled by a telephone system. This ensured that the ‘up and down’ trains safely passed at the passing loops built into the single-line track. Maximum number of trains on the line at any one time was eight.}

^{The locomotives were 4-6-0 types, built by the American Baldwin Locomotive Works. The 4-6-0 type was chosen over the favoured 2-6-2 design simply because it was quickly available from Baldwins7.}

They were capable of hauling a train up to fifty tons gross weight to the top of the plateau. There were 100 wagons available with either 3.5 or 9.5 tons capacity, and covered ambulance wagons with room for thirty patients. The maximum amount carried in one week was 3,736 tons, with the loading/unloading speed determining the tonnage carried, which never reached its potential capacity.⁸

^{Despite being the preferred transport system, it was November 1917 before the railway was fully functional. Difficulties obtaining sufficient land from the French and the difficult terrain slowing construction were the main reasons for the delay. The burden of transport naturally fell on the roads while the railway was being constructed. With forty 5-ton Foden steam lorries, often doing several journeys per day, the roads needed constant maintenance. Remarkably, during this period the roads were also widened and by November the existing single-track lanes were eighteen feet wide, enabling the lorries to easily pass each other. The nearest suitable roadstone was quarried from the Caen area and conveyed by rail to Tourgeville.8}

^{A Supply Depot was opened at Trouville, at the mouth of the River Touques for the sole purpose of supplying the hospitals in the area. Trouville Supply Depot was an outstation of No.1 Supply Depot, Havre. The depot later moved to the Army Ordnance Department depot in the old timber yard at Deauville Quay. By this time the feeding strength of the depot had risen to 250 and the staff consisted of one Captain, two Sergeants, three Other Ranks with labour provided entirely by Prisoners of War.}

^{When the Deputy Director of Transport visited Trouville on 24 July, he discovered 1,600 tons of stores just lying at various locations pending transport to permanent store, or where they were needed. He ascertained that this was due to lack of labour rather than lack of transport. Stores not arriving at regular times or quantities also caused difficulties with the onward distribution of supplies.10} 

^{The Depot moved onto Mont Canisy following the erection of permanent buildings.11}

^{It comprised General Stores, Medical Comforts, ambient and chilled Meat Stores to hold one week’s supply. Personnel were accommodated in the Officer’s Mess, Sergeant’s Mess with kitchen, Dining Room, Cookhouse and three buildings for ninety men and thirty-three officers. Cost of the buildings was £10,608 [£642,350]. Baths, ablutions, latrines, etc. cost an additional £1,510 [£91,436].12}

^{A bakery comprising four Perkins ovens, closed in brickwork and covered in clay was commissioned in August, negating the need for the daily packet boat from Havre.13 The bakery moved with the Supply Depot onto the Mont Canisy in March 1918, when it expanded to six ovens costing £4,127 [£249,904], including the buildings that housed it.14}

^{On 1 June, Lt Col PJJ Radcliffe, RE was appointed CRE, Trouville,15 to work under the Director of Works, with temporary offices in Trouville. He was to oversee the scheme intended to provide three hospitals of 5,000 beds, and three convalescent camps for 5,000 men each. The hospitals would be accommodated in Nissen Hospital Huts and the camps in Nissen Bow Huts. Each convalescent camp was to include a parade ground with capacity for 4,000 men.}

^{Contracts were awarded to Messrs George Trollope & Sons and Colls & Sons Ltd to supply the hospitals from England. This necessitated them chartering the shipping and a quay at Deauville was made available. They were also required to ship whatever extra RE stores were required but not available in France.}

The Director of Works reported that he needed four Sappers per 100 beds and the War Office was asked to send three Army Troops Coys, RE complete with tools and transport to France along with two Labour Coys providing 1,000 unskilled labourers. Nos.7 and 8 AT Coys from the Royal Monmouth Royal Engineers arrived at Havre aboard ss.Hunslet on 12 June and subsequently at Trouville on 13 June.¹⁶

First to be constructed were the huts to accommodate the Royal Engineers, the seven Prisoner of War Companies, Trollope and Colls’ own skilled men and miscellaneous unskilled labourers etc. Once the construction tradesmen had been accommodated the convalescent depots were built. These were No.13, 14 and 15 Convalescent Depots with No.13 opening on August 4. No.14 Convalescent Depot opened on August 30 and 15 on October 25. Only No.13, commanded by Lt Col S Boylan Smith, RAMC, provides any meaningful detail in their war diary.¹⁷