The 162d General Hospital was authorized on Saturday, 1 July 1944. Following General Orders 128, the new Hospital was to be activated at Cp. Grant, Rockford, Illinois, one of the large Medical Replacement Unit Training Centers in the Zone of Interior.



6 September 1944, arrived in UK. On receipt of Movement Orders No. 91, Headquarters, United Kingdom Base, an advance group of 26 Officers, 30 Nurses, and 150 Enlisted Men, accompanied by 2 Physical Therapists, and 2 Hospital Dietitians set out from Kettering by truck to the final destination, Nocton Hall, Lincolnshire.



After arriving at the fixed installation, where also the 7th General Hospital was established, the advance party gradually took over control of the various existing departments. On 17 and 18 September, the remainder of the organization arrived. Gradually, the unit took over and assumed full responsibility, and by 21 September 1944, the 162d General Hospital was officially in charge of the site.



The main purpose of the 162d General Hospital was the treatment of combat and non-combat casualties, with patients being evacuated (1) to duty, (2) to the ZI, (3) to another medical establishment for more specialized care. In general the unit was defined as being a holding Hospital where patients were concentrated while awaiting transfer to the Zone of Interior.