1922: Hospitals of London Combined Appeal

A reproduction of a poster advertising the Hospitals of London Combined Appeal. The poster shows a drawing of an angelic, female figure, standing in front of a hospital ward scene, depicting patients in hospital beds and a cheerful nurse walking in the ward. Large letters at the top of the of the poster say: “Save your hospitals!” Below the drawing of the hospital ward scene, there is text that says: “Pay donations to any bank, town hall, council house, or the Hospitals of London Combined Appeal. 19 Berkeley St. London. W1.” The bottom right corner features the autograph of J.H. Ball who designed the poster.
Poster advertising 1922 London Hospitals Combined Appeal. Image courtesy of the Museum of London.

In 1922, the King’s Edward’s Hospital Fund, launched a fundraising appeal for the hospitals of London – then the largest fundraising campaign in the Fund’s history. The committee that ran the appeal included the London Mayor and the Governor of the Bank of England.

The appeal involved an array of fundraising activities, including sporting events, village fetes, concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, theatre exhibitions in the West End, charity balls, raffles, sale of more than 3 million stamps, and even producing a film – ‘When George was King’.

The committee ran an extensive publicity campaign for the appeal, including a ‘Save Your Hospitals’ poster competition – the winner received 100 guineas, and the 300 entries were displayed across London.

The appeal raised £7,444,616 in 1922 – equivalent to £341,221,216 in 2023.

A photograph of a stamp collection on a piece of card paper. This includes 12 different stamps, each of which displays the emblem of one of the London hospitals involved in the Hospitals of London Combined Appeal. The top row, from left to right, includes stamps from the following hospitals: West London Hospital, Royal Northern Hospital, Westminster Hospital, London Jewish Hospital, Miller General Hospital for South East London, and Bartholomew’s Hospital. The bottom row, from left to right, includes stamps from the following hospitals: Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth, Poplar Hospital, St. Thomas’s Hospital, University College Hospital, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, and Hospital for Sick Children.
Stamps sold in aid of Hospitals of London Combined Appeal. Image courtesy of The King’s Fund under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (kingsfund.org.uk).

A photograph of a poster advertisement and an entrance ticket to a fundraising event for the 1922 King Edward's Hospital Fund appeal. Both the poster and the ticket have the following information written on them: "The Dramatique at the Ritz Hotel, Wednesday 21st March at 3.3-pm. Scenes from The Rivals 18th Century Dances and Music, by the Pupils of Roland Houses School."
Poster advertising fundraising event a the Ritz. Image courtesy of The King’s Fund under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (kingsfund.org.uk).
A photograph of a page from the 1920 King 's Fund Annual Report. The title on the page says "Special Needs 1920". The rest of the text reads: "The London Hospitals are now faced with exceptional difficulties owing to the rise in prices, wages, etc; the urgency of repairs, renewals, improvements and extensions postponed during the war; the development of new and expensive methods and treatment; and the charged financial position of many of their regular supporters. They are making active efforts to meet these difficulties, and the Fund could help them greatly in this direction if its income were increased by larger and additional subscriptions and donations, which are much needed. In addition to the annual distribution of £230,000 last December, a quarter of a million of the capital assets of the Fund was realised at the beginning of July 1920, and has been distributed among the London Hospitals as an emergency grant, having regard to their pressing needs. Subscriptions and Donations are urgently needed to enable the Fund to replace capital and maintain its annual grants, which are made after careful inspection of each eligible Hospital."
Appeal for donations to London Hospitals. Image courtesy of The King’s Fund under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.