While browsing copies of the newly digitised copies of The Nursing Times on The British Newspaper Archive I saw a lovely photo of a wedding between a nurse and a soldier that took place in July 1915. The paper named them as Bessie Irene Titchmarsh and Corporal Percy Southall. I wondered what their lives had been like before their marriage and after - indeed, did Percy even survive the War?
Percy was born in 1884 in Saffron Walden and worked as a clerk in his father's firm - The Saffron Walden Steam Laundry Company Limited was founded in 1897 and still operates from the same site in Saffron Walden since the early 1900s.
Percy volunteered for the army early in the War - before conscription - - on 9th Feb 1915. He was a despatch rider in the Royal Engineers, attached to an Essex Regiment.
Bessie was born on 21st March 1894 in Ipswich. Her father was a local civil servant. Bessie trained as a nurse at the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital from 1913 until 1916. According to the report of the wedding, this was the hospital that Bessie was nursing in at the time of her marriage.
Percy and Bessie on their wedding day
26th July 1915, Ipswich
BNA
The day after the outbreak of World War One, the Board of the East
Suffolk & Ipswich Hospital met. It agreed to offer a number of beds
to the Admiralty, to receive wounded or sick men from the Navy. It was
soon discovered that the Army’s need was far more urgent and the
Admiralty gave permission for the Board to make its offer to the
Military Authorities instead. Of course, if it became necessary,
wounded sailors would be admitted.
The hospital at the time of Bessie's nursing career
credit: see link below
I wonder if Bessie is in this photo!
Along with the photo, the wedding itself was reported in the local papers.It was described as the first "khaki" wedding in the town. One report gives a lovely description of the service, the clothes of the bride and bridesmaids, the presents and even the "going away" outfit! Bessie chose to marry in her nursing uniform (surely showing her pride at "doing her bit" for the War as her solidier husband was.) It was noted that she wore no jewellery in line with hospital regulations and she carried no flowers - just an ivory backed prayer book. The bridesmaids carried "patriotic" Union Jack flower baskets with red roses, that were strewn before the bride and groom. It sounds rather lovely!
What became of the couple after the wedding?The story took an unexpected turn as I delved deeper. Firstly though, the couple had a son, Peter, in 1918. It would seem, however, that by December 1919 there were problems in the marriage.
Percy seems to be disassociating himself from Bessie. Of course, from the distance of over 100 years we have no idea if any "blame" lay with either of the couple. However, for Bessie, her life was to become even harder. Percy died on 17th November 1920 aged just 27 and leaving a widow and a one year old son. According to reports of his funeral, he had been ill in bed for year due to illness contracted overseeas. This can be confirmed by the fact that he was awarded the Silver War Badge - which was awarded to men (and some women) who left the forces because of illness or injury during the Great War. The report of the funeral is what made me delve deeper into the state of the marriange. In a very long list of mourners neithe Bessie or any of her family attended the funeral. We don't know and never will, if it was her choice to stay away or if his family requested it. However, Bessie was in receipt of a small widow's pension from the army.
What became of Bessie and her son? In 1921 she was living with her son and parents in Saffron Walden.. She is still using her nursing qualification - she is a health visitor for Essex County Council. However, yet another tragedy loomed.
In November 1938 Peter was killed in a road accident, along with a young female friend. He was just 20 and Bessie's only child. . There is a long report about the accident in the local paper. Bessie was called to give evidence.at the inquest, stating that Peter was a bank clerk and she had spoken to him the day before,
The following year shows her living in Harrow. The 1939 register entry is hard to read but it would seem her occupation is still connected to nursing and the care of those with TB.
Bessie died in 1985. She had survived her husband by over 60 years and her son by 40. The photo of the happy couple and their lovely wedding foreshadows a tragic future of the couple's estrangement and the early death of both Bessie's husband and her son - both dying in their 20s.
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