Riverhouse’s Mount Felix Tapestry has finished its hugely successful tour of New Zealand from July 2018 to September 2019. This beautiful community stitch project commemorates the centenary of the Mount Felix Hospital in Walton throughout WWI. The Mount Felix hospital (New Zealand General Hospital 2) was created for soldiers from New Zealand wounded at Gallipoli and later battles. We have discovered moving true stories of soldiers from the hospital, on their journey from New Zealand through fighting at Gallipoli, being wounded and shipped to Mount Felix. We have identified three stories of soldiers who met and fell in love with their future wives during their time at Mount Felix. These stories as well as those of nurses, doctors and members of the community of Walton create a narrative.
This narrative was beautifully illustrated by Andrew Crummy who designed The Great Tapestry of Scotland among others. Over 600 stitchers contributed to the tapestry, from school children, to nurses in New Zealand and even soldiers at Headley Court. During the recent tour of New Zealand two more panels were stitched and we hope to be able to show these in an exhibition later in the year.
