(Lists and photo provided by Dave Swarbrick & Pam Mills. Further information is available on the Red Cross website.)
In World War I, county branches of the Red Cross had their own groups of volunteers called Voluntary Aid Detachments (often abbreviated to VAD). Voluntary Aid Detachment members themselves came to be known simply as 'VADs'. Made up of men and women, the VADs carried out a range of voluntary positions including nursing, transport duties, and the organisation of rest stations, working parties and auxiliary hospitals. Tonbridge was 'Kent 44' for Quarry Hill House Red Cross Hospital and 'Kent 51' for transport and stretcher bearing. Many of the town firemen and council workers were trained in this regard.
Training:
At the outbreak of the war, many
people were inspired to train to help the sick and wounded. Women needed to
be taught first aid, home nursing and hygiene by approved medical
practitioners. They also took classes in cookery. Men were trained in first
aid in-the-field and stretcher bearing. Talented VADs could take specialist
classes to become a masseuse or use an x-ray machine. VADs had to pass exams
to receive their first aid and home nursing certificates.
Quarry Hill House in use as the VAD hospital. The building later housed Fosse Bank School but has now been demolished
The first list below gives details of 75 women who served at the
temporary VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) hospital at Quarry Hill House,
Quarry Hill Road, Tonbridge, during World War 1. The hospital opened in
October 1914 to tend wounded soldiers, and more than 500 men had been
treated there by February 2016. It remained in operation until early 1919.
Most of the women who worked at Quarry Hill were part-time
volunteers. The number of hours which they worked was recorded and is
included
below where known.
A separate list of VAD men follows here.
Miss Millicent Atkins Burnaby, Hamptons, Tonbridge
Served from November 1914 until March 1919 at Quarry Hill and at Maidstone
Duties: Cook
Miss Sarah Baker, Ellerslie House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 23rd October 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse in surgical and medical wards
Miss Ellen Beeching, Bordyke Lodge, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 4th October 1914 until 31st March 1919
Duties: Nursing member secretary
Miss Hilda Beeching, Bordyke Lodge, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House work - 5400 hours
Mrs Annie Beekingham, 39, St Mary’s Road, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 22nd January 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House work - 410 hours
Miss Millicent Billington, Flore, Weedon
Served at Quarry Hill from 4th February 1915 until 1st November 1916
Duties: began as Cook, then Nursing Member
Miss Flora Campbell, no address
Served from 14th October 1914 until 12th September 1916, at Quarry Hill from
12th September 1916 until 10th August 1917
Duties: Nurse in surgical and medical wards
Mrs Marion Children, 7, Hadlow Road, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 15th October 1915 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Cook
Note: she was the mother of John Waterhouse Children, Rifleman 72167 95th
Saskatchewan Rifles – killed in action 15th September 1916.
Miss Grace Clough, Reed House, Plaxtol
Served from 14th October 1914 until 1st April 1917. At King George V
Hospital from 1st April 1917 until 1st November 1917 and Quarry Hill from
1st November 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse in surgical and medical wards
Miss Dorothy Clough, Reed House, Plaxtol
Served from 14th October 1914 until 1st August 1916. At Birmingham and
Chelsea and at Quarry Hill from 1st May 1917 until 1st February 1918 and
again from 1st September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse in surgical and medical wards & theatre
Miss Violet Cooksey, Marehurst, Shipbourne
Served at Quarry Hill from 6th August 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Housework - 115 hours
Miss Ada Cooter, Manchester House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 16th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Housework - 84 hours
Mrs Kate Dain, 3, Augusta Terrace, Aldeburgh-on-Sea
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 1st November 1918
Duties: Nurse on convalescent wards - 5148 hours
Miss Mary Dain, 3, Augusta Terrace, Aldeburgh-on-Sea
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse on convalescent wards (Started as Probationer - 3940 hours)
Miss Margaret Darling, Clare House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 6th January 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse on convalescent wards (Probationer Under Senior Nurse – 381
hours)
Miss Kathleen Dawes, Manchester House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 17th March 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse (originally Probationer – works under Senior Nurse – 1182
hours)
Miss Kathleen Dodd, 5, Yardley Park, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 27th February 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Probationer – House-work Quartermaster’s orderly – 2700 hours
Mrs Blanche Evans (Emily Blanche Evans ), wife of John
Evans, Head teacher at Judd School, Tonbridge (1908-1928 )
