Lady Pagett info sought

[ForeignGong]

Hi. I am researching some Estonian medal recipients & I have been in touch with the Estonian Red Cross & they have given me the following, the Estonian Red Cross took over the Lady Pagett's Mission Hospitals in Petseri, Irboska & Panikovitsch on 23 Feb 1922. But the Mission continued its activity in Tallinn. Lady Pagett & Two Doctors were awarded Estonian Orders of the Red Cross on 30 Mar 1922 & Lady Pagett was given 6 medals to distribute as she felt deserving. My question is how do I now find out who the "deserving" were. As I have seen Dorothy's medal group I can almost say I know 1 of them but who were the remaining 5?????? If anyone can help in any way I would be very appreciative.

[norwood]

Not sure if you have seen this ..............

Norwood

[ForeignGong]

Many thanks Norwood I had not seen that site, very interesting. Muriel was Lady Pagett's daughter, what I need is the names of the 6 DESERVING names of the Red Cross Medal that she was given to hand out. I am hoping some one can point me in the direction of a book or papers Lady Pagett had that will name the 6.

[Sue Light]

I'm very confused over this. I realise that the situation is made very complicated by there being two Lady Pagets involved in Eastern Europe during the Great War. I genuinely, and ?mistakenly thought that Lady Paget who organised the Anglo-Russian Hospital, and I think is being referred to above, was Lady Muriel Evelyn Vernon Paget, wife of Richard Paget, Baron Cranmore. This couple didn't have a daughter called Muriel.

Lady Paget who was active in Serbia earlier in the war was, I think, Louise Margaret Leila Wemyss, who married Sir Ralph Spencer Paget but didn't have any children - I think she was more commonly known as Leila.

So which Lady Paget is the subject here, and who is Dorothy? Sorry if I'm being very dim!

Sue

[Kate Wills]

ForeighGong,

Are you sure of the spelling? One t or two?

[James A Pratt III]

There is a book on her "Lady Murial Paget,Her Husband and her Philantarpic work in Central and Eastern Europe" Wilfred Blunt. There is also another book "The Forgoten Hospital" Michael Harmer. I found some information on her on the net when I google searched "THe Forgoten Hospital" It seems she supported a home for old Briton living in leningrad until 1938 when they were run out to one of the Baltic states. I lost my notes on it and can't find the site again. I hope this is of some use.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

ForeignGong,

Back in December 2011, I started a Thread on WW1 Military Motors ( which is still going strong today ), and one of the Military Motors featured was A Motor Ambulance, one of several donated by Lady Paget, wife of the British Minister to Serbia.

Here is the illustrated card and the text of that card :-

Will's WW1 Military Motors - Card No.50 - Motor Ambulance.

" Through the splendid efforts of Lady Paget, wife of the British Minister to Serbia, a hospital was organised at Uskub, Serbia. Motor Ambulances, subscribed for and presented to her by her friends in England, were sent to assist in affording some measure of relief to the stricken Serbians. When Uskub was captured by the Bulgarians, Lady Paget and her noble band of heroic English nurses remained at their posts, refusing to seek safety in flight ".

Also in that Thread, and again in relation to the Motor Ambulances donated by Lady Paget, I posted an article and photograph of Lady Paget, as follows :-

Lady Paget - reference card No.50

" Paget, Dame (Louise Margaret) Leila Wemyss (1881-1958), hospital administrator, was born at 3 Halkin Street West, Belgravia, London on 9 October 1881, the only daughter and second of four children of Sir Arthur Henry FitzRoy Paget (1851-1928), army officer, and his wife, Mary Fiske (Minnie) Stevens (d. 1919). Her father, a grandson of the first marquess of Anglesey, rose to be general-officer-commanding the forces in Ireland (1911-17); as such, he sparked the Curragh 'mutiny' of 1914. Her American mother cut a figure in London society. They were friends of King Edward VII.

Educated by governesses, Leila became a debutante, yet an air of diffidence seemed to preclude her absorption into the smart set. On 28 October 1907 she wed her third cousin once removed, Ralph Spencer Paget (1864-1940), a diplomat who was then British minister in Bangkok. His KCMG in 1909 made her Lady Paget. She delighted in Siam, found Bavaria dull (1909-10), and encouraged her husband to accept a transfer to Serbia in July 1910.

