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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Information to share on South African nurses


Kathie

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I recently started working on twenty women whose names appear on a plaque in the Johannesburg Cathedral. As always, I am most grateful to those -esp Sue Light - who so patiently and generously have shared information with me.

I now have bits and pieces to share with others. Unfortunately I dont yet know how to put on the Forum but anyway it is info which I should just email.

I will happily share all information . I dont ask why you want it nor do I suggest that I have copyright in photos I have taken. I'm happy just to share.

Constance Addison - was at St Annes (posh public school) which I will be visiting. Her two brothers were at Hilton (also posh public school) and both were killed in France. I have photos of one. See CWGC re both. I have some family information. As yet I havent discovered why she was in the UK or where she was working.

Dorah Bernstein - from Johannesburg, nursed GSWA, Salonika, Gallipoli, Egypt, France and UK. I have obituary from Star newspaper and am waiting for scans from SA Pictorial. Which also has a photo of her. I will be visiting her home in Jhb and take photo of that. Have no info why or how she was serving Salonika etc. she was on hospital ship ebani.

Kaloolah Beaufort - have photo of her grave - name is Monica Gertrude Alice. Parents home seems to have been demolished - I went to visit. Cannot find school she attended but have all Cape Town schools working on it. No photo.

Eleanor Black - have two photos - her father was a Randlord - member same club as I ( I am not a Randlord) - have photo of great house lived in and have some information on family tree. Have Johanensburg schools hunting for informaton but doubt will be successful. From the Bracken to Wrensch letter in SA Military which has been on this forum I traced Wrensch to St Cyprians school in cape Town -she trained Roberts Heights so probably did Black and I am following up.

Edith Baker - have not yet been to Durban/Pietermaritzburg.

Dorothea Bolus - family home been subdivided but I took a photo which has come out very very badly. Have photo of face. Also some information about family. Her nephew seems to have been a member of this Forum and shared information re her funeral.

Interestingly, in the Cape Town archives there are no estate papers for Bolus or Beaufort. Unusual becuase even penurious soldiers have papers.

Grace Bompas - have family tree, photo of street named after architect/townplanner brother and have not yet contacted family members (there are many) for photos. No school records yet found. Also no estate papers.

Gertrude Dunn - her estate papers in Cape Town show born in Sunderland, aged 47, in will left evertying to sister Maud Ryan living in East London and her mother Eliza Dunn also in East London. So CWGC reference to Gertrude being daughter of late Mrs Dunn of Thorganby, Yorks is bit of a red herring - unless years later Mrs Dunn went there. The Ryans are all oveer the Eastern Cape where I have holiday house and I am following up. Will is pathetic - in terms of leaving to family members so very little. Have some photos.

Constance Edmeades comes from veery successful entrepreneurial family in OUdtshoorn - ostrich boom, land, irrigation etc. Her father built grand house, funded local hospital etc etc. I am visiting her in POtchefstroom tomorrow. Her estate papers reveal nothing - not even estate. Surprising becuase of family wealth. Will be in Oudtshoorn this week for two days and taking photos of home, hospital, church etc etc. Do not yet have her photo - but do of her aunt who was first matron of said hospital in OUdsthoorn - sadly aunts papers in cape Town show she died in mental hospital.

Marguerite Erskine - cannot find at all except buried in devon. But Red Cross have a Mary Erskine who trained at Somerset Hospital. Am waiting for information from them. she was in Boer War. am off tomorrow to Kimberley and to Africana LIbrary who have lots of Boer war info.

Elizabeth edgar of Glenart Casstgle - can find nothing. But there seems to be an Edgar who was in Cambridge during the war - found this in either Kew archives or IWM. But SA connection totally escapes me.

Elizabeth Freun is actually Elizabeth Freund - and from being totally unknown I have found an entire book about her written by her niece. Niece may be cousin of a colleague of mine - am following up - but book has entire family, letters, photos etc. I have photocopied entire book - not very satisfactory - would have scanned but the staff at library have to do it - so will have it done when I can stand and wait for hours. She is in France - lots of phtoos.

Daisy Fitzhenry comes from Eastern Cape. I am setting off on round the "binneland" tour - including to Jansenville where her family farmed. Will ahve photo of family graves and farm. Trying to find photo of Daisy. she may have gone to school where I know the teacher (who is greatniece of four soldiers from the first memorial I ever researched). No estate papers but family was not wealthy.