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 18th October 1918
Duties: Assistant Nurse Surgical, Medical & Theatre – 8950 hours
Miss Alicia Grice, no address
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 1st August 1916, then
went to Birmingham and then to France
Duties: Nurse in surgical and medical wards and Theatre – full time
Miss Esther Elizabeth Hannington, St. Margaret’s, Bury St Edmunds
Served at Quarry Hill from 19th July 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Head Cook
Miss Mary Harmer, Redlands, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Cook, Probationer, Gardener – 1000 hours
Miss Annie Hawes, High Street, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse on wards – 1000 hours
Miss Isabella Henderson, 96, Quarry Hill, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – part-time – 500 hours
Mrs Eva Hollands, 17, Hectorage Road, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 11th October 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 270 hours
Miss Annie Hougham, Hilden Cottage, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 29th January 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, first as Probationer, then on convalescent wards – 2200 hours
Note: she was the sister of Bertram William Hougham, Captain, Queen’s Own
[Royal West Kent Regiment] 3rd Battalion, killed in action 6th September
1918.
Miss Agnes Howes, Clare House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Assistant nurse – general wards – 7700 hours
Miss Mattie Jempson, Lyghe, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 16th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 56 hours
Miss Ruth Jempson, Lyghe, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 56 hours
Miss Edith Johnson, 24, St Mary’s Road, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 14th October 1915 then
went to 3rd General London Hospital
Duties: Nurse, general wards – full time
Mrs Mabel Jukes, Southfield, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 31st March 1919
Duties: Quarter Master – nursing duties – 6650 hours
Miss Elinor Kingdon, The Daisies, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 20th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 260 hours
Miss Sarah Kirby, The Vicarage, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 1100 hours
Miss Jessie Kitchin, Burnbrae, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 1st September 1915 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work, nursing – 4000 hours
Note: she was the sister of John Buchanan Kitchin, Captain The Buffs [East
Kent Regiment] 6th Battalion, died of wounds, 5th May 1917.
Miss Ardie Kortright, Airlie House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 20th July 1917 until 28th February 1919 Quarry
Hill and at Parkside Orthopaedic Hospital, Hammersmith [dates not clear]
Duties: House-work – 270 hours and 6 months’ full time
Miss Winifred Langley, Manchester House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 15th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 84 hours
Miss Mabel Levers, High Bank, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 21st March 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 944 hours
Miss Margaret Lloyd, 7, Ashburnham Road, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work - 2200 hours
Miss Hilda Francis Stafford MacGeagh, Hadlow Castle, Hadlow
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 15th June 1918 – 7800
hours - and then in Gaza, Egypt from 1st July 1917 until 15th June 1918
Duties: Nurse on surgical and medical wards – full time in Egypt - £2 per
week
Miss Violet Mankellow, Manchester House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 11th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 84 hours
Miss Edith Marlow, Church Road, Southborough
Served at Quarry Hill from 7th May 1918 until 28th February 1919 (but had
previously worked at Southborough)
Duties: Nurse – surgical and medical wards – 1662 hours
Miss Mary Maylam, Quarry Bank, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 4th November 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Cook, later Cook supervisor – note: Assisted cook in catering,
Cooked in emergency – 1398 hours
Miss Bertha Milner, c/o Commandant [Miss Ruth Turnbull], Vines,
Hildenborough
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work, cooking – 1000 hours
Miss Ann Rhys Morgan, 18, London Road [or Cray Cottage], Crayford
Served at Quarry Hill from 12th September 1918 until 14th January 1919
Duties: Nurse, night and day – full time £2 1s 8d per month
Miss Jeanie Murray, Clare House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 24th December 1916
Duties: Nurse, surgical and medical wards - full time – transferred to King
George V Hospital, London, after 24th December 1916
Miss Kathleen Estelle Newton, Bayham House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th November 1917
Duties: Nurse on wards under senior nurse – 3354 hours – after 28th November
1917 full time chauffeuse BEF
Mrs Kathleen Mabel Newton, Bayham House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 1st October 1915 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 300 hours
Note: she was the mother of Fleming Newton, 2nd Lieutenant Royal Air Force,
killed in action, 9th May 1918.