Befriended by Mabel Grujic, American wife of the Serbian under-secretary for foreign affairs, Lady Paget volunteered to assist in the management of a military hospital in Belgrade during the First Balkan War (October 1912-May 1913). This experience had a profound effect on her; she worked so hard that her health gave way (temporarily) when the crisis was over. The Pagets returned to London, where Sir Ralph became an assistant under-secretary for foreign affairs in August 1913. Artists and musicians were often invited to their home at 32 York Terrace, Regent's Park.

The outbreak of the First World War found Lady Paget on holiday in California, but she hastily came back and immersed herself in the lord mayor's Serbian Relief Fund (SRF), which took premises in Cromwell Road, South Kensington, and purchased equipment for a war hospital. On 29 October 1914, the first SRF unit (of four doctors and sixteen nurses) sailed from Southampton, with Leila Paget in charge. They were making for northern Serbia, near the front line, but, on reaching Skoplje (modern Skopje, then still known to some by its Turkish name of Uskub) on 17 November, the SRF was invited by the Serbian Red Cross to take over the third reserve hospital in the town (a converted secondary school with 330 beds). When the first 180 casualties arrived on 22 November, nurses perceived that Serbian standards of care resembled those found by Florence Nightingale in Turkey six decades before. Lady Paget as 'head SRF Skoplje' displayed dedication and leadership of a similar order. A slender, elegant young woman, she took on the most unpleasant tasks and never asked anyone to do what she would not do herself. Dysentery, sepsis, and gangrene were rife; the water supply proved unreliable; half the staff were usually off sick. Nevertheless the SRF hospital looked after not only Serbian wounded but also Austro-Hungarian prisoners.

In February 1915 a typhus epidemic hit Skoplje. As the Serbian authorities did not seem to realize its seriousness, Lady Paget took the initiative in setting up an isolation hospital outside the town. She contracted typhus herself on 8 March and appeared near to death when Ralph Paget arrived as chief commissioner of British relief units in Serbia (which included the Red Cross and Scottish Women's Hospitals as well as the SRF). She recovered, however, and the advent of a second SRF unit at Skoplje allowed her to go to England in May 1915 for recuperation. Hailed as a heroine, she received the grand cordon of the order of St Sava from King Peter I of Serbia and a street in Belgrade was named Ledi Pazet ulica.

When Lady Paget resumed her duties in Macedonia in July 1915 the Balkan front was quiet, but all that changed when Austria-Hungary relaunched its invasion of Serbia in October and Bulgaria joined the central powers. Skoplje lay open to Bulgarian attack and Lady Paget appealed in vain for Anglo-French intervention. Instructed by her husband to evacuate the town, she judged the transport to be hopelessly inadequate for hundreds of gravely wounded men, so the SRF units decided to remain with their patients and be taken prisoner. The Bulgarians captured Skoplje on 22 October. Having nursed Bulgarians in the First Balkan War (and been received by Queen Eleanore of Bulgaria), Lady Paget seemed unafraid. Though shortages of food and fuel caused severe privation, she managed to keep the hospital open and to administer relief to thousands of refugees, while evading Bulgarian attempts to pressurize her into attesting to alleged Serbian atrocities. Her determination to supply humanitarian aid to all in need, wholly regardless of nationality, impressed the Bulgarians so much that they helped her ward off German plans to commandeer the hospital and intern the British staff, who did not leave until 17 February 1916, by which time Serbia had been overrun. The International Red Cross arranged their repatriation via Sofia, Bucharest, and Petrograd.

Lady Paget reached England on 3 April 1916. Despite disapproval in 'jingo' circles of her co-operation with the Bulgarians, the king appointed her GBE in August 1917. Dame Leila Paget resided in Copenhagen (1916-18) and Rio de Janeiro (1919-20) during her husband's final postings. The couple, who had no children, then retired to Sittingbourne, Kent, before moving in 1929 to Warren House, her late father's mansion at Kingston Hill, Surrey. She had it turned into a convalescent home during the Second World War. She died at her final home, Soames House, Coombe Hill Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, on 24 September 1958."

If this is your Lady paget, then I hope it helps with your project.

