Doris (Dolly) Freeman - WRAF member: Stories from an autograph book in WW1

I recently obtained an autograph book that had belonged to a Member of the WRAF, stationed at Lympne in Kent in World War One.There is a link to information about the site below. It was  established in 1916 and was in use up to and after, WW1. The WRAF records of the womenwho wrote in the book detail many different roles that women undertook at the base - I hope to begin some research on this soon! However my main interest is in the lives of the women who added their names to Dolly's autograph book. 

 

 

 

Firstly, I wanted to find out more about Dolly herself. What was her life like before she joined the WRAF and what become of her?

Doris who was illegitimate was born in Kidderminister in 1898. Her mother was Elizabeth Freeman born in 1872.  Dolly's mother, aunts and grandmother Jane all worked in the carpet industry over many years.

In the early 18th century, carpet weaving had been introduced to Kidderminster, and this rapidly became the staple trade of the town. 

 

There is an entry at the front of the book which shows that it had been a Christmas present from "Beatie". Beatrice was her aunt. 

 

 

According to her record, Dolly joined the air base on March 1918 aged 20. She was demobilised in September 1919, almost a year after the war ended.  How exciting it must have been to move away from the town she was born in, and from where her mother and other family remained all their lives. And she was not working in the carpet trade as a "spinner" or "Twister". Her role at Lympne was a Store Woman.

 

 

 

The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force, existing from 1 April 1918 until 1 April 1920, when it was disbanded. Its original intent was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men for front line service in World War I. However, the organisation saw high enrolment, with women also serving in a number of other non-combatant roles, including drivers, caterers, clerks and tailors, as well as filling other wartime needs. 

 

Behaviour was strictly monitored with the WRAF constitution and rules laid-out in an official booklet. The published Standing Orders included a ban on smoking on duty and in the street, as well as uniform requirements and the procedure for complaints. The high standards achieved by the WRAF led them to being viewed as the most professional and disciplined of all the women’s services. Dolly was living a responsible and one assumes, very fulfilling life.

 

There are several entries in her book that mention Dolly, including one very mysterious one. This romantic poem ends with the line "I love you" . Sadly, no full  name or date attached! But I think the word "Charlie" is squeezed in at the bottom of the page. I know that much later in life Dolly married- sadly not to Charlie!

  

 

There are other entries that mention Dolly, one says what a great pal she is. Another is actually written by Dolly herself. I have seen and researched several autograph books from the period and I have particularly noticed that unusually, there is very little art work or sketching in the book. The entries are mostly serious poems, religious tomes or very straightforward rhymes. This entry is from her mother and is a very short, earnest plea:

 

Be you to others kind and true

And always unto others do

As you would have others do to you 

 

There is also a tantalising pen portrait in the book of a member of the WRAF. Could this be Dolly!? Sadly I don't know the artist's name but it is a really lovely sketch! I hope it is "our girl"!

 

 

I have found an entry from Dolly herself. Written just a few weeks after she arrived at RAF Lympne it is a transcription of a poem.  "Edith Hickman Divall" appears to have been religous author and poet. The entry shows a young woman who came from a very humble background and yet the.writing, punctuation and choice of poem show an extremely serious, thoughtful and well educated young woman.

 

 

What became of Dolly?  She was a member of the WRAF for 18 months until she was demobbed in 1919; thereby extending her service well into peace time. I was very sad to see that by 1921 this exceptional young lady, who made many friends from different backgrounds, enjoyed independence and a fulfilling job was unemployed - her occupation was noted as a "twister". She had returned to Kidderminster and was doing the same job that her grandmother and mother had done before her. She was living with them and out of work.

 

Dolly married Alfred Gwilliam in 1936. I have not found their entry for 1939 but Alfred had been in various jobs in factories in Kidderminister before he married. Nor can I find any children of the marriage. Dolly was nearly 40 when she married. She died in 1970 and Alfred 4 years later. I wonder if Dolly ever re-read the entries in her autograph book . I hope she did and that she could look back with fondness for her comrades and pride in the work that she did for her country.

