AMK Howell Jones VAD

[adrian 1008]

as a very young lad in 1970 ! My father gave me for a birthday a 1914/15 star named to the above

I believe this to be Anna Muriel Kate Howell Jones . From the Red Cross records I see she served in France from Sept 15 to June 17, but have no further information. Ancestry tells me she was born in Dec 1881 and died in July 1970, 

Any information concerning her role in France and the chance to reunite a broken group appreciated 

[Acknown]

Kate lived in Aspley Heath, Bedfordshire (see this London Gazette entry: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32784/page/195/data.pdf and served with my great aunt in the Aspley Guise detachment (known as Bedford 40) of the VAD before the war. I'm not sure if they deployed to France together or separately, but I'll review my records. I have a photo of the detachment pre-war which I would be delighted to send you. The bad news is that I don't know if she's in it or if so, which one she is.

Here's her grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104233136/anna-muriel_kate-howell_jones. It seems she never married.

Acknown

[helpjpl]

4 hours ago, adrian 1008 said:

 Any information concerning her role in France and the chance to reunite a broken group appreciated 

 

According to a family tree on ancestry, she had one brother and two sisters:

John Hyndman Howell-Jones (married several times and died 1941)

Leonora Mary Howell-Jones (Sister of Mercy - died 1956 unmarried)

Melicent Christian Howell-Jones (died South Africa 1945 unmarried)

 

You may need to get a copy of her will to see if any of her family were alive in 1970:

 

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/ShoppingBasket

 

JP

[Acknown]

As I mentioned in Post No. 2, Howell-Jones was known to my great aunt Hilda Foyster in the Bedfordshire VAD. I am not sure when the Aspley Guise VAD detachment, known as ‘Bedford 40’, was formed, but shortly afterwards, it won a county-wide skills competition beating the two established VADs and winning a cup. Thereafter, the detachment was inspected by Lady Ampthill, Chairwoman of the Joint Women's VAD Department of the Order of St. John and the British Red Cross Society.

In early 1915, the detachment was ordered to France. They concentrated at the Red Cross Headquarters at 83 Pall Mall, then crossed the Channel to Boulogne arriving on 4th February. They languished at No, 2 VAD Unit there for a while, reinforced by a number of VADs from other Bedfordshire detachments, then deployed to Malassise Hospital at St. Omer, previously a monastery and later titled No. 7 General Hospital.

In April, a number of the Aspley Guise VADs were reposted to the Red Cross Rest Station in Boulogne, including my great aunt. Many wounded soldiers were brought to the rest stations from the trenches in order to receive treatment before being transferred to hospital. My great aunt mentions Anna ‘Kate’ Howell-Jones occasionally in her correspondence, including in April and June. Kate was one of the detachment cooks. It would appear that the Red Cross record is wrong, and I believe that Kate deployed either with the rest of the detachment in February 1915 or shortly thereafter. In fact, her medal roll entry (Ancestry) states 16 Mar 15 - 15 Jun 16. Here's her 14-15 Star medal roll entry. Records are often wrong, Hilda's medal roll entry states she deployed in Apr 15, but I have letters that prove otherwise!

My great aunt returned to England in July 1915 and I believe that Kate, who had signed up for a year, remained. I don’t know what happened to her thereafter.

Acknown

• Bedford 40 with the cup (Author's collection). Sadly, I don't know if Kate is in the photo or which one she is:

• Camp for wounded, No. 2 section, No. 7 General Hospital, Malassise (© IWM (Q 28908))

Edited 17 November , 2020 by Acknown

[Acknown]

I forgot to mention that one of the VADs that Kate worked with at the Red Cross Rest Station in Boulogne, was the future Prime Minister’s daughter Olwen Lloyd-George.

Acknown