Regards,

LF

[dink_and_pip]

Try this link

http://www.tlemea.com/waw.asp?view=norm&MaxFiles=10&autoTermWeight=yes&fuzzy=Yes&fuzziness=1&cmd=search&zoom=default&iquality=10&docid=&section=All&request=%28SUBTITLE+contains%28Decorations%29%29

Item 31 photo of Lady Muriel Paget

Part of IWM women at war collection

[Guest Tihi]

What a beautiful article! Have just been reading a book about the Belgrade street's names histories, and was intrigued by an article about the Lady Paget, wanting to learn more. And voila.

Thoroughly written and with affection this person deserves. Thank you!

Registered in order to send feedback.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

What a beautiful article! Have just been reading a book about the Belgrade street's names histories, and was intrigued by an article about the Lady Paget, wanting to learn more. And voila.

Thoroughly written and with affection this person deserves. Thank you!

Registered in order to send feedback.

Tihi,

Welcome to the Forum, Lady Paget appears to have been an exceptional and very interesting person.

Regards,

LF

[Terry Davis]

I lived in the house that Ralf Paget and Lady Paged lived in Kent. I have a piece of a packing case marked “Lady Paget 32 York Terrace” in a frame. 

[Terry Davis]

On 02/04/2013 at 16:39, Sue Light said:

I'm very confused over this. I realise that the situation is made very complicated by there being two Lady Pagets involved in Eastern Europe during the Great War. I genuinely, and ?mistakenly thought that Lady Paget who organised the Anglo-Russian Hospital, and I think is being referred to above, was Lady Muriel Evelyn Vernon Paget, wife of Richard Paget, Baron Cranmore. This couple didn't have a daughter called Muriel.

Lady Paget who was active in Serbia earlier in the war was, I think, Louise Margaret Leila Wemyss, who married Sir Ralph Spencer Paget but didn't have any children - I think she was more commonly known as Leila.

So which Lady Paget is the subject here, and who is Dorothy? Sorry if I'm being very dim!

Sue

That was the one. Lady Paget (one T) was married to Sir Ralf Paget and lived in Kent around 1923ish. I lived in the same house asRslf Paget, Lsdy zpaget lived next door. Lots of local rumors why. 

[Terry Davis]

On 23/04/2013 at 02:54, Lancashire Fusilier said:

ForeignGong,

Back in December 2011, I started a Thread on WW1 Military Motors ( which is still going strong today ), and one of the Military Motors featured was A Motor Ambulance, one of several donated by Lady Paget, wife of the British Minister to Serbia.

Here is the illustrated card and the text of that card :-

Will's WW1 Military Motors - Card No.50 - Motor Ambulance.

" Through the splendid efforts of Lady Paget, wife of the British Minister to Serbia, a hospital was organised at Uskub, Serbia. Motor Ambulances, subscribed for and presented to her by her friends in England, were sent to assist in affording some measure of relief to the stricken Serbians. When Uskub was captured by the Bulgarians, Lady Paget and her noble band of heroic English nurses remained at their posts, refusing to seek safety in flight ".

Also in that Thread, and again in relation to the Motor Ambulances donated by Lady Paget, I posted an article and photograph of Lady Paget, as follows :-

Lady Paget - reference card No.50

" Paget, Dame (Louise Margaret) Leila Wemyss (1881-1958), hospital administrator, was born at 3 Halkin Street West, Belgravia, London on 9 October 1881, the only daughter and second of four children of Sir Arthur Henry FitzRoy Paget (1851-1928), army officer, and his wife, Mary Fiske (Minnie) Stevens (d. 1919). Her father, a grandson of the first marquess of Anglesey, rose to be general-officer-commanding the forces in Ireland (1911-17); as such, he sparked the Curragh 'mutiny' of 1914. Her American mother cut a figure in London society. They were friends of King Edward VII.

Educated by governesses, Leila became a debutante, yet an air of diffidence seemed to preclude her absorption into the smart set. On 28 October 1907 she wed her third cousin once removed, Ralph Spencer Paget (1864-1940), a diplomat who was then British minister in Bangkok. His KCMG in 1909 made her Lady Paget. She delighted in Siam, found Bavaria dull (1909-10), and encouraged her husband to accept a transfer to Serbia in July 1910.

