A Royal Naval Hospital (RNH) was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy for the care and treatment of sick and injured naval personnel. A network of these establishments were situated across the globe to suit British interests. They were part of the Royal Naval Medical Service. The British Army equivalent was a Military Hospital, and in the 20th century a number of RAF Hospitals were also established.
The earliest surviving Royal Naval Hospital complex is on Illa del Rei, Port Mahon, Menorca (established 1711, rebuilt 1771–6, restored 2011)
Illa Del Rei, Port Mahon, Menorca: the main range when built had ten separate wards, linked by a verandah.
18th-century engraving of the Royal Naval Hospital at Plymouth.
Naval hospital, Madras: coloured aquatint by James Baily, 1811.
British Military Hospital
British Military Hospitals were established and operated by the British Army, both at home and overseas during the 19th and 20th centuries, to treat service personnel. They varied in size, purpose and permanence.
Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot was opened in 1878 to serve the expanding garrison.
18th-century wards blocks of the former Stoke Military Hospital, Plymouth, linked by a colonnade.
Pavilion layout of the Royal Herbert Hospital, Woolwich.
X-ray department at Queen Alexandra Military Hospital, Millbank, 1941 (by Frances Macdonald).
