Convalescent soldiers arriving by boat on the Thames, en route for the hospital in the grounds at Cliveden, Berkshire, 1917

Oil on canvas by Dame Ethel Walker (1861-1951), 1917.

Walking wounded in hospital blues disembark from a river cruiser that has brought them up the River Thames to the Duchess of Connaught Red Cross Hospital, at Cliveden, Berkshire.

The hospital at Cliveden was built on land loaned by Lord and Lady Astor, and was run by the Canadian Red Cross. In 1916, 'The Times' deemed it to be one of the best two hospitals in the country in which to recover due to its clean and pleasant environment. Hospitals like this represented the last stage in a wounded soldier's recovery, via field dressing stations and ambulance trains.