Who paid?

It rains once more. Another day the Fox will not have to water the kiddies.

The other day I listened to “Home Front” on BBC Radio 4. This 15 minute programme dramatises actual events that happened on the Home Front exactly 100 years ago i.e. currently in May 1917 during the First World War. In that particular episode Kent was bombed with several casualties.

It raised a question in my mind which I’d never thought about before. In the pre-NHS days of both World Wars, who paid for the medical needs of those who were injured on the home front?

Those involved in the armed services were presumably covered by the state as part of their contract of employment as soldiers, sailors & airmen, but what about civilian casualties? Were they whisked off to hospital with severe injuries to be confronted with the question of whether they could afford to pay? And what happened if you couldn't afford to pay? Or were all people regarded as casualties of war, civilian or military personnel, & so given free medical treatment? And how do you distinguish the fee paying person who fell down the stairs in their panic breaking their leg, from the person with a broken leg caused by a bomb landing? It’s something I’ve never thought of before. I wonder what the answer is. It would make an interesting programme.