Befriended by Mabel Grujic, American wife of the Serbian under-secretary for foreign affairs, Lady Paget volunteered to assist in the management of a military hospital in Belgrade during the First Balkan War (October 1912-May 1913). This experience had a profound effect on her; she worked so hard that her health gave way (temporarily) when the crisis was over. The Pagets returned to London, where Sir Ralph became an assistant under-secretary for foreign affairs in August 1913. Artists and musicians were often invited to their home at 32 York Terrace, Regent's Park.

The outbreak of the First World War found Lady Paget on holiday in California, but she hastily came back and immersed herself in the lord mayor's Serbian Relief Fund (SRF), which took premises in Cromwell Road, South Kensington, and purchased equipment for a war hospital. On 29 October 1914, the first SRF unit (of four doctors and sixteen nurses) sailed from Southampton, with Leila Paget in charge. They were making for northern Serbia, near the front line, but, on reaching Skoplje (modern Skopje, then still known to some by its Turkish name of Uskub) on 17 November, the SRF was invited by the Serbian Red Cross to take over the third reserve hospital in the town (a converted secondary school with 330 beds). When the first 180 casualties arrived on 22 November, nurses perceived that Serbian standards of care resembled those found by Florence Nightingale in Turkey six decades before. Lady Paget as 'head SRF Skoplje' displayed dedication and leadership of a similar order. A slender, elegant young woman, she took on the most unpleasant tasks and never asked anyone to do what she would not do herself. Dysentery, sepsis, and gangrene were rife; the water supply proved unreliable; half the staff were usually off sick. Nevertheless the SRF hospital looked after not only Serbian wounded but also Austro-Hungarian prisoners.

In February 1915 a typhus epidemic hit Skoplje. As the Serbian authorities did not seem to realize its seriousness, Lady Paget took the initiative in setting up an isolation hospital outside the town. She contracted typhus herself on 8 March and appeared near to death when Ralph Paget arrived as chief commissioner of British relief units in Serbia (which included the Red Cross and Scottish Women's Hospitals as well as the SRF). She recovered, however, and the advent of a second SRF unit at Skoplje allowed her to go to England in May 1915 for recuperation. Hailed as a heroine, she received the grand cordon of the order of St Sava from King Peter I of Serbia and a street in Belgrade was named Ledi Pazet ulica.

When Lady Paget resumed her duties in Macedonia in July 1915 the Balkan front was quiet, but all that changed when Austria-Hungary relaunched its invasion of Serbia in October and Bulgaria joined the central powers. Skoplje lay open to Bulgarian attack and Lady Paget appealed in vain for Anglo-French intervention. Instructed by her husband to evacuate the town, she judged the transport to be hopelessly inadequate for hundreds of gravely wounded men, so the SRF units decided to remain with their patients and be taken prisoner. The Bulgarians captured Skoplje on 22 October. Having nursed Bulgarians in the First Balkan War (and been received by Queen Eleanore of Bulgaria), Lady Paget seemed unafraid. Though shortages of food and fuel caused severe privation, she managed to keep the hospital open and to administer relief to thousands of refugees, while evading Bulgarian attempts to pressurize her into attesting to alleged Serbian atrocities. Her determination to supply humanitarian aid to all in need, wholly regardless of nationality, impressed the Bulgarians so much that they helped her ward off German plans to commandeer the hospital and intern the British staff, who did not leave until 17 February 1916, by which time Serbia had been overrun. The International Red Cross arranged their repatriation via Sofia, Bucharest, and Petrograd.

Lady Paget reached England on 3 April 1916. Despite disapproval in 'jingo' circles of her co-operation with the Bulgarians, the king appointed her GBE in August 1917. Dame Leila Paget resided in Copenhagen (1916-18) and Rio de Janeiro (1919-20) during her husband's final postings. The couple, who had no children, then retired to Sittingbourne, Kent, before moving in 1929 to Warren House, her late father's mansion at Kingston Hill, Surrey. She had it turned into a convalescent home during the Second World War. She died at her final home, Soames House, Coombe Hill Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, on 24 September 1958."

If this is your Lady paget, then I hope it helps with your project.

Regards,

LF

 

When they moved to Sittingbourne it was to Pett Farm, Pett Road Stockbury ME9 7RJ I own Pett Farm but sold the house they lived in now known as Norton Green House.