Miss Mary Palin, St Helens, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work, Quarter Master’s orderly – 6600 hours
Note: she was the daughter of Brita Palin and sister of Henry William Bourne Palin,
New Zealand Expeditionary Force, killed in action 27th September 1916
Miss Elsie Pemble, Tatlingbury, Capel
Served at Quarry Hill from 23rd June 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, worked under senior nurse, convalescent wards – 2133 hours
Miss Gladys Pemble, Tatlingbury, Capel
Served at Quarry Hill from 29th May 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse on medical and surgical Quarter Master under senior nurse
otherwise on convalescent wards – 2674 hours
Miss Gladys Pilditch, Parkleigh, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 31st March 1919
Duties: Assistant Quarter Master, later Quarter Master and Assistant Nurse
on surgical, medical wards and theatre – full time
Miss Ella Price, Regent House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 30th September 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work 450 hours
Mrs Kathleen Pring, c/o Commandant [Miss Ruth Turnbull], Vines,
Hildenborough
Served from 11th October 1918 until 28th February 1919 at the Institute,
Lyghe and Quarry Hill
Duties: Matron – full time
Miss Katherine Punnett, St Margaret’s, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 30th August 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 90 hours
Miss Wilhelmina Florence Dundas Quin, 78, Hadlow Road, Tonbridge
Served from 22nd April 1918 until 27th November 1918. Served at Bath War
Hospital, but had previously completed 70 hours’ part time work at Quarry
Hill
Duties: Pantry maid & Cook
Miss Gwynedd Rae, Knowles Bank, Pembury
Served at Quarry Hill from 1st July 1915 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, surgical and medical wards – 3000 hours
Miss Elsie Robus, Manchester House, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 16th September 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 84 hours
Miss Catherine Rudolf, 12, Bordyke, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 23rd October 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, under senior nurse – 1653 hours
Mrs Minnie Shaul, Avalon, Southborough
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, surgical, medical, theatre wards – 10350 hours
Miss Margaret Shreiber, The Vicarage, Shipbourne
Served at Quarry Hill from 1st December 1915 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse [originally probationer], wards, general nursing – 2000 hours
Miss Jessie Taylor, Jaffna, Ceylon
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 30th November 1918
Duties: Commandant Nursing Member also served with Sandycome (Brigade)
Hospital, Tonbridge B.E.F. Dartford War Hospital V.A.D. Hospital,
Chislehurst – full time
Mrs Bessie Toomer, Lyndale, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 24th July 1916 until 28th December 1917
Duties: Cook – 100 hours – later seconded to work in National Kitchen
Miss Gwendolen Toomer, Lyndale, Tonbridsge
Served at Quarry Hill from 24th July 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: House-work – 700 hours
Miss Edith Topham, 42, Hadlow Road, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 27th February 1919
Duties: Lady Superintendent, later trained Nurse – 9000 hours
Note: Probably a relative of Michael Topham, 2nd Lieutenant Royal Flying
Corps, 27th Squadron, killed in action on 13th April 1917. His father,
Francis David Topham, was living at 42, Hadlow Road, when he applied for
Michael’s medals in 1920.
