Quex Collection

Irene Vanbrugh in Pinero's play The Gay Lord Quex
Irene Vanbrugh as the manicurist Sophy Fullgarney in Pinero's play The Gay Lord Quex Date: circa 1900s

Sir John Hare in Pinero's play, The Gay Lord Quex
Sir John Hare, actor, in the title role in Pinero's play, The Gay Lord Quex Date: circa 1900

Irene Vanbrugh in role of Sophy Fullgarney
Irene Vanbrugh, English actress, in role of Sophy Fullgarney in Pinero's The Gay Lord Quex. Date: circa 1900

Group on rear verandah, Quex Park
Group of patients and one nurse on the rear verandah, overlooking the gardens, Quex Park. This verandah ran along the back of the Museum buildings and was used as a sheltered outdoor space in summer

Powell-Cotton daughters and friend
The three daughters of Major & Mrs Powell-Cotton and a friend play in the garden of Quex Park in September 1916. The children are (left to right) Elizabeth Worthington (daughter of Dr Worthington)

Patients in B Ward at Quex Park VAD Hospital
B Ward at Quex Park VAD Hospital was sited in Gallery 1 of the two museum galleries then existing. This room had been built as a pavilion in the garden of Quex House in 1896

Mansford House, Birchington as VAD Hospital
Mansford House, Spencer Road, Birchington. Mansford House was one of the buildings used by the Birchington VAD detachment in the early days of its work in 1914 and 1915

Quex Ambulance Q. 2 used as a selling booth
Quex Ambulance Q.2 being used as a selling booth during War Weapons Week in Birchington. Major Powell-Cotton (in Homberg hat) is speaking to one of the women at the table

Three Belgian hospital patients in the garden
Three Belgian hospital patients sitting on a grass bank in the garden at Quex Park. The man on the left is holding something - a letter or photograph perhaps and the other two are looking at it

Birchington Girl Guide Troop at Quex Park June 1920
The Birchington Girl Guide Troop photographed in the garden of Quex Park on 11 June 1920. The Troop had attended the presentation of certificates to members of the Birchington VAD Kent/178 to mark

Three Patients (one in bed) with nurses Date: 1916

Three men in the gardens of Quex House, with saw
Three men are standing in the garden of Quex House. One is holding a long saw. The man on the left is in civilian clothes and may have been employed at Quex Park

Five patients and two nurses outside Quex House
Five patients and two nurses photographed on the front doorsetp of Quex House. Four of the patients are wearing the hospital uniform of hospital blues worn by Imperial military hospital patients

Belgian patients at Quex Park
Photograph of four Belgian patients of the Quex Park VAD Hospital standing/sitting on the fence in front of Quex Park. On the left is Oscar Van Audenhove

Photograph of British Soldier
Studio photograph of a British soldier in uniform. He is seated on a short wooden bench against a studio backdrop. He is holding his cap and a cane

Three men sitting in car outside Quex House
Photograph of three men sitting in a car outside Quex House. The car is a 1914 Standard, Models. The man in the driving seat is wearing a chauffers uniform

Photograph of a Belgian ex-patient
Photograph of a Belgian soldier holding a copy of the newspaper Het Vaderland. Below the photograph is written Artieme Mettrie, Arme頂 elge, Guerre 14-15-1916

Studio photograph of an Australian VAD patient
Studio photograph of an Australian Sergeant. He is sitting on a small table against a backdrop of a curtained window. His hat is beside him on the table

Marriage photograph Belgian soldier
Photograph taken on the wedding day of Emile Verheyen, Belgian Soldier. On the reverse is written Souvenir affecteurse de Verheyen, Emile & Gabrielle - Soul, maries le 7.6.1916 ࠒ amsgate

Studio photograph of a Belgian VAD patient
Studio photograph of a young man wearing overcoat and scarf. He is leaning with his elbow resting on a pillar. He has a cigarette in his right hand

Studio photograph of Artieme Mettrie
A studio photograph of Artieme Mettrie. On the reverse is written Souvenir de l yser 24-12-17 avec mes meilleurs amitiez Artieme Mettrie. The card has been stamped by a military censor

Four hospital patients ready for croquet
Four Imperial VAD hospital patients ready for a game of croquet in the garden at Quex Park. The men are are in shirtsleeves and wearing the trousers of the patients uniform hospital blues

Studio photograph of Belgian soldier
Studio photograph of a Belgian soldier with the rank of Lieutenant. There is no writing on either the front or back of the photograph to aid identification

