During our local research we have looked at the records held by The Rest Hotel in Porthcawl.
The Rest was built as a hospital in the late 1800s for the recovery and rest of local people in the main from the then large South wales mining community. During World War One it housed Belgium refugees, provided accommodation for new recruits, and served as a hospital for troops recovering from wounds.
A page from the Rest soldier's autograph book dated 1916