219th (Wessex) Field Hospital
The 219th (Wessex) Field Hospital was a field hospital of the British Army forming part of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Though short-lived having been formed in 1967 and disbanded in 1996, the hospital's remaining detachments continue to serve in its successor unit, the 243rd (The Wessex) Field Hospital. History Background In 1967, as a result of the 1966 Defence White Paper, the Territorial Army (TA) was completely reorganised with many of the old units with long and distinguished histories reduced to company and platoon sizes and merged into new smaller units. Among the changes was the creation of the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR), which was divided into three categories: TAVR I (The 'Ever-readies', ready for United Nations commitments and would serve to bring the Regular Army to war establishment, replace casualties, and be ready for rapid deployment); TAVR II (these units were to give the Regular Army administrative units not needed in peacetime. They would serve to bring the establishment and to replace losses. This category became known as the 'Volunteers' with units taking the sub-title of '(Volunteers) or (V)'. The third category, TAVR III was the largest of the branches tasked with home defence and were to maintain law and order in the event of nuclear attack and were also available for help in case of civil emergencies; these units had the subtitle of 'Territorial', not to be confused as the 'Territorials', the name for the TAVR as a whole. Lastly, TAVR IV was the smallest of the branch, comprising the University Officers' Training Corps, Regimental and Corps Bands and miscellaneous support units. Formation As a result of the above changes, on 1 April 1967, the 219th (Wessex) General Hospital, Royal Army Medical Corps (Volunteers) was formed in TAVR II as a 200-bed capacity hospital. The new hospital was organised into a Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) and three squadrons: RHQ in Bath, A Squadron in Bristol, B Squadron in Oxford, and C Squadron in Portsmouth. The hospital was formed through the amalgamation of the eastern RAMC territorial units of the 43rd (Wessex) Division/District's area of responsibility: 19th (Southern) General Hospital based in Bath, 129th (Wessex) Field Ambulance in Bristol, and 130th (Wessex) Field Ambulance in Portsmouth. The 19th Hospital was part of Southern Command, while the 129th and 130th Field Ambulances were under the control of the 43rd (Wessex) Division/District. After formation, the hospital was assigned to the South West District, previously the 43rd (Wessex) Division/District, though these un-centralised districts became a nuisance and caused issues rather quickly. The 219th was formed alongside the 211th (Wessex) Casualty Clearing Station, which was formed by merging the western units of the 43rd Division/District's area of responsibility. This left the 219th taking the eastern counties: City & County of Bristol, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, and Somerset, while the 211th took the western counties: Cornwall and Devonshire. Reorganisations In 1969, just two years after formation, the hospital's headquarters was moved to Keynsham, and in 1973 the Bristol detachment followed moving to Keynsham, thus