Nurse Eva Graham Prior, Died 5 January 1918

[Malcolm12hl]

Nurse Eva Graham Prior worked at the Endell Street Military Hospital in Covent Garden and died there on 5 January 1918 aged 21 of Vincent's Angina (known in common parlance as trench mouth) contracted on nursing duty.  She was buried in St. Nicholas Churchyard, Thames Ditton four days later, and is listed on the village war memorial.  She appears on the typescript CWGC Graves Registration Report Form for St. Nicholas, but her entry is crossed out with the comment "Not a War Grave" written above it.  Thus she does not have a CWGC headstone and does not feature in the main CWGC database.  I would be very interested to know the likely grounds on which she was denied commemoration.  Was it perhaps because she was a civilian and not a member of a military nursing order?  It cannot simply have been because she did not serve overseas, as I have a great aunt who was in Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service who is commemorated despite the fact that she died in London without ever serving abroad.

[ss002d6252]

Some civilian organisations could qualify under specific rules - http://www.infromthecold.org/war_grave_criteria.asp

Presumably she was a VAD ?

Craig

[Jim Strawbridge]

She was not a VAD but an orderly at the hospital. If I recall correctly Endell Street was similar to the Scottish Women's Hospital in that it was staffed by suffragists. Not popular with the establishment and operated outside of the Joint War Committee this is probably why any deaths are outside of the CWGC remit. Out of interest I have visited the cemetery in Thames Ditton where Eva is buried and was unable to find her. If anyone does find her please let me know.

[Malcolm12hl]

The Graves Registration Report Form does show her as a V.A.D. and she received an obituary in the British Journal of Nursing the week after her death, but she might have appeared on the war memorial because of the local standing of her family (her father had been a distinguished solicitor and Master of the Supreme Court.  I understand that Endell Street was indeed staffed by suffragists, although I would be surprised if this caused a war graves classification problem after the war due to the passage of the Representation of the People Act.  I have not gone looking for Eva Prior's grave yet, but will do so - there is a grave reference number in the CWGC report which shows her to have been buried in the "New" St. Nicholas graveyard, which is separate from the Church and "Old" Graveyard and often overlooked by visitors.

 

Malcolm

[ForeignGong]

The BRCS Volunteers Transcript states

"Then at Endell Street Hospl.: London where she died of a septic throat caught while on duty."

If you have FMP try this as the British Red Cross site is down at the moment

 

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM/RED-CROSS/159530

 

Peter

[Malcolm12hl]

Thank you Peter - I have seen the FMP material, and have in fact collected quite a bit of information about this unfortunate young lady.  It is just the denial of War Grave status that I am trying to find an explanation for.

 

Malcolm

[Jim Strawbridge]

23 hours ago, Jim Strawbridge said:

She was not a VAD but an orderly at the hospital. If I recall correctly Endell Street was similar to the Scottish Women's Hospital in that it was staffed by suffragists. Not popular with the establishment and operated outside of the Joint War Committee this is probably why any deaths are outside of the CWGC remit. Out of interest I have visited the cemetery in Thames Ditton where Eva is buried and was unable to find her. If anyone does find her please let me know.

 

I am sorry if I misled anyone. The reason that I stated that she was not a VAD is because, a while ago, I searched the BRCS record cards and I could not find her there. I believe that the old criteria for VADs being commemorated was that they should have served overseas and died from a war related injury or disease. More recently the criteria has been relaxed and VADs can be commemorated if they had worked in a military hospital or a hospital subject to military rules.

Others working at Endell Street who died were orderly Mary Graham, nurse Gertrude McKay, orderly Gladys Morrison, commandant Flora Murray (1923 too late for commemoration), orderly Joan Palmes, Daisy Wadling (Women's Legion), path.lab. assistant Helen Wilkes and physician Louisa Woodcock. None of these are CWGC commemorated whereas a number of QMAAC who died there were.

[Malcolm12hl]

Jim

 

Thank you for the additional information.  Looking for Nurse Prior's grave is on my to-do list (I only live a few hundred yards from St. Nicholas churchyard), and I will post the outcome here just to complete the thread.

 

Malcolm

[Wendy Moore]

Sorry to arrive late at this thread. I'm writing a book about the Endell Street hospital so am very interested in further information on Eva Prior.  I've seen a copy of the BRCS card - as quoted above - and she's also mentioned in Flora Murray's book, Women as Army Surgeons (1921) p. 208: 'In January 1918, Miss Eva Prior passed away, dying of Vincent's Angina after a tragic fortyeight hours' illness. She was in the second year of her service, and loved by every one for her sweet disposition and her strength of character. It was the first tragedy.'

