Stories Archive - Page 102 of 162 - Shaftesbury Remembers the Great War

Mary Harris

Surname: Harris

Other names: Mary

Locations in this story:
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Longford Castle, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Salisbury, Wiltshire
Bleke Street, Shaftesbury
Bell Street, Shaftesbury
Tisbury Red Cross War Hospital, Tisbury, Wiltshire
Longford Castle, Salisbury, Wiltshire

Story:
Mary Harris was born in Shaftesbury in 1896, daughter of Dr. William James Harris and Kathleen Emily Harris née Howe. In 1901 the family were living at 37 Bell Street, but soon moved to "Avishayes" in Bleke Street. The 1903 Kelly's Directory describes Dr. Harris as "surgeon & hon. medical officer to the Westminster Memorial Cottage Hospital, & public vaccinator to the Shaftesbury district & medical officer to the Workhouse." Mary's brother Maurice William Sydney (b.1897) also served in the war, with the Middlesex Regiment.

Mary was living at "Avishayes" when she joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) in the Autumn of 1916. She served as a Nurse at the Tisbury Red Cross War Hospital, Tisbury, Wiltshire, and at Longford Castle, Salisbury, Wiltshire, until August 1918 when she joined the Headquarters RAF Salisbury for motor driving. The date on which she completed her military service is not known. Research continues.

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Maurice William Sidney Harris
The National Archives

Oenone Grove

29th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Royal Air Force, Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Grove

Other names: Oenone

Locations in this story:
Berwick St. John, Wiltshire
Sedgehill Manor, Sedgehill, Wiltshire
St. Thomas Hospital, London
Mere, Wiltshire
Maida Vale, London

Story:
Oenone Grove was born at Berwick St. John, Wiltshire, on 1st March 1889, the daughter of Sir Walter John Grove, 2nd Baronet, and Agnes Geraldine Grove (née Fox-Pitt-Rivers). She lived a good part of her civilian life at Sedgehill Manor, Sedgehill, Wiltshire. She joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) on 1st November 1917 and worked as a Nurse at 5th London General, St. Thomas Hospital, London, until 30th May 1918. She left the Detachment to join the Royal Air Force on 21st June 1918 (Service No. 11807) and is understood to have served in the UK only - occupation unknown. She is likely to have been discharged by 1921 when the general stand down came into effect as the 1921 Census shows her living in Flat 4B, 91 Warrington Crescent, Maida Vale, London. She travelled extensively thereafter, frequently going between the UK, Canada and USA. She died on 21st January 1956 (Mere, Wiltshire, Registration District) whilst living at Sedgehill and was buried on 21st January 1956 at Berwick St. John, Wiltshire. She remained single throughout her life.

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The National Archives

Reginald Southgate

29th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Southgate

Other names: Reginald

Locations in this story:
Charlton, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire
Landsley Farm, Higher Coombe, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire
Knaphill, Woking, Surrey
Honiton, Devon

Story:
Reginald Southgate was born at Higher Coombe, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire, on 21st November 1899 and baptised at St. John the Baptist Church, Charlton, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire, on 2nd June 1901, the son of Ernest Southgate and Sarah Sally Southgate (née Dawson). (Reginald's elder brother, Ernest Harold Southgate, was baptised on the same day and also served in the war.) Reginald lived most of his early life at Landsley Farm, Higher Coombe. He enlisted on 27th December 1917 and joined the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry as a Private (Service No. 30521). He later transferred to the Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars on 29th March 1918 (Service No. 67043). He served in the UK only and was discharged on 10th February 1919. There are no medal records. By the 1921 Census he had returned to Higher Coombe and was working as a Plumber & Fitter for S. Humphries & Son, Shaftesbury. Reginald married Florence Mahalia Bennett at Charlton, Donhead St. Mary, in 1923 and they went on to have two children. By the 1939 Register he was living at 34 Herbert Crescent, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey, working as a Wholesale Dairy Producer. He died in the Honiton, Devon, Registry District in 1982.

