Here is another of our Red Cross nurses who served here in Chorlton in the Great War.
She was Miss Ada Bidgood, and I doubt I would have ever come to have known about her work as a Red Cross nurse, were it not for postcard with her duty rota for Saturday August 19th starting at 1.30.
The card is undated, but on the reverse carried Miss Bidwood’s address which was 11 Holland Road.
On the surface it isn’t much to go on, but it was enough.
There were three Red Cross hospitals in Chorlton.
Two were situated in the Sunday School buildings of The McLaren Baptist Memorial Church on Edge Lane, and the Methodist Church on Manchester Road, and the last was in a private house beside the old Conservative Club.
A search of the Red Cross data base revealed that Ada was at the Baptist Church and had started in the April of 1916, continuing through till the April of 1918, working part time, and engaged in “ward and dispensary duties”.
She lived with her parents and three siblings, and the family moved around, having lived in Yorkshire, Durham and Warwickshire, which may in part be because her father, described himself as a Publisher District Manager, although by 1939 he recorded his status as a “retired art dealer”.
At present I know little more about Ada, other than that she was born in 1885 and died in 1975 in Stockport and never married.
But it is a start and offers up a name and a few brief biographical details of one our nurses.
The McLaren Baptist Church was the first to offer their Sunday School as a convalescent hospital.
The story of its first was written up by the East Lancashire Branch of the British Red Cross as part of “An Illustrated Account of the Work of the Branch During the First Year of the War.” *
And its presence represented a massive commitment on the part of the 16,000 Chorlton people.
The number of voluntary nurses and orderlies ran to 89 and another 70 worked at some point in the kitchen.
There were also regular fund-raising activities, loans of equipment and twice weekly ward concerts.
More than anything it shows the level to which the war effort was supported and funded by voluntary actions.
Like many churches of the period it had a large Sunday school and it was this which was converted into the hospital in November 1914.
Like many churches of the period it had a large Sunday school and it was this which was converted into the hospital in November 1914.
“a ward of 31 beds, kitchens, mess room, bath room, dispensary, pack stores, linen rooms, matrons’ room and office” all of which were on the ground floor.
The building was large enough to accommodate
The Sunday School to the left, converted into a hospital
The original plan had been for 25 beds but in May 1915 an extra six beds were added.
What is astounding is that the cost of equipping the hospital which came to £140 was met by public subscription after an appeal for funds from the local Red Cross, and that this was “in addition to the liberal amount of hospital appurtenances so freely furnished on loan by the public.”
Nor did the generosity stop there. For while the War Office allowance for each man per day was 2 shillings [10p], the average cost for the upkeep per bed was 25 shillings [£1.25p] which again was met by the public through “subscriptions, donations and the proceeds of entertainments.”
During that first year of the war 159 volunteers worked at the hospital and all but four came from the township.
There are many familiar names, some whose families had been in the township for generations.
Ann Higginbotham aged 22 was the daughter of Alfred and Emily whose family had farmed by the green since the 1840’s.
There were also newer names like H. F. Dawson and A. H. Dawson or the Kemps. Miss Kemp worked in the kitchen while Harry her father was on the committee.
He had two chemists’ shops and would be remembered for over half a century by Kemp’s Corner.
And to these we can add Miss Ada Bidgood, who I now also know was due to start her shift on August 19th, 1917
Location; Chorlton
Pictures; Miss Ada Bidgood’s postcard, date unknown, courtesy of David Harrop, and The McLaren Baptist Memorial Church, date unknown from the collection of Chris Griffiths
*Chorlton-cum-Hardy Red Cross Hospital, East Lancashire Branch of the British Red Cross Society Sherratt & Hughes, 1916
 |
| Miss Bidgood's shift |
The card is undated, but on the reverse carried Miss Bidwood’s address which was 11 Holland Road.
On the surface it isn’t much to go on, but it was enough.
There were three Red Cross hospitals in Chorlton.
Two were situated in the Sunday School buildings of The McLaren Baptist Memorial Church on Edge Lane, and the Methodist Church on Manchester Road, and the last was in a private house beside the old Conservative Club.
A search of the Red Cross data base revealed that Ada was at the Baptist Church and had started in the April of 1916, continuing through till the April of 1918, working part time, and engaged in “ward and dispensary duties”.
She lived with her parents and three siblings, and the family moved around, having lived in Yorkshire, Durham and Warwickshire, which may in part be because her father, described himself as a Publisher District Manager, although by 1939 he recorded his status as a “retired art dealer”.
At present I know little more about Ada, other than that she was born in 1885 and died in 1975 in Stockport and never married.
 |
| Her address |
The McLaren Baptist Church was the first to offer their Sunday School as a convalescent hospital.
The story of its first was written up by the East Lancashire Branch of the British Red Cross as part of “An Illustrated Account of the Work of the Branch During the First Year of the War.” *
And its presence represented a massive commitment on the part of the 16,000 Chorlton people.
The number of voluntary nurses and orderlies ran to 89 and another 70 worked at some point in the kitchen.
There were also regular fund-raising activities, loans of equipment and twice weekly ward concerts.
More than anything it shows the level to which the war effort was supported and funded by voluntary actions.
Like many churches of the period it had a large Sunday school and it was this which was converted into the hospital in November 1914.
 |
| Soldiers outside the MCLaren Baptist Church, date unknown |
“a ward of 31 beds, kitchens, mess room, bath room, dispensary, pack stores, linen rooms, matrons’ room and office” all of which were on the ground floor.
The building was large enough to accommodate
The Sunday School to the left, converted into a hospital
The original plan had been for 25 beds but in May 1915 an extra six beds were added.
What is astounding is that the cost of equipping the hospital which came to £140 was met by public subscription after an appeal for funds from the local Red Cross, and that this was “in addition to the liberal amount of hospital appurtenances so freely furnished on loan by the public.”
Nor did the generosity stop there. For while the War Office allowance for each man per day was 2 shillings [10p], the average cost for the upkeep per bed was 25 shillings [£1.25p] which again was met by the public through “subscriptions, donations and the proceeds of entertainments.”
There are many familiar names, some whose families had been in the township for generations.
Ann Higginbotham aged 22 was the daughter of Alfred and Emily whose family had farmed by the green since the 1840’s.
There were also newer names like H. F. Dawson and A. H. Dawson or the Kemps. Miss Kemp worked in the kitchen while Harry her father was on the committee.
He had two chemists’ shops and would be remembered for over half a century by Kemp’s Corner.
And to these we can add Miss Ada Bidgood, who I now also know was due to start her shift on August 19th, 1917
Location; Chorlton
Pictures; Miss Ada Bidgood’s postcard, date unknown, courtesy of David Harrop, and The McLaren Baptist Memorial Church, date unknown from the collection of Chris Griffiths
*Chorlton-cum-Hardy Red Cross Hospital, East Lancashire Branch of the British Red Cross Society Sherratt & Hughes, 1916
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