Studio photo of Arthur Colinet
Studio photograph of Arthur Colinet, Belgian soldier from Anor in northern France. He was a patient at the Quex Park VAD hospital between 11 December 1914 and 29 March 1915. He had a leg wound

Birchington VAD nurses
Studio photograph (Houghton, Margate & Broadstairs) of the Birchington (Kent/178) VAD nurses. A group of ten nurses is shown

Powell-Cotton family with donkey
Hannah Powell-Cotton in her uniform as Commandant of the Birchington VAD, Major PHG Powell-Cotton and the familys Nanny Mrs Cook with three of the children (left to right)

Antoinette Powell-Cotton with Miss May Glass
Antoinette Powell-Cotton (1913-1997) by a tennis net in the garden at Quex Park with her fathers secretary, Miss May Glass in August 1916

Family camp, Quex Park
In early August 1916 Major Powell-Cotton put up some tents that he had used on his expeditions to make a camp for his daughters in a field on the estate

Major PHG Powell-Cotton, Quex Park on his 50th birthday
Major PHG Powell-Cotton of Quex Park wearing a head wreath of fuschias for his 50th birthday. His journal records D.(Diana, his eldest child, b. 1907) had made me a head wreath of fushias

Antoinette Powell-Cotton (1913-1997) with Nanny, Mrs Cook
Antoinette Powell-Cotton (1913-1997) with her Nanny, Mrs Cook, in the garden of Quex Park in August 1916. Antoinette was the third child of Major and Mrs Powell-Cotton of Quex Park

Hannah Powell-Cotton, Commandant of Kent / 178
A studio photograph of Hannah Powell-Cotton in her uniform as Commandant of the Birchington Voluntary Aid Detachment, without hat. This jacket survives at Quex Park today (2015)

Patients in the Mess, Quex Park VAD Hospital
A group of patients gathered in the Mess of the Quex Park VAD Hospital. The Mess was sited in the Winter Garden, a large conservatory between Quex House and the Museum buildings

Christmas 1918 in Hospital Mess at Quex
A group of patients and staff, together with the three Powell-Cotton daughters are gathered in the Hospital Mess in the Winter Garden at Quex Park VAD Hospital pn Christmas Day 1918

B Ward, Christmas 1918, Quex Park VAD Hospital
B Ward in Gallery 1 of the Powell-Cotton Museum on Christmas Day 1918. This was the first Gallery of the Museum, built in 1896

Patients in A Ward at Quex Park VAD Hospital
Two patients in bed near the garden window in A Ward in the Drawing Room of Quex House. Alongside them stand two members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment

Armistics Day 1918 Patients and Staff at Quex Park
Patients and Staff of the Quex Park VAD Hospital on Armistice Day 1918. They are gathered in front of Quex House. With them are Major PHG Powell-Cotton and his wife Hannah

Christmas 1918 in A Ward at Quex Park VAD Hospital
A Ward in the Drawing Room of Quex House on Christmas Day 1918. The room is highly decorated with flags, greetings, paper decorations and festive greenery

Christening 1918 Tree Planting Soldiers Group
Christopher Powell-Cotton (1918-2006) was christenend at All Saints Church, Birchington on 20 April 1918. Afterwards a tree was planted in the grounds of Quex Park

Christening 1918 Tree Planting Proxy Godfathers group
Christopher Powell-Cotton (1918-2006) was christenend at All Saints Church, Birchington on 20 April 1918. Afterwards a tree was planted in the grounds of Quex Park

C Ward. Quex Park Vad Hospital
C Ward, Quex Park VAD Hospital. This ward was located in the second gallery of the Powell-Cotton Museum. B Ward, in the first gallery, was through the archway on the left of the photograph

Hospital Mess, Quex Park 1917. The Winter Garden, between Quex House and the Museum buildings served as the Mess for the VAD Hospital at Quex Park

A Ward, Quex Park VAD Hospital. This ward was located in the Drawing Room of Quex House. Originally built as a small ballroom in 1883

B Ward, Quex Park VAD Hospital. This ward was located in one of the galleries of the Powell-Cotton Museum (currently Gallery 2 (2014)

Masseur at work, Quex Park VAD Hospital
Jack Hedge, Masseur, at work in C Ward of Quex Park VAD Hospital in 1917. He is watched by eight patients and a VAD nurse

Four Patients playing billiards, Quex Park
Four hospital patients playing billiards in the Hall of Quex House, 1917. This billiards table was bought with the proceeds of a sale organised by the Powell-Cotton children, Diana aged 10

1914 VAD staff in 1917
Members of Birchington VAD staff who were the longest serving when the photograph was taken in 1917. Standing (left to right) Camille Van Dyck (Belgian, origianlly a patient)

