Wounded Crimean War Veterans at Chatham Military Hospital

6.5" x 8.5" glass plate negative showing a large group of wounded Crimean War veterans gathered on a lawn at Chatham Military Hospital. There are around fifty men, some standing and others seated or lying on the grass. They are wearing hospital clothing and many are holding a wooden crutch. There is a thatched shelter beside them to the right and trees beyond.

Throughout the war Queen Victoria had taken an active interest in the welfare of the troops and on their return to Britain she met a number of the wounded veterans at Buckingham Palace and at Chatham Military Hospital. Following her visits to the hospital she commissioned a series of photographs of the veterans.

The glass plate negative has been photographed showing the coated side and therefore the image appears laterally reversed. Prints from this negative exist in the Collection (e.g. RCIN 2500158).