Norton Green House is on the site of a house which is shown on the tithe map of 1840.  The tithe apportionment shows that the earlier house was owned by Elizabeth Sneller and occupied by James and John Bing who are shown as occupiers of a large amount of the surrounding area known as Pett Farm.  By the 1880s the Bings are recorded as farming over 270 acres.  The 1905 apportionment and title deeds show that the farmhouse and the land were owned and occupied by the Goodhews (William owner, Ashley and George occupiers).   The Goodhews retained ownership for at least the next 10 years.

      Captain Arthur Paget and Lady Paget bought Pett Farm in 1921 and lived there with Lady Paget’s husband Sir Ralph.* In the early 1920s the old farmhouse was pulled down and a new house was built in its place whilst the big oast house nearby was converted into an imposing dwelling..  Surprisingly, in 1927 the whole Pett/Norton Green Estate of 286 acres was put up for auction by Captain Arthur Paget and Lady Paget. Then in 1928 the whole Estate was sold in several lots. The auction catalogue stated ‘very low reserves to ensure a sale’, and described Norton Green House as ‘a modern labour saving residence built of red brick and having central heating and electric lighting (from an on-site generator).  More than 15 rooms were listed including 4 principal bedrooms, 2 servant’s bedrooms and a servant’s hall. Outside were garages for 3 cars and stabling for 6 horses. 

I have copies of the auction documents somewhere.

[tullybrone]

3 hours ago, Terry Davis said:

That was the one. Lady Paget (one T) was married to Sir Ralf Paget and lived in Kent around 1923ish. I lived in the same house asRslf Paget, Lsdy zpaget lived next door. Lots of local rumors why. 

 

Hi,

 

Welcome me to the forum.

 

Sadly Sue Light will not be able to respond to your post as she passed away a couple of years ago.

 

Steve

[Terry Davis]

22 hours ago, tullybrone said:

 

Hi,

 

Welcome me to the forum.

 

Sadly Sue Light will not be able to respond to your post as she passed away a couple of years ago.

 

Steve

Sorry to hear that Steve.

 

Regards Terry

[MartinWills]

Still trying to work out who Dorothy might be ..... has anyone worked that one out?

[seaJane]

I can't find a Dorothy Pagett, and the Dorothy Paget I can find was born 1905, but I am just wondering if Dorothy Gertrude Nicholls (thread qv) has got stirred into the mix somehow.

[Dever Mayfly]

One of the nurses might have been Mrs Violet Froom.  Early in the Great War, two British hospitals were established in St Petersburg/Petrograd; one by Lady Sybil Grey and the other by Lady Muriel Paget.  After the Bolshevik revolution, these were closed and most of the British medical staff returned home, but Mrs Froom remained as a matron looking after British invalids and prisoners.   According to Harry Cuffright in Volume III of the Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Committee to Collect Information On Russia, Mrs Froom acted as "Ambassador, parson and everything combined".   Another possible source is Meriel Buchanan's memoir Ambassador's Daughter; she was a nurse in one of the British hospitals but I am uncertain whether she went on to Estonia or not.  

[Miggs]

Hi, I came across these postings while doing a Google search.

i have in my possession a variety of photos which belonged to Nurse Dorothy Nicholls who I understand worked with Ladt Paget in Russia. I also have letters  and post cards that Dorothy wrote home to her family. They refer to the civil war and the Bolshiviks. There are also scrap books which belonged to her father Doctor Lucian Nicholls.

These items were bought by my late father in the early 1980s in Waltham Abbey on the borders of Hertfordshire and Essex.

i believe the letters are of importance as they throw light on first hand evidence of the fighting and damage to the palace. There is also visual evidence of the daughters of the Tzar along with Lady Paget and her nurses on the grand staircase in the palace. These files cost my father a considerable amount of money but he was a passionate about conservator of the past. I am considering auctioning them as I feel they belong in a museum where they will continue to be conserved.

[Miggs]

PS re above posting it is Lady Muriel Paget from London and Dorothy Nicholls from Fulbourne Cambridge.

[ForeignGong]

10 hours ago, Miggs said:

PS re above posting it is Lady Muriel Paget from London and Dorothy Nicholls from Fulbourne Cambridge.

Hi Miggs

I answered your other post and this is where and when she past away

Died 2nd Aug 1980, retired Matron Cambridge Hospital. Was living at St Osyth, 18 High St Fulbourn.

 

Peter