 

She never lived outside of Kidderminster again. 

Perhaps this is therefore a fitting entry to end to her story.

Thank you for your service Dolly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Lympne

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidderminster 

 

Tragedy on the Railway - The Fatal accident of a War Widow

 

As an amateur historian who studies the role and lives of women in the UK in WW1, I was very interested to see if there are any women represented in the records recently digitised by the Project. On searching the database by gender, I was able to find several entries relating to women. I immediately noticed that there was a fatal accident in which a woman was killed on the tracks while exiting from a munitions factory in Plymouth. I was interested not only to find details of the accident, but what effect this tragedy would have had on her family. I was to discover a short  life full of tragedy both for her and her family. 

 

On the 20th February 1917, Sarah Elizabeth Wakeham,(nee Dingle) aged 35, was killed after leaving her work in a munitions factory in Plymouth. I have been unable to trace the factory but the GWR’s engineering works were making munitions and artillery pieces for the Army at various locations during the War. According to the company's records, Mrs Wakeham had been working overtime at the "munitions works" but while proceeding to the exit gate, was caught on a crossing between a stationary vehicle and one being shunted and was fatally injured. It was noted that before 7pm the crossing was usually protected by a "flag man". None of the staff noticed her prior to the accident. The verdict at the inquest was "misadventure" and it was stated that the Munitions Officer should in future issue a notice to staff warning them to take care and particularly to be aware of wagons that were being shunted. The Officer should also advise the rail company whenever overtime was being worked.

Sarah was born in Plymouth on 2nd October 1886. Her father appears to have had several labouring jobs. She married Thomas Henry Wakeham in 1910. I would seem that they had been together for many years before they married as the census for 1911 shows that they had a child, Catherine, born in 1904. The census also shows that they had three children, two of whom had died by 1911. They later had a boy, Frederick John who was born in 1914. They also had a daughter, Sarah Margaret in 1914 but tragically she died a year later. According to the 1911 census, Thomas was a hawker of fruit. In the 19th C social commentator Henry Mayhew wrote, "Among the more ancient of the trades, then carried on in England, is that of the hawker or pedlar" A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. 

On researching Thomas I made a heartbreaking discovery. Sarah was a war widow. 

 

Thomas had died on 3rd October 1914 - very early in the war (which started in August 1914). There was no conscription at this time so he must have volunteered - surely thinking that enlisting in the army would be a good way to boost the family income. Of course, at this time, no-one knew the terrible price that would be paid by tens of thousands of men and women and their families. Thomas died of wounds received in France, where he is buried. Interestingly, records on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, that sometimes show the next of kin as wives or parents, simply state "father of Kathleen". His other children were not mentioned, Nor his wife or parents who were still alive. 

So, the story I discovered was one of a widow who had lost three children by the age of 35 and who had two young children still alive, one of whom was only 5 months old when her father died and 3 years old when she was orphaned on the death of her mother.  Sarah was probably working in a munitions factory to add to the family's income following the loss of her husband. By the time of her death she had lost three children, her husband and her father, who died in 1915. According to army pension records, her mother, Margaret, became her children's legal guardian and indeed I have discovered Kathleen, who lived into her 70s living with her grandmother in 1921.

Such a tragic story. A woman who had been widowed and was working hard to keep her family together, only to die before she was 40. Another example of the sacrifices of thousands of women while serving on the Home Front in the Great War.

The Details of railway worker accidents have come from the ‘Railway Work, Life & Death’ project, run by the University of Portsmouth, National Railway Museum and Modern Records Centre: www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk.

 Ancestry.co.uk; British Newspaper Arcive, Wikipedia 

 

LEST WE FORGET - The service of a father and son in two world wars and their ultimate sacrifice. The story of my grandfather and uncle

As an historian whose main area of interest is the social history of WW1, I seldom research into WW2. However, as we approach the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of VE Day, I remembered the phtograph that I have of my Uncle James proudly standing in his uniform. I decided to tell his story as a testament to the ultimate sacrifice that he made, along with thousands of other men and women in the Second World War.