Jessie Hockey - Sue Light been very informative. I am visiting Hockey home in ten days - in back of mountains covered with snow this time of year. Have her estate papers and information about her parents. I am visiting old lady in Queenstown retirement home who is widow of her nephew. May have photo.

Susanna Hearns - have just taken photo in cape Town of grave. Also from Eastern Cape (we are a hardy, pioneering lot) and will be visiting her old home in ten days. Still hunting family and photos. Her will leaves everyting to niece and years later permission was sought for this bequest to be used to send niece to attend a business course at convent in Natal. Have photos. Interestingly, Susanna had a fiance - Lt Joseph White MC of 1st Australian Squadron. He signed death papers.

Annie Munro - from Natal. Estate papers not yet perused. No photos. Her brother (on CWGC) killed.

Isabelle MacDonald - cannot find SA connection - except sister was living in Johannesburg and her name was Quail and there is a local councillor named Quail so am following up. Cannot find age, where trained, etc etc. Simply what was in BNJ about being in India and then sent to France. Have friend will villa nearby who is going to take photos of grave - I hope, perhaps, maybe. Otherwise can find nothing. No estate papers, no school records, no obvious family connection (except sister). Perhaps came out for Boer war. But she is not on medal register for that war or in angloboerwar.com.

Pauline Paff was lost but now is found. Cape Times has death notice from parents. Father Paul was head of telegraphy for Boers in that war. I cannot find her burial anywhere but am hunting. She nrused at Tempe in Bloemfontein. Trying to chase up remnants of Paff family.

Ida Wardle also had family in Eastern Cape - the Rileys of East London. I have her miniscule estate papers. NO photo but am chasing down the Rileys. Will be there in ten days. Have found a brother killed in war - see CWGC. Photos of her grave.

Julia Watkins - estate papers revealed a Dr Watkins was informed etc etc. He turns out to have been significant at Kimberley HOsptial during Boer War - wrote many articles SAMJ and BMJ and then became MP for Barkly in first parliament after Union. And he voted against taking away all land from 'natives'- see Sol Plaatje book. Her aunt, Mary Hirst Watkins - founded midwifery college in Kimberley. Am off to Kimberley tomorrow - St Cyprians cathedral has a plaque to said aunt along with sister Henrietta Stockdale. Then on to Hospital in Kimberley - where Daisy Fitzhenry trained. Will spend Monday in Africana Library. Perhaps come up with photos. Photo of her grave.

So far most of nurses do not have estate papers in SA archives - this makes it difficult to hunt down relatives for records and photos. Those who do have estate papers - nothing in estates. Unlike soldiers no insurance policies.

Two nurses not on the Cathedral Memorial - Hilda Maud Bettles. I have found her family - she was born Arnott. Foudn photo of her grave which showed this. She was born in Queenstown - where I will be in ten days - and there are still many aRtnotts to be visited. Husband - Lt J Bettles - remarried after war and lived and died in Transvaal. I am hoping he kept photo of Hilda Maud - but havent yet found any children of his second marriage. CWGC - "of Durban" is a bit misleading - perhaps she worked there a while - I am checking. There is also a VAD called Flanagan - will visit her grave on East Rand sometime.

So have been to Cape Town and can offer those photos. Tomorrow Potchefstroom, then Kimberley, Oudtshoorn, Jansenville, Port Elizabeth, Queenstown, Cala. I think I will not get to East London this trip.

Email me - ksatchwell@justice.gov.za and I will send whatever anyone wants. I have already sent to the very helpful Tony .

Kathie

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Kathie, I am researching all WW1 serving female casualties (2000+ of them) which includes the ones that you are researching. I believe that it is you that wants a couple of photographs that I am trying to get to Tony.

Constance Addison - I understand that she had resigned from the SAMNS in 1917, travelled to the UK and joined as a VAD in April 1918. She was returning to comfort the family following the death of her brothers when her boat was sunk.

Kaloola Beaufort - The 1911 UK census finds Monica Beaufort at school at Gunnersburg Lodge, Ealing, Middlesex.

Marguerite Erskine - Member of Imp. S.A. T.B. Voluntary Aid Detachment attached to the British Red Cross Society. Died of septic pneumonia. Her death as Marguerite M.E. Erskine was registered in the fourth quarter 1918 in the Richmond (Surrey, England) registration district. She is shown as aged 39.

Elizabeth Edgar - She gave her next of kin as her brother, Edward Edgar of P.O. Box 238, Pietermaritzburg, Natal. It is possible that he put her name forward to be commemorated. Of Scottish descent.