Miss Ruth Turnbull, Vines, Hildenborough
Served from 20th October 1914 until 31st March 1919 at Quarry Hill and the
Institute, Lyghe
Duties: Secretary acting Lady Superintendent, also Nursing Surgical &
Medical, ended as Commandant – full time
Miss Evelyn Turnbull, Vines, Hildenborough
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th October 1914 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse [originally probationer] 3000 hours
Mrs Agnes Vivian-Phillipps, South Frith, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 1st March 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse [originally probationer] – 1000 hours
Mrs Felicia Waite, Postern Park, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 24th July 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Cook – 450 hours – seconded to work in National Kitchen from 28th
December 1917
Note: mother of Margaret Bowman Waite, who served in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, and who was decorated for bravery with the Belgian Order of Leopold II for her part, with two other nurses, in tending to wounded men in the front line trenches, under shell fire, and ensuring their safe evacuation.
Miss Elinor Weldon [sic], Beech Lawn, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 12th January 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, surgical and medical – 6220 hours
Note: she was the sister of James Hoste Welldon, 2nd Lieutenant East Kent
Regiment, killed in action on 30th November 1917.
Miss Eveline Weston, The Grange, Shipbourne
Served at Quarry Hill from 1st June 1915 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, surgical, medical, theatre – 7020 hours
Miss Hilda Weston, The Grange, Shipbourne
Served at Quarry Hill from 24th July 1916 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse [originally probationer] – 900 hours
Miss Joan Whitby, Little Judd, Tonbridge
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th February 1917 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse Probationer – 1270 hours
Miss Lilian White, 67, Mount Ephraim, Tunbridge Wells
Served at Quarry Hill from 14th November 1918 until 28th February 1919
Duties: Nurse, surgical, medical, theatre – 10500 hours
Miss Hilda Whittington, Sandhills, Betchworth
Served at Quarry Hill from Quarry Hill from 5th October 1916 until 3rd May
1917 - 2 days on duty, 2 days off, continuously - full time nurse.
VAD personnel at Tonbridge Castle
Male detachments were almost entirely in charge of transporting sick and wounded soldiers from ambulance trains or ships to local hospitals. They also ferried patients between hospitals.
Male volunteers were also frequently sent to France to work as ambulance drivers, often coming under fire as they transported men away from the Front.
James Adams of 13, High Street Tonbridge served from
26th October 1914 until 28th February 1919 at Kent 74, Bidborough Court
Hospital, Neville Park, Tunbridge Wells. He served full time as an Orderly.
He was born at Capel on January 3rd 1867. In 1911, he and his wife Alice
[Bridges] and their three children were living at 50, Lavender Hill,
Tonbridge. He was employed as a sewage tank attendant by Tonbridge Urban
District Council and died on 20th October 1944 at Tonbridge.
George Batchelor of 71, Barden Road, Tonbridge, served from
October 1914 and was still serving in 1919 he was a Section Leader &
Ambulance Orderly and had charge of one ambulance. He served part time and
achieved 10,200 hrs. He achieved the rank of Sgt in Field Ambulance
Transport R. and C. 2 in Kent 51.He was born in 1863 at Tonbridge, a son of
William and Sarah Batchelor. In 1911, he was living at 169, Vale Road,
Tonbridge, with his wife, Charity [Cane], and five children, three others
having left home. He was employed as a drain layer for Tonbridge Urban
District Counciland died in 1933 at Maidstone. He also served as a fireman.
Fred Boyde was born in 1868 at Basingstoke, Hampshire. He
came to Tonbridge from London, where he had been serving in the Metropolitan
Fire Brigade, with his wife, Marie and two children, at some point in the
early 1900s. He was recorded as the second officer at Tonbridge, living at
the Fire Station, 8, Castle Street, Tonbridge in the 1911 census. He served
part time with the Red Cross from 10/1914 and was still serving in 1919. He
became the Deputy Transport Officer and achieved 10,200 hrs with 2 M. Sug
Field Amb Transport R.A.S.C. M T (V) Kent 51.
