A new build housing estate tucked away in the north of Liverpool is heavily linked to WWI and includes a pond that was used as a peaceful refuge for soldiers.
Poppyfields is off School Lane in Maghull and is a development hundreds of new homes led by Persimmon. The land on which the houses stand was once Moss Side Hospital, which opened in 1914 as a "pioneering" institution which recognised and treated the condition then known as 'shell shock', now diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
By spring of 1914, Moss Side housed almost 500 patients. Over the course of WW1 it treated more than 3,600 men.
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Persimmon's plans for the housing scheme included the retention of a pond and grotto, which is now nestled between freshly painted fences and tarmacked driveways.
It is said the spot was used as a serene refuge for soldiers being treated at Moss Side; the tranquil waters offering a moment of peace. The pond is now home to families of ducks, while bats apparently roost in the cave.
The train station, Maghull North, was also constructed as part of the housing masterplan and features a number of nods to the site's past. A memorial at the entrance of the station was unveiled by Dr John Rowlands in December 2018.
The statue was erected with the efforts of Maghull Town Council, Moss Side volunteers, Maghull schools, Merseytravel, Merseyrail and Network Rail, WW1 consultants Diane and Rob Wantling, sculptor Andrew Edwards, and Castle Fine Arts Foundry.
It is "dedicated to all those who have suffered, and those who continue to suffer, from the effects of what was called 'shellshock', and the dedicated medical staff of Moss Side Hospital who pioneered the treatment of the condition".
The memorial says: "Prior to the treatment of shellshock, many soldiers were 'shot at dawn' by their own side, who accused them of cowardice when many of them were ill. In 2006, all 306 soldiers of the First World War who were shot at dawn for cowardice or desertion were granted posthumous pardons by the Ministry of Defence.
"This memorial stands in the grounds of what was Moss Side Hospital. The hospital is gone but the results of conflict continue to blight lives."
The Military Red Cross Hospital closed and was handed by to the board of control, Moss Side State Institution, in 1930. It remained open as one of four special units in England until 1995.
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