 

My uncle James (Jim) was born in South London in 1907 to Emily and Thomas Cameron. Thomas worked at the Royal Doulton factory in Lambeth and following an argument with his foreman, he joined the Royal Marines at the age of 18. He spent 12 years in the marines, a career that saw him travel the world, including a voyage to Australia and the South Pacific. After his service in the Marines, James' father worked on the railways at Clapham Junction.

 

 Tom in his railwayman's uniform

 

 

Emily (in wonderful hat!)

 

At the outbreak of war, Thomas rejoined his unit.  He died on his 40th Birthday- 20th October 1914 - of wounds received at the siege of Antwerp. This left Emily widowed and with four young boys to bring up alone. James was the second eldest. Thomas's death was so early in the war that he had a full military funeral. I have details of it from a press cutting. I also have a photo of her four boys (including my father, John) taken on the day of the funeral. James is standing, right.

 

 

 

Life must have been hard for the family, who lived in a poor part of  London. Emily had two jobs and often sent the boys to bed dressed ready for school, as she would leave the house early to do one job and then carry on working later in the day. However, from photos that I have, Jim and his brothers were immaculately dressed. James won a scholarship to Emmanuel College in Wandsworth. Such an achievement. His brothers all left school at young ages and went out to work, bringing valuable wages into the home. 

 The boys, circa 1928 seated in the same position as for the photo taken in 1914. 

looking very "well turned out"!

James married Rose Waller in 1933 and by 1939 he was living in Plymouth with his wife, two children, his mother and his aunt. James is a Manager in a Jewellery Department - which I assume is in a department store. This seems to be quite a successful career move from someone from such a working class background. in the 1939 register James is noted as a "special constable" - already keen to "do his bit". 

I do not know when James enlisted in the army. I do know that he was in The 47th (Oldham) Royal Tank Regiment (47 RTR) which was an armoured regiment during the war. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. I have the last letter that my father received from him. He was on a boat "somewhere very hot" and sounded rather fed up! He wanted to get on with his job and do his duty. The family never heard from him again.

 

 

Photo of Jim in his uniform taken in his back garden.

There is a lot of information about the second battle of El Alanein. I have  therfore been able to find out where he was killed. I was helped in this because the commonwealth war grave commission have details of his original burial place which was around Tel el Aqqaqir and I have found details of a battle there on the date he died - 27th October 1942. 

The CWGC records show that after the war, when the Army were able to bury dead servicemen together in dedicated cemeteries, his body was disinterred and he was buried in a cemetery where his grave would be looked after in perpuity.

When checking the records, I discovered that he had been buried with another soldier - Leslie Baker. They shared the same burial plot both in the original grave and also in the later CWGC cemetery. I had the great good fortune to find a photograph of this grave in The Oldham Chronicle. Following publication of the article, a veteran of Alamein contacted the paper and was able to describe his experiences of the same battle.

James and the comrade who died with him were disinterred and their bodies laid to rest where they would be remembered and looked after in perpuity.

 

 

Jim's mum, Emily, died in 1941 and therefore was spared the terrible news that her son, James,who had made a good life for himself with a family and a job with excellent prospects had died, just like her husband, in serviing his country. He had had a good education and according to his daughter, Sheila, loved poetry and nature and took her for long walks in the country. A truly loving father.

As we approach the commemoration of  the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we must not forget the ultimate price paid by many 1000s for our freedom. The suffering of the families and friends of those who died i the war - many of whom lost loved ones in the "war to end wars", as shown in my own family, must also never  be forgotten.

As his gravestone states

"He left all that was dear to him giving  his own life that others may live in freedom"

LEST WE FORGET

RIP 

 

 https://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/26824/war-heroes-together-in-egypt

https://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/8/news-headlines/28187/47th-tank-regiment-veteran-remembers-african-battle-

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2092823/james-joseph-cameron/