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The National Archives

Elizabeth Bastalle Wilkins

25th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Wilkins

Other names: Elizabeth Bastalle

Locations in this story:
Stour Row, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Cottage Hospital, Chard, Somerset

Story:
Elizabeth Bastalle Wilkins was born on 24th Febrary 1883. There are no identifiable records as to her parents or previous residences. It is know that she was living at Pear Tree Cottage, Stour Row, Shaftesbury, Dorset, at the outbreak of war and she joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) as a trained nurse on 22nd March 1916 at a local unnamed hospital. She was quickly promoted to Sister in Charge and remained in service until 22nd March 1919. She was at that time still living in Stour Row. The 1939 Register shows her address as The Cottage Hospital, Chard, Somerset, where she was the Matron and single. There is no identifiable record of the date of her death.

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John Hastings

25th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Hastings

Other names: John

Locations in this story:
Downpatrick, Co. Down, Ireland
Wincombe Park, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire
Shaftesbury, Dorset
Etaples, France
Boulogne, France

Story:
John Hastings was born in Downpatrick, Co. Down, Ireland, in 1862. He had retired as a Solicitor and moved to Wincombe Park, Donhead St. Mary, Wiltshire with his wife, Dorothy H. Hastings, whom he had married in 1902. Following the outbreak of war he joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) Motor Ambulance Department and served in Etaples and Boulogne, France, between 17th March 1915 and April 1916 as an ambulance driver. He remained at Wincombe Park throughout and died in 1932.

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The National Archives

Gladys Elizabeth Nixon

25th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Nixon

Other names: Gladys Elizabeth

Locations in this story:
Bideford, Devon
South Kensington, London
Motcombe House, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Sturminster Newton, Dorset
Hove, Sussex

Story:
Gladys Elizabeth Nixon was born in Bideford, Devon, on 14th August 1879, the daughter of Brinsley de Courcy Nixon and Suzanna Frances Evelyn Nixon (née Hampton). She married Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Stalbridge, at St. Jude's Church, South Kensington, London, on 10th November 1903. In August 1914, whilst living at Motcombe House, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, Dorset, Baroness Grosvenor joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) and became President of the Sturminster Newton, Dorset, District until November 1916. She died at Hove, Sussex, on 20th March 1960.

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The National Archives

Arthur John Harding

25th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Royal Field Artillery /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Harding

Other names: Arthur John

Locations in this story:
Sedgehill, Wiltshire
Cocking, Midhurst, Sussex
France & Flanders
Heyshott, Midhurst, Sussex
Midhurst, Sussex
Berwick St. John, Wiltshire
Grimsby, Lincolnshire

Story:
Arthur John Harding was born on 11th May 1893 in Sedgehill, Wiltshire and baptised there on 3rd September 1893, the son of George Arthur Harding and Annie Harding (née Bleathman). He lived his early life in Sedgehill and Berwick St. John, Wiltshire, before moving with his family to Crypt Cottage, Cocking, Midhurst, Sussex, by 1911. At the outbreak of war Arthur was living with his grandmother in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, where he enlisted on 30th August 1914 and joined the 2/1st North Midland Battery of the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner (Service No. 98547). (His military records show him as John Arthur Harding as the family knew him as John.) He served in France & Flanders from 4 Oct 1915 and was discharged on 18th April 1919. He was awarded the Victory and British War medals as well as the 1915 Star. At some time shortly after discharge he returned to Cocking to join his family. He married Rosena Ellen Bonnieface in Midhurst, Sussex, in 1925 and they went on to have two children. By the 1939 Register he was living at 251 The Barracks, Heyshott, Midhurst, Sussex, and was working as a Farm Carter. His death is recorded in Midhurst in 1966. (NB Not to be confused with Arthur John Harding also of Sedgehill but born in 1888 and father was Thomas Baker Harding.)