William Laurence Bradley of "Rylstone",The Drive, Tonbridge
& The Castle, Tonbridge, served part time from October 1914 and was still
serving in 1919. He held the rank of Commandant & Aux Transport officer. His
duties included Commandant & Aux Transport officer o/c Field Aux Transport
Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells. He achieved 10,200 hrs, Kent 51. He was born in
Skipton, Yorkshire on 28th September 1862. He moved to Tonbridge in the
1880s with his wife and four children and, at that date, he was employed as
an auctioneer’s clerk. By the time of the 1891 census he had become a civil
engineer and surveyor. In 1911 he was employed as a surveyor by Tonbridge
Urban District Council. Sometime after that he was appointed as the Chief
Officer of Tonbridge Fire Brigade until he was succeeded by Chief Officer
Gabriel and then Chief Officer Ives. When Ives was called up, Bradley again
took up the duties of Chief Officer. He died on 25th March 1939 at
Tonbridge.
James Brearsey of Waterworks Cottage, Tonbridge served from
October 1914 as an ambulance orderly and was still serving in 1919 achieving
1000 hrs at Kent 51. No records or references found
Friend Bristow of 7 East Street Tonbridge joined the Red
Cross age 34 and served from 23rd September 1914 until 23rd March 1915 as an
Orderly being paid at 30/- per week. He was part of a contingent of fireman
from Tonbridge who served in France. He later was awarded the 1914 Star in
December 1919 by the Chairman of TUDC. He was also awarded the British War
and Victory Medals. He born in 1880 at Tonbridge and was married with four
children and, in 1911, was employed as a bricklayer.
Charles Butler of 21 Gladstone Road Tonbridge was 24 years
old when he joined the Red Cross in 21st October 1914, leaving his role as
Fireman and served until 31/8/1919 at No. 1 M.A.C. Boulogne. He was
initially an Orderly but then a mechanic being paid 1/5½ d. per hour. He was
awarded the 1914 star by the chairman of TUDC in December 1919. He was born
in 1890 at Tonbridge. In 1911 he was working as a fitter at “Explosive
Works” – Powder Mills presumably – and living with his parents at 2,
Alexandra Road, Tonbridge. The following year, on 3rd August 1912, he
married Alice Kerwin at Tonbridge Wesleyan Chapel. He died on 20th February
1964 at Tonbridge. He also served as a fireman.
William Clarke of "Sunnyside" Hildenborough, Tonbridge
served from September 1916 and was still serving in 1919. He volunteered for
Red Cross Society and served here and occasionally in France. He was a
Section Leader & Ambulance Orderly from August 1915, leaving his role as a
fireman. He was part time achieving 2000 hours, and was presented with his
medal by the chairman of TUDC.
Alfred Edmund Cornell of Woodfield Road, Tonbridge served
from October 1914 and was still serving in 1919. He was an Ambulance driver
& care of same and orderly part time, achieving 10,200 hrs and Corporal in
Field Ambulance Transport R.A.S.E M.T. Kent 51. He was born at Tonbridge in
1882 and died at Tonbridge in 1943. He worked as a watchmaker in the family
business run by his father, Alfred Cornell.
Aaron Foster of 168 Vale Roa Tonbridge served from July
1015 and was still serving in 1919 as an ambulance orderly part time,
achieving 1000 hrs in Kent 51. He was born, a son of Thomas and Harriet
Foster, in Tonbridge in 1895. In 1911, he was employed as a stable boy at a
Preparatory School in Sevenoaks. He enlisted as Private 1049 in the Royal
West Kent Regiment on 3rd September 1914 and served at various times with
the 3rd, 9th, and 7th Battalions. He was discharged with the rank of Lance
Corporal as medically unfit, suffering from hepatitis incurred as a result
of active service, on 11th October 1916.
David Llewellyn Francis of Green Trees, Hadlow, near
Tonbridge, Kent joined age 41 as a driver of a motor ambulance serving in
Boulogne from March 1915 until September 1915. In 1911, he was a widower
living with his mother, Mary Eliza, and step-father, Robert Laidlaw, at
Warren House, Hayes, Kent. He had previously worked as a tea planter in
India, but by 1915 he was living at Hadlow and working as a farmer at
Goblands Farm. He died on 16th May 1931 at Green Trees, Tonbridge.
