Stafford House Committee Nurses

I am trying to sort out a little puzzle.

The medal roll lists 7 nurses from the Stafford House Committee entitled to the South Africa Medal;

Miss Edith King
Miss Edith Ann Horner
Miss Mary Ann Stricklen
Mrs. George King (nee Janet Wells)
Miss Mary Armfield
Miss Emma Durham
Miss Alice Ray

In an article entitled “Sister Janet,” in the Journal of The Anglo Zulu War Historical Society, Adrian Greaves has the list of nurses for the Stafford House Committee as:

Sister Janet was appointed to take charge of the Base Field Hospital at Utrecht
Sisters Ruth and Elizabeth were assigned to the hospital at Durban
Mary and Annette went to Pietermaritzburg
Edith and Emma went to Ladysmith

Who are these women that Dr. Greaves listed? Why is there such a great discrepancy?

Comparing the two lists I found:

Sister Janet is obviously Janet Wells

Edith and Emma (Ladysmith) are most likely Edith King and Emma Horner

Mary and Annette (Pietermaritzburg) Mary might be Mary Stricklen or Mary Armfield, but who is Annette?

And last we have Sisters Ruth and Elizabeth (Durban) Although neither one is on the medal roll, both are confirmed as being at the hospital in Durban by Chief Petty Officer Henry Eason, HMS Shah. We have the following from his diary: “About a fortnight before I came out of hospital, the Stafford House Committee sent two female nurses to our hospital, and they soon became very popular as they made themselves very agreeable and did everything they could for us. They had a large stock of goods at their disposal, consisting of jams, jellies, cocoa and milk, and many other things which they distributed very liberally indeed. They were called Sisters Ruth and Elizabeth, and their dress when on duty was a serge one, white apron and cap, and a band on one arm with the letters SHC on it.”


Petty Officer Tom

This list was originally posted in another thread By 1879Graves.

Superintendent of Nurses
Mrs Jane Cecilia Deeble

Nurses
Mary Jane Armfield
Anne Crisp
Emma Durham
Joan A Gray
Alice Hawkey
Edith Ann Horner
Mary Clementine Jerrard
Edith King
Alice Ray
Margaret Selby
Mary Ann Stricklen
Janet Helen Wells
Harriet W Williams
Sister Sarah Anne Terrot
Sister Loch

Dave,

Thanks for the list.

I saw it on the other thread but, unfortunately, the list is of mixed groups of nurses from separate organizations. They were not all from the Stafford House Committee; some were army nurses, and the last two did not serve in the Zulu war.

Here is a break down from that list.

(MILITARY)
Superintendent of Nurse
Mrs Jane Cecilia Deeble--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.

Nurses
Anne Crisp--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.
Joan A Gray--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.
Alice Hawkey--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.
Mary Clementine Jerrard--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.
Margaret Selby--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.
Harriet W Williams--Nursing staff of the Army Medical Dept.

(CIVILIAN)
Mary Jane Armfield--Stafford House Committee
Emma Durham--Stafford House Committee
Edith Ann Horner--Stafford House Committee
Edith King--Stafford House Committee
Alice Ray--Stafford House Committee
Mary Ann Stricklen--Stafford House Committee
Janet Helen Wells--Stafford House Committee

(UNKNOWN)
Sister Sarah Anne Terrot--Not in Zulu war
Sister Loch--Not in Zulu war

I am looking for the extra nurses from Stafford House Committee that Adrian Greaves listed.


Petty Officer Tom

Quote :

I am looking for the extra nurses from Stafford House Committee that Adrian Greaves listed.

Tom, the names you are looking for? are they already within your post.?

Impi,

Yes, their names were in my first post. Here they are:

Quote :

In an article entitled “Sister Janet,” in the Journal of The Anglo Zulu War Historical Society, Adrian Greaves has the list of nurses for the Stafford House Committee as:

Sister Janet was appointed to take charge of the Base Field Hospital at Utrecht
Sisters Ruth and Elizabeth were assigned to the hospital at Durban
Mary and Annette went to Pietermaritzburg
Edith and Emma went to Ladysmith

Some of these names match up with the ones on the medal roll, but at least 3 (Annette, Ruth and Elizabeth) are not on the medal roll. I think Adrain Greaves may have gotten them from the book "Sister Janet" by Brian Best and Katie Slossel. If anyone has the book, could you please check.