I can't throw any light on why she would be denied war grave status. She is commemorated in the Women of the Empire memorial panel at York Minster https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/community/3478 

She obviously served at Endell Street from when it first opened in May 1915. The hospital was run by Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson, both suffragettes (WSPU members or former members and activitists) rather than suffragists, but under the auspices of the army. The hospital was unique in being run by women and almost entirely staffed by women but within the army. 

I would be keen to know more about Eva - and can provide more background on Endell Street - if Malcolm would like to get in touch direct wendymoore@ntlworld.com . Jennian Geddes - who alerted me to this thread and has done much research on Endell St - may want to pitch in with a view too!

 

[Malcolm12hl]

Very good to hear from you Wendy.  By coincidence I went looking for Eva Prior's grave in St. Nicholas Churchyard and am delighted to say that I found it by cross referencing its stated row and position from the War Graves Registration Report with those of nearby burials which did have a CWGC headstone.  The gravestone itself is quite large and still erect, but the inscription has weathered and could not be captured fully by camera - I will return soon and transcribe it.  Eva Prior is commemorated on the village green war memorial as "Nurse E Prior", but not on the memorial in St. Nicholas Church.  She is one of seven people on the first memorial but not the second, and I doubt that her absence from the church memorial is due to anything more than oversight.  I will send you a copy of what I write on Nurse Prior in my Thames Ditton commemorative booklet when I have finalised the draft.

 

Malcolm

[johntanner]

Joan Palmes, from the Naburn village website.

 

Joan Mary Georgina PALMES

Daughter of Guy St Maur Palmes and Georgina Rosabelle Palmes of Naburn Hall. Orderly, Women's Hospital Corps, Endell Street Military Hospital. Died February 1919 aged 27.

Extract from ‘Women as Army Surgeons’ By Flora Murray CBE MD DPH: “In February 1919, Miss Joan Palmes succumbed to influenza and pneumonia, her death casting a sad gloom over the hospital. Although, for family reasons, her service had not been continuous, she had been a member of the staff since 1915. She had a most endearing personality, gay and courageous and considerate for others.” Endell Street Military Hospital was a military hospital located on Endell Street in Covent Garden, London. This was a military hospital set up and staffed entirely by suffragists. The hospital was established in May 1915 by Dr Flora Murray and Dr Louisa Garrett Anderson (daughter of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and niece of Millicent Fawcett).

[Malcolm12hl]

My book on Thames Ditton's First World War fallen has now been published, and includes a full entry on Nurse Eva Graham Prior, and a photograph of her headstone (non-G.W.G.C.) in St. Nicholas churchyard.  If anybody is interested, I would be happy to send them a copy of the entry text.

[kaz4den]

On 12/06/2018 at 11:15, Jim Strawbridge said:

She was not a VAD but an orderly at the hospital. If I recall correctly Endell Street was similar to the Scottish Women's Hospital in that it was staffed by suffragists. Not popular with the establishment and operated outside of the Joint War Committee this is probably why any deaths are outside of the CWGC remit. Out of interest I have visited the cemetery in Thames Ditton where Eva is buried and was unable to find her. If anyone does find her please let me know.

Eva's grave is in the virtually separate western section of the graveyard - down a path skirting the community centre building and some back gardens, you'd be heading towards the Collets leisure building which is separated from this area (called  "new acre graveyard" I think) by a hedge).

As you enter from the narrow footpath,  Eva's grave is 2-4 rows from the back almost directly in front of you (ie  near the right hand corner of the the graveyard. Here's the google map latitude/longitude reference  for the area in question

51.392449334172, -0.33527934857408304

[Jim Strawbridge]

20 hours ago, kaz4den said:

Eva's grave is in the virtually separate western section of the graveyard - down a path skirting the community centre building and some back gardens, you'd be heading towards the Collets leisure building which is separated from this area (called  "new acre graveyard" I think) by a hedge).

As you enter from the narrow footpath,  Eva's grave is 2-4 rows from the back almost directly in front of you (ie  near the right hand corner of the the graveyard. Here's the google map latitude/longitude reference  for the area in question

51.392449334172, -0.33527934857408304

Thank you. Do you know whether the grave is unmarked or has a headstone?

[BarbaraG]

Details here regarding her death.

http://www.templerfamily.co.uk/eva_graham_prior.html

Edited 22 November , 2022 by BarbaraG

[Malcolm12hl]

Eva's grave is marked by a very handsome stone cross.  There is a photo of it in my wee book on the village's war dead.