Melton's former military hospital Wicklow Lodge needs your votes to be awarded prestigious Green Plaque Award

Wicklow Lodge, on Burton Road, has made it through to the shortlist of the Leicestershire County Council Green Plaque Awards scheme but needs public votes to stand a chance of getting a plaque.

Wicklow Lodge had been a hunting lodge but was commissioned for use as an auxiliary military hospital in August 1914 in anticipation of a high casualty rate in the battles with German forces on the other side of the English Channel during the First World War.

The lodge was loaned out for use as a hospital by owner Herbert George Fenwick for the duration of the war.

From an initial meeting at the town’s Corn Exchange with business owners, shopkeepers and interested residents in August 1914, the building was identified and then transformed into a fully operational hospital inside five months.

The hospital treated 1484 sick and wounded soldiers in the First World War.

Melton historian Derek Simmonds, who has previously written a book about the lodge, is urging Melton people to vote for it.

He said: ““I feel passionately that we have an opportunity to remember these boys and the work of the hospital which was financed, run and fully supported by the people of Melton and district.

“I compiled a book about Wicklow Lodge because I think it’s a story that we, as Meltonians, should know about and be proud of.

“Winning a Green Plaque Award would cement its place in the town’s history and ensure it will not be forgotten.”

Voting ends on June 6.

To cast your vote visit http://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/history-and-heritage/vote-for-your-green-plaque-winner