Hospital L’Océan De Panne

At the end of November 1914 Queen Elisabeth and Dr. Antoine Depage (a friend of the royal family and someone with experience as a surgeon in a war zone) wanted to open a military hospital in De Panne. At first, the army authorities thought that this was too near the front, but they were persuaded to change their minds. Depage's experience during the Balkan Wars had taught him that a casualty's chances of survival increased the closer he could be treated to the front. He would later open advanced surgical posts all along the front line.

The treatment offered by Depage's hospital was revolutionary; until then, soldiers wounded on the field of battle had largely been left to their fate. He chose as his site the Hotel L’Océan, which in addition to its main buildings had more than 100 hectares of land. In just a month the hotel was made ready for operation and by the end of December 1914 there were already 200 beds. New pavilions were quickly added, often as a result of gifts from Britain or America. In May 1917, arrangements were put in hand to transfer the entire hospital to Vinkem. Vinkem opened in September 1917, but a change in the military situation meant L'Océan in De Panne remained open as well.

The king and queen resided in De Panne for much of the war, before finally moving to a safer location at De Moeren.

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