Now, I am only at the beginning of the story of Ms Sloane, who was born in 1871 and died in 1965, but already it promises to be a fascinating piece of research.
British War Medal, 1914-1919 |
And it was her wartime medals which drew me into her story, and while I have accumulated some biographical details, I know there is much more.
She was awarded The British War Medal, 1914-18, The Allied Victory Medal, 1914-19, The War Medal Medal, 1939-45, and the Defence Medal, 1939-45, and the first two carry an inscription which includes her name and the letters V.A.D, which refer to her role as a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment.
Members of V.A.D. performed a variety of tasks in Red Cross Hospitals, from nursing to cleaning, washing, and cooking, as well as administration and many also took on fund raising activities in the community.
Ms Sloane came from a medical family and both her father and brother were doctors, which makes her choice of nursing and unsurprising one.
Evington House, 2022, formerly Kighton V.A.D., Hospital |
From 1916 she was at No.2 B.R.C. Hospital in Rouen, followed by Frensham Hill Military Hospital, and Ullesthorpe Court, & Charnwood V.A.D. Hospitals.
After which she worked for the Discharged Soldiers & Sailors organization, which was part of the Ministry of Labour and focused on finding suitable employment for men no longer in the forces.
So far, I have no pictures of Ms Sloane, but I know where she lived in Leicester, and some at least of the houses are still standing today, as is the Knighton V.A.D Hospital which is now known as Evington House and stands in Evington House.
Evington House, 2022, formerly Kighton V.A.D., Hospital |
There are various accounts of the house including its time as a hospital and many also include a fascinating account of the daily routines by Miss Alice Henderson who was the commandment which appeared in the Wyggeston Girls Gazette in 1919.
I suspect much of what Miss Henderson outlined in the article would have been familiar to Sarah Sloane, and was pretty much the lot of many who worked in Red Cross Hospitals.*
And that at present is pretty much all there is. I know she arrived back from Algiers in 1931, left over £55,000 at her death in 1965 and lived for 30 years at 8 University Road, in Leicester.
Defence Medal, 1939-45 |
That said I am confident I will find out more. There are people who have included her in their own family history records, and I await a reply from the Leicester Records Office so there is much more to play for.
All of which leaves me with that odd reflection that history can be messy and can surprise you.
So, when I started the search for the story of Sarah Kate’s medals, I had no idea that she came from Leicester or that our Josh and Polly would turn out to live just minutes away from both Knighton V.A.D., hospital, and her home on University Road.
But then that’s the fun of the past.
Location; Leicester, and elsewhere
Pictures; Miss Sloane’s medal, courtesy of David Harrop and Evington House, formerly Knighton V.A.D., hospital, from the collection of Josh Simpson
Sources; census records, 1901-1921, Red Cross Records, 1914-1919, Baptismal record, 1871, various street directories and electoral registers, 1920-1930, Probate Records
* Evington’s VAD Hospital, Evington Echo, December 19th, 2014, https://evingtonecho.uk/evingtons-vad-hospital/
& Evington House, Evington Park, https://storyofparksleicester.com/park-histories/evington-park/#:~:text=This%20house%20is%20said%20to,hunter%20gatherers%20roaming%20over%20it.&text=In%20Roman%20times%20and%20on,have%20been%20a%20Roman%20cemetery
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