Teddington Memorial Hospital has unveiled a new timeline, vividly bringing its history of nearly a century and a half back to life.

It is the creation of TMH’s League of Friends, who worked in partnership with Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust to preserve the Hospital’s fascinating story.

The new timeline runs through the hospital’s corridors, taking visitors back to the earliest days of healthcare at the site.

Pamela Byrant, chair of the League of Friends, says: “I hope that together, we can ensure that the timeline serves as a mere footnote in the hospital’s history – and that it will continue to serve as a vital resource for the local community for another 140 years.”

The site started life as a Victorian “cottage hospital”, tending to the poor and destitute at the heart of Teddington from 1875.

It flourished with funding raised by local concerts, theatrical performances and fetes.

The Medical Committee transformed the hospital into a living war memorial in 1921, erecting an obelisk to those who died in the First World War.

By 1929, the hospital had been rebuilt with an X-ray department and operating theatre.

During the Second World War, the hospital grew to accommodate 40 beds for war-time casualties.

The site narrowly escaped war wounds itself, as a bomb obliterated the church just across the road.

The hospital was saved by a blast wall that defended the building’s frontage.

Councillor Lisa Blakemore, Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, thanked those involved in the project and the NHS staff who have worked at the hospital over the years.

She said the hospital has since its inception been “so important” in the borough, adding: “And, it still is today, providing vital care and support to so many people.

“It has an exciting history and through this inspiring exhibition we can understand how it has been key during many significant milestones in our borough’s past.”

Stephen Swords, chairman of Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust said: “We are proud to unveil this timeline today, which celebrates the rich and varied history of Teddington Memorial Hospital and the hospital that preceded it.

“The timeline will stand as a permanent reminder of the contribution that the hospital and its staff have made towards maintaining the health of local people across Richmond since 1874.”

The timeline was unveiled on August 5.

Find out more, and donate to the League here.