Henry George Gabriel served with the Red Cross – no Red
Cross cards found – but his Medal Index Card shows that he landed in France
on 23rd September 1914. He was awarded the 1914 Star for his work with the
Red Cross in France. He was born in 1879 at Tonbridge and was a bricklayer
by trade. He later served as a Sapper in France – details
here. He also served at some point with the Tonbridge fire
service
Herbert Cecil Groves of 98 Hadlow Road, Tonbridge joined as
a clerk age 26 on 26th January 1917, serving until 29th March 1919 at Netley
Red Cross Hospital. He was born in 1891 at East Peckham, a son of Herbert
William and Emily [Stevens] Groves. In 1911, he was living with his parents
and younger brother at High Street, Hadlow and employed as an apprentice
printer. He died on 16th September 1960 at Tonbridge.
Herbert George Gunner of 97 High Street, Tonbridge joined
age 36 years on 22/01/1917 to 10/02/1919 as a Stores Clerk, serving at
B.R.C. Hospital, Netley, and then B.R.C Stores, in charge of store Pall
Mall, from 20th August 1917 until demobilisation. He was born in 1882 at
Tonbridge, a son of George Turk Gunner and his wife, Frances Sarah Weller.
In 1911, he was living at 97 -101, High Street, Tonbridge, with his wife,
Edith May [Robertson], and their son. He was the manager and buyer of the
well-known Gunner’s general drapery shop at that address. He died in 1972 at
Tonbridge.
Frederick George Hosier of Lavender Hill Tonbridge joined
the Red Cross on 25th October 1914 when he was 42. He served until 23rd July
1915 as an orderly in France leaving his occupation as a fireman. He was
born at Uxbridge, Middlesex in in 1870. He had previously lived at Penshurst
before moving to Tonbridge at some point in the 1890s. Before the war he
worked as a plumber in the employ of the Railway. He married Ada Wilkinson
in June 1895 at March, Cambridgeshire. He died on 1st July 1952 at East
Grinstead Hospital.
Albert Humphrey of High Street, Hadlow joined age 20
Boulogne S.S.A.7 as a Driver from 22/10/1916 serving until 27th February
1917. He was born in 1898 at Hadlow, a son of Henry and Sarah Jane Humphrey.
In 1911 the family were living at High Street, Hadlow, and Albert was still
at school. He seems to have served initially with the A.S.C. before seeing
service with the Red Cross. His Medal Card gives his rank as Private and his
Army number as: S4/094837.
William Ingrams ofShipbourne Rd, Hildenborough, Kent joined
the Red Cross age 22 as a fireman on 23rd September 1914 and served in
France until 10th February 1919 He was born in 1892 at Hildenborough, a son
of Louis and Henrietta [Card] Ingrams. In 1911, he was living with his
parents at Shipbourne Road and working alongside his father as a cricket
ball maker.
Henry James Martin of 6 Castle View, The Slade, Tonbridge
was age 43 when he joined the Red Cross having served as a fireman at
Tonbridge. He joined on 23rd October 1914 and served as in France until 23rd
July 1915 as an ambulance orderly. He was born at Wateringbury, Kent in
1869, the son of Henry and Caroline [May] Martin. He, his wife Ellen, and
two daughters were living at 6, The Slade in 1911, and Henry was employed as
a carter by Tonbridge Urban District Council; he had previously worked as a
brewer’s drayman.
Thomas Russell of Waterloo Place, Tonbridge served from
October 1914 and was still serving in 1919 as an orderly part time achieving
1000 hrs in Kent 51 having served as a fireman. He was possibly the Thomas
Arthur Russell, born 1870 at Tonbridge, who in 1911 was living with his wife
Ellen and two children at 25, Woodside Road, Tonbridge, and employed as a
carpenter in the building trade.
William C. F. Waghorn of Avebury Avenue Tonbridge served
from October 1914 and was still serving in 1919 as an orderly as part time
achieving 1000 hrs as Private in Field Ambulance Transport RAMC MT (X). He
was born in Tonbridge in 1878 and in 1911 he was living with his wife,
Lillian Melissa [Golding] and their daughter at 3, Avebury Avenue. William’s
occupation was a smith & farrier, as well as a fireman.