Patients & VAD staff, Quex Park
This is the same photograph as 1917 External Groups 009. Patients & VAD staff, Quex Parkin 1917. Hannah Powell-Cotton, Commandant, seated centre

VAD staff and domestic staff, Quex Park, Autumn 1917. Seated in the centre of the front row are (left to right) Major PHG Powell-Cotton, Mrs HB Powell-Cotton and Dr Worthington

Group of hospital patients, Quex Park. There are twenty men in the group. They are outside the front door of Quex House. All are wearing hospital blues the uniform of military hospital patients

VAD staff, Quex Park
VAD staff and domestic staff, Quex Park, Autumn 1917. Standing in the centre at the back is Major PHG Powell-Cotton. Standing at the back, second right is Jack Hedge, Hospital Masseur

Patients & Staff, Quex Park
Group of patients, VAD nurses and Quex House staff at the front of Quex House, Autumn 1917. Seated in the centre are (left to right) Major Powell-Cotton, Mrs HB Powell-Cotton and Dr Worthington

Group on rear verandah, Quex Park
Group of patients and one nurse on the rear verandah, overlooking the gardens, Quex Park. This verandah ran along the back of the Museum buildings and was used as a sheltered outdoor space in summer

Egg & spoon race, Quex House garden
Patients on crutches, some with amuputated legs, are seen taking part in a race in Quex House garden. They are holding a spoon with an egg in their mouths

Patients race, Quex House garden
Four patients are seen taking part in a race in the garden of Quex House, two nurses and a lady civilian are in the background watching

Bedmaking race, Quex House garden
Three nurses are taking part in a bedmaking race, watched by Hannah Powell-Cotton (VAD Commandant) and a male civilian. The beds are positioned against the line of a tennis court marked out

Imperial Patients, Quex Park VAD Hospital
Imperial Patients of Quex Park VAD Hospital in the garden of Quex House. Twenty patients are in the foreground of the photograph

Staff & patients in C Ward of Quex Park VAD Hospital. The patients are all wearing hospital blues with the exception of one man who is a Belgian solder (holding a tray with glasses)

Hospital Sports, Quex House garden
Patients in shirtsleeves are playing the game of trying to eating an apple hanging from a string tied to a horizontal line

Officers of the Birchington VAD
The Officers of the Birchington VAD Detachment (Kent/178) standing outside the front door of Quex House. They are (left to right) Alice Cobb, Quartermaster (married to Harold Cobb)

Captain Commandant Bogaerts, Diana & Mary Powell-Cotton
(Right to left) Diana Powell-Cotton (1908-1986), Captain Commandant Bogaerts, Belgian Army, Mary Powell-Cotton (1910-1998). In the garden at Quex

Captain Commandant Bogaerts, Belgian Army. In the garden at Quex. Major Powell-Cotton had met Bogaerts in Africa a few years previously. He visited Quex on several occasions during the War. Date: 1915

Major Powell-Cotton and friends
(Right to left) Major PHG Powell-Cotton, Captain Commandant Bogaerts, Belgian Army, Anne Bogaerts, his sister. In the garden at Quex.Major Powell-Cotton had met Bogaerts in Africa a few years

Five Imperial patients, Winter Garden, Quex Park
Five Imperial patients outside the front of the Winter Garden, Quex Park. They are wearing hospital blues the uniform worn by patients who were in the Imperial forces

Hannah Powell-Cotton in donkey cart outside the front door of Quex House. The cart is being driven by an Imperial hospital patient. Standing alongside is a member of the Quex House domestic staff

Belgian Patients & VAD Staff, C Ward, Quex Park.This ward was situated in the second of the two Museum galleries, built in the early 1900s and unfinished in 1914

Mrs Mary Holmes and a Belgian patient
Mrs Mary Holmes (Lady Superintendent) and an unknown Belgian patient standing outside the Winter Garden, Quex Park. The Quex Park VAD Hospital opened on 15 October 1914 and closed on 31 January 1919

Members of Birchington VAD. Seated (l-r) Mary Holmes (Lady Superintendent), Hannah Powell-Cotton (Commandant), Alice Cobb (Quartermaster). Standing (l-r) Elsie Alice Smith, Florence Perfect, ?, ?

