Hotels "Schoonoord en Vreewijk"

On the corner of the Pieterbergseweg and the Utrechtseweg stood Hotel Schoonoord. Opposite from Schoonhoord, there was Hotel Vreewijk. The 133rd and 181st Field Ambulance used these locations as medical posts after the Allied landings. They were intended as a medical stopover before the troops moved on to Arnhem, but eventually became the main medical posts in the perimeter. 

The hotels were manned by British troops on Monday 18 September and wounded men from the landings were immediately taken there. However, the hotels were not extensively defended and on Wednesday 20 September, before the perimeter was formed, and therefore the hotels were taken by German troops. The medical staff and the wounded who could walk were made prisoners of war and taken away. Only a small part of the medical staff was allowed to stay behind. 

When troops returned from Arnhem, they were given the task of setting up the perimeter and recapturing and continuing to defend the medical posts. They suffered from a shortage of medical personnel and facilities. In addition, although the locations were now defended, they were exposed to the dangers of the front line. The hotels were situated on the border between British and German territory and were exposed to German shootings for days. As a result, some patients got even wounded again, while they were cared for.