Petty Officer Tom

Tom, came across this on another site. possibly complicates issues.

"In 1871 Mrs Deeble wrote that the work was becoming heavier, due to the turnover of staff and the sickness rate. Lucy Emm had been dismissed and she was looking for a replacement. Sisters Clarke, Kennedy and Strong had all been ill. Miss Nightingale had predicted illness due to the hospitals poor site, and dampness.

Relations with Mrs Deeble and the Fund were not good. Mrs Deeble kept three of the original sisters, also Emma Berry who had been sent by Mrs Wardroper. It seemed as if the Nightingale connection with Netley was becoming slowly to an end. Miss Torrance was sent to advise Mrs Deeble, who had kept the support of the War Office.

During the Zulu War in 1879, Mrs Deebles took fourteen nurses to South Africa, eight to Petermaritzburg, and herself and the rest to Addington. Sister from Netley later served in Egyptian campaigns, including the Sudan War. Gradually nurses trained at Netley under Mrs Deebles were found at the Herbert, the new Cambridge Hospital, Devonport and Malta".

littlehand,

What was the source of your quote?

I found the following in a book “Florence Nightingale and the Nursing Legacy” by Monica Baly, referring to Mrs. Deeble:

“During the Zulu War in 1882 she took 14 nurses to South Africa, eight to Pietermaritzburg and herself and the rest to Addington.”

I suspect Ms. Baly is not a Zulu war historian - She has the war in 1882. I also suspect that she got her figure of 14 nurses by grouping the 7 nurses in Mrs. Deeble group from the Army Medical Department and the 7 nurses from the Stafford House Committee who were not part of the army. These 14 are the only ones listed on the medal roll. Newspaper accounts from 1879 also show only 7 for Mrs. Deeble’s group.


Petty Officer Tom

Sorry mate i didn't take note of the site, as i was looking for something else, will trawl though my history..

Hi POT.
On page 176 , Sister Janet , the nurses you have listed in the box are mentioned as per your quote . It says it' s from ' The Daily Telegraph ' 23 rd Oct 1879. Hope this helps .
Cheers 90th.

I think I have an answer to my own question regarding the extra names provided by Adrian Greaves, and confirmed by 90th .

When DNW auctioned nurse M. A. Shiplen‘s (Stricklen) medal last year she was listed as Mary Ann Shiplen (Sister Elizabeth)

At least one of these nurses was an Anglican nun. This was Edith Horner, who was also at Durban. I believe Horner was known as Sister Ruth.

If I am correct then Sisters Mary and Annette would be Mary Armfield and Alice Ray. So far this is just a theory, but it does explain why the extra names do not appear on the medal roll.

Does anyone have access to “The Daily Telegraph” 23 October, 1879?


Petty Officer Tom

I hope that P.O. Tom can see this as it holds the answer to who went to Ladysmith:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
From Harper's Bazar [sic] 29th October 1887.
John Young Collection.

John Y.

Decorated by her Queen, here is the redoubtable
Mrs Deeble..

https://s1297.photobucket.com/user/xhosa2000/media/MrsDeebleheadnurseZuluWar_zpsd05d1724.jpg.html?sort=6&o=0

Guest wrote:

Does anyone have access to “The Daily Telegraph” 23 October, 1879?
Petty Officer Tom

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
“The Daily Telegraph” 23 October, 1879

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

"Mary Clementine Jerrard was attached to the Army Medical Department during the Zulu War and was one of only 7 Nurses from the A.M.D. to receive the South African Medal. During the Egyptian campaign she saw service with the Military Nursing Establishment, having been posted to Wady Halfa for the operations on the Nile, and was one of 41 Nurses to receive the Egypt and Sudan Medal. She
was awarded the Royal Red Cross in October 1885, and the insignia was sent to the General Officer Commanding, Egypt, on 31st October 1885. A breakdown of the medallic awards to Nurses from this period can be found in Honours and Awards to Women to 1914, by Norman Gooding. Only 2 nurses received the clasp ‘The Nile 1884-85’."

Source: DNW