Hannah Powell-Cotton and Pte CF Reynolds CEF 18684
Hannah Powell-Cotton and Private CF Reynolds, 18684, 42nd Royal Highlanders (Canadian Expeditionary Force) preparing to leave Quex Park VAD Hospital on 1st October 1915

Patients in the Mess Room, Quex Park
Belgian Patients in the Mess Room, Quex Park. The Mess Room was situated in the Winter Garden, a large conservatory situated between Quex House and the Museum buildings

Belgian Patients in the Mess Room, Quex Park. The Mess Room was situated in the Winter Garden, a large conservatory situated between Quex House and the Museum buildings

Belgian Patients & VAD Staff, B Ward, Quex Park.This ward was situated in the first gallery of the Museum, built in 1896, The Gallery housed a diorama (right hand side of photograph)

Belgian Patients & VAD Staff, A Ward, Quex Park
Belgian Patients and VAD Staff in A Ward at the Quex Park VAD Hospital. This ward was situated in the drawing room of Quex House. Fifteen beds were used in this room

Belgian Patients & VAD Staff, Quex Park. The Quex Park VAD Hospital opened on 15 October 1914 and closed on 31 January 1919. The hospital was run by Kent/178, the Birchington Detachment

Quex House with car
View of the front of Quex House. Possibly taken just before the Hospital opened in mid October 1914. A small car is parked at the front

VAD Ambulance & Patients, Quex Park
Voluntary Aid Detachment Ambulance & Patients, Quex Park. Major Powell-Cotton converted two of his personal cars into ambulances and was the Area Transport Officer (VAD)

Group of staff & patients, Mansford House
Mansford House, Spencer Road, Birchington. Mansford House was one of the buildings used by the Birchington VAD detachment in the early days of its work in 1914 and 1915

Westgate-on-Sea Voluntary Aid Detachment, Kent / 64
Westgate-on-Sea Voluntary Aid Detachment, Kent/64 outside the front door of Quex Park, Birchington, Kent UK. This detachment worked at Quex Park VAD Hospital for a month after the first patients were

Quex Park VAD Hospital Belgian & British Patients
Quex Park VAD Hospital, Birchington, Kent, UK. Belgian & British Patients in front of the buildings. The VAD Hospital opened on 15 October 1914 and closed on 31 January 1919

Six men, including Belgian patients, Quex House. At least three are Belgian patients. One appears to be in Boy Scout uniform. Others may be Quex House staff, one may be a visiting entertainer

Quex Park VAD Hospital staff
Quex Park VAD Hospital, Birchington, Kent, UK. Staff, with Quex House domestic staff and Powell-Cotton children (Diana 1908-1986), Mary (1910-1998) and Antoinette (1913-1997)

Apple Bobbing, Quex House garden
Seven patients are gathered around at least one chair and some buckets. Five amused nurses are watching. The men are apple bobbing - trying to grab, using only their mouths

Nurses & Patients, Front Verandah, Quex Park. The Verandah, which was outside A Ward, offered a sheltered, south-facing outdoor space

Nurses & patients, Winter Garden, Quex Park
Nurses and patients in the Winter Garden, Quex Park. This room was used as the Hospital Mess. Nurse Fanny Watson is standing, second left

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"Quex: A Captivating Journey through Theatre, War, and Unity" Step into the world of "Quex, " a name that holds multiple tales within its grasp. From Irene Vanbrugh's mesmerizing performance in Pinero's play "The Gay Lord Quex" to Sir John Hare's captivating portrayal on the same stage, this name has left an indelible mark on the theatrical landscape. But it doesn't stop there. Irene Vanbrugh once again enchants audiences as she takes on the role of Sophy Fullgarney, bringing her unique charm and talent to Quex Park VAD Hospital. Here, patients find solace and healing amidst the chaos of war, forming bonds that transcend boundaries. Meanwhile, Mr Pinero unveils his new masterpiece at the Globe Theatre - "The Gay Lord Quex. " The litho captures the excitement surrounding this groundbreaking production, promising laughter and drama in equal measure. As we explore further into Quex Park itself, we discover a group gathered on its rear verandah - their faces filled with joy and camaraderie. And what better way to showcase unity than by repurposing the Quex Ambulance Q. 2 as a selling booth? It stands as a symbol of resilience and resourcefulness during challenging times. Birchington Girl Guide Troop finds themselves immersed in adventure within these very grounds in June 1920. Their presence adds another layer to the rich tapestry woven by Quex - one of growth and empowerment. Within these walls lie stories untold but not forgotten. Three patients share moments with dedicated nurses; their strength evident even in adversity. Photographs capture British soldiers' bravery while studio portraits immortalize Australian VAD patients who have found comfort here. And finally, love knows no borders as evidenced by a marriage photograph featuring a Belgian soldier - proof that even amidst turmoil, hope can blossom against all odds. In essence, "Quex" encompasses a multitude of narratives.