After being wounded in battle, the journey back to health was a long one. Soldiers were sent first to field hospitals, where they were triaged (sorted into treatment categories). Those with minor wounds were treated immediately in the field hospitals before being sent back to the front. Those with more severe injuries were sent on to England for treatment. Several New Zealand hospitals were established in England, at Brockenhurst, Walton-on-Thames and Codford. Those patients considered unfit for further service were eventually sent home. Those who recovered sufficiently were sent from the hospitals to either the Convalescent Hospital at Hornchurch or to a rehabilitation camp, to recover their fitness before returning to the front. Cyril Bassett, who won the Victoria Cross for his actions at Gallipoli, spent about nine months in England after he was evacuated from Gallipoli due to illness.

For many patients, knowing that they would return to the squalor, desperation and peril of the trenches put a dampener on the mood in these camps [1]. While military training was the focus, sports and competitions played an important part in keeping up morale among the men. These activities assisted in the soldiers’ recovery; their performance could be assessed by a doctor and if necessary they could be referred for further treatment. Some men stayed at the camps for months, even years. Those who were fit, but not fit enough for active service, were employed there rather than sent home.

[1] Lt. H. T. B Drew, The War Effort of New Zealand: The Codford Depot, Auckland, 1923