Isabelle MacDonald - the South African connection is that she was trained at the Natal Government Hospital, Durban, South Africa. She was actually from Strathpeffer, Scotland. Her sister was Mrs Quail of 'Leamcote', 149 Becher Street, Johannesburg, South Africa. Perhaps she had emigrated with her sister. I actually have this women's medals which came to me from South Africa via Canada.

Pauline Paff - buried in an unmarked grave in Johannesburg (Brixton) Cemetery; English Church Section; plot 2869

I hope that this helps. I trust that you are aware of Ralph McLean, his team and his project to record and photograph every grave relating to South Africans (South African War Grave Project). He is on this Forum and facebook and has many photographs of graves. Both he and I are after a photograph of the grave of Hilda Bettle.

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Gunnersburg is almost certainly a mistranscription of Gunnersbury, among other things the station north of Kew Gardens station, and a park in Ealing

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Gunnersburg is almost certainly a mistranscription of Gunnersbury, among other things the station north of Kew Gardens station, and a park in Ealing

Ooops, thats a census transcription error that I hadn't noticed. Thank you.

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I assume you know Kaloolah Beaufort is on the memorial at Victoria Falls in Zambia? Was answering another thread on this and just spotted her name among my pix

post-15158-0-81868600-1309864382.jpg

cheers Martin B

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This appeared in the Buluwayo Chronicle of 1st November 1918:

'It was with much regret that news was received on Tuesday last of the death of Miss Monica (Kalloolah) Beaufort, the younger daughter of our late Judge and Mrs Beaufort, which took place at Wynberg, where she had been a nurse for some time in the Military Hospitals.'

She also served in Maitland Hospital.

Aled

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  • 2 weeks later...

Jim

You seem to have done a lot of work on all these nurses. I have quite a lot of bits and pieces. Would you like me to email you and you can see what you would like. I am currently in the middle of a three week round trip visiting sites which have info on the nurses. Came up with all sorts of odd bits and pieces. eg Constance Edmeades - a SA author Pauline Smith wrote quite a bit about her in her published diaries - now I have to find a copy. And quite a few photos - Bolus, Black, Bernstein. I dont know if you are interested in the history of the towns they grew up in etc - I am just filling out with everyting I can find.

email me

Kathie

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Jim,

re Hilda Bettles. I found a photo of her grave on a site - which I now cannot remember - "graves forever" or something like that - with the information on the stone that she was Hilda Maude etc etc "nee Sister Arnott" - that was a great help because with the family name Arnott I have found she was born in Queenstown, I have found her entry in the Kimberley Hospital nurses register as Hilda Arnott. Dont know why the gravestone and hence the CWGC says "of Durban" but will hunt. Am off to Queenstown next week where there are many Arnotts and hope to find a photo. Husband remarried and lived in the Orange Free State - so am hunting up that family for a photo.

Kathie

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Jim,

re Hilda Bettles. I found a photo of her grave on a site - which I now cannot remember - "graves forever" or something like that - with the information on the stone that she was Hilda Maude etc etc "nee Sister Arnott" - that was a great help because with the family name Arnott I have found she was born in Queenstown, I have found her entry in the Kimberley Hospital nurses register as Hilda Arnott. Dont know why the gravestone and hence the CWGC says "of Durban" but will hunt. Am off to Queenstown next week where there are many Arnotts and hope to find a photo. Husband remarried and lived in the Orange Free State - so am hunting up that family for a photo.

Kathie

Hello Kathie, Thank you for that information on Hilda Bettles. I had similar - I think from the CWGC site. I need her grave photograph from someone who can give me permission to use it (copyright and all that) but will track one down eventually. We have already conversed "My Lady" towards the end of last year when you kindly provided a photograph of the Johannesburg memorial. May I suggest that you go back to your post of earlier today and amend it with regards to your email address (with gaps or AT instead of the @) as there is a possibitity that a web trawler may find it and before you know it you are unwittingly marketing Viagra.

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  • 1 month later...

Just finding this thread now.

To say I'm intrigued is an understatement.

Jim has my listing but maybe I should email him again with my updated list.

Kathie if you email me at: ralph@southafricawargraves.org then I can do same.

One nurse who has given me years of grief doing research trying to find anything at all is:

Unknown Unknown UNKNOWN CEMETERY LEVY-STRAUSS M D L M DES L Nursing Sister South African Military Nursing Service attd. French unit 4-Aug-14 31-Aug-21 0 . From Natal ***Not yet accepted for War Grave Status by CWGC, need service file

She is listed in South African WW1 ROH, that is all I have.

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