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The National Archives

Edith Morse

24th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Morse

Other names: Edith

Locations in this story:
Copdock, Suffolk
Samford, Suffolk
The Rectory, Compton Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Red Cross Hospital, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Massandra Hospital, Weymouth, Dorset
Grata Quies Hospital, Bournemouth, Hampshire
Poole, Dorset
Norwich, Norfolk
Ashmore, Shaftesbury, Dorset

Story:
Edith Morse was born at Copdock, Suffolk, on 13th June 1873, the daughter of Alfred Herbert Morse and Diana Ann Morse (née Gooch). She lived most of her early life in the Copdock area. She married Rev. Charles Edward Donne at Samford, Suffolk, in 1908. There are no obvious records of children. At the outbreak of war she was living at the Rectory, Compton Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset, where her husband had been appointed. She joined the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) in September 1918 and was still in service on 10th February 1919. She served as a Nurse at the Red Cross Hospital, Shaftesbury, Dorset, the Massandra Hospital, Weymouth, Dorset, and the Grata Quies Hospital, Bournemouth, Hampshire. By the 1921 Census she was now living at the Rectory, Ashmore, Shaftesbury, Dorset, where her husband has been additionally appointed. At the time of the 1939 Register she and her husband were living at Redmere, Crescent Road, Poole, Dorset. She died in Norwich, Norfolk, on 16th February 1956.

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The National Archives

Emmeline Dorothea Woodhouse

24th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Woodhouse

Other names: Emmeline Dorothea

Locations in this story:
Budleigh Salterton, Devon
St. John's Cottage, Alcester, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Hammersmith, London
Mere, Wiltshire
Cann, Shaftesbury, Dorset

Story:
Emmeline Dorothea Woodhouse was born in Budleigh Salterton, Devon in 1876, the daughter of Rev. George Girdlestone Woodhouse and Emmeline Woodhouse (née Benson). She married Hugh Carl Forrester (a solicitor) at Cann, Shaftesbury, Dorset, on 4th June 1897 and they set up home at St. John's Cottage, Alcester, Shaftesbury, Dorset. There are no records of any children. Hugh Forrester died on 28 Feb 1917. Emmeline served with the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) from 1918 until later in 1919. She provided services at the VAD Hospital Dorset 16, Mere, Wiltshire. The 1921 Census shows her still living at St. John's Cottage, a widow, living on her own means. She had moved at some time to 59 Rowan Road, Hammersmith, London, and died there on 15th June 1928.

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The National Archives

Edith Hilda Hamilton-Gordon

24th March 2020/in 1914-1918 Voluntary Aid Detachment /by Chris Stupples

Surname: Hamilton-Gordon

Other names: Edith Hilda

Locations in this story:
Salisbury, Wiltshire
Chelsea, Middlesex
Cross House, Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury, Dorset
Gaunts House, Hinton Parva, Wimborne, Dorset
Wimborne, Dorset
Swanage, Dorset

Story:
Edith Hilda Hamilton-Gordon was born on 22nd July 1881 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the daughter of Douglas George Hamilton-Gordon and Edith Annie Hamilton-Gordon (née Bullock). She lived most of her early life in Chelsea, Middlesex, where, on 12th December 1906, she married Sir Richard Fitzgerald Glyn, 4th Baronet. They went on to have five children. By 1911 they were living at Cross House, Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury, Dorset, from where Lady Edith served with the British Red Cross (Voluntary Aid Detachment) from January 1916 until March 1919. She was a member of the Blandford 40 Dorset Working Party organizing the provision of additional clothing to troops. It is recorded that much of the personal items she made or sent were from her own material. By the 1921 Census she was living at St. Brides, Burlington Road, Swanage, Dorset and by the 1939 Register had moved with her husband to Gaunts House, Hinton Parva, Wimborne, Dorset. She died in The Victoria Hospital, Wimborne, on 10th June 1957 and was buried at Hinton Parva on 14th June 1957.

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The National Archives
Richard Fitzgerald Glyn