Princess Mary’s RAF Hospital Halton was opened in 1927 as a large military hospital and as an institute for pathology and tropical medicine after a temporary hospital was set up for training nurses during the First World War.

It also became the first aero med unit - meaning causalities could be evacuated using aircraft - during World War II, teaching nurses to parachute into conflict zones so they could get easier access to injured soldiers.

After peace was declared in 1945, St Mary’s was kept as a training unit and aided the NHS by using the best facilities and medical specialists.
It later became a specialist burns unit, employing the skills learnt helping victims who suffered during the Second World War.

The hospital closed in 1995 because the MOD wanted one centralised unit to train military nurses, making the Royal Hospital in Haslar, at Gosport in Hampshire; which is also now closed!!