One of my very favorite groups: the Boer War nursing pair to Sister Elizabeth Gray

[azyeoman]

Nursing Sister Elizabeth (Lilly) White Gray RRC was born on 30 June 1868, her father, Henry, was 44, and her mother, Sarah Jane (nee McClinton), was 38.  She had four brothers and four sisters. She died on 19 October 1938, in Gravesend, Kent at the age of 70. When she was born, the family lived in Broughton, Lancashire (1871 census).

 

Her eldest sister Sarah Ann who was born in 1856 died in 1889 in in Chorlton, Lancs. Her elder sister, Mary Jane who was born in 1857 died on 22 March 1902 in Kingston Upon Thames, Middlesex. Her brother John who was born in 1861, died on 22 October 1925, in West Kirby, Cheshire (3 Townfield Rd., West Kirby, Wirral, Cheshire). Her sister Henrietta (Ettie) who was born in 1864 died on 5 May 5 1928, in Surrey. Her brother, Henry Stuart (09/1872 – 1948) who later lived in Greater Manchester, Lancs. Her Father died in Bangor, Down, Northern Ireland at 59 years old in 1883 and her mother Sarah Jane passed away in 1922 in Manchester, Lancashire at the age of 92.

 

Lilly was a nurse and qualified at the Royal Hospital, Salford. On 7 May 1897, she joined the Princess Christian’s Nursing Service Reserve, and her personnel number was 555. (AO 365). In July 1901 she was at No. 5 General Hospital Wynberg, S. Africa and in September 1901 she was at No. 12 General Hospital in Springfontein, S. Africa (A1598). She later served at No. 13 General Hospital, Wynberg, S Africa (AO 365). She is listed on the QSA Medal roll dated September 1901 in Springfontein (TNA WO100/229 pp.45, 79 and 163) and on the KSA Medal Roll (TNA WO100/353 p.28). There were on 587 KSAs awarded to nurses. QSA and KSA are both officially named to Nursing Sister E Gray (not officially re-impressed as often found).  Sister Gray is also on the War Office Nominal Roll of Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service (Reserve) for 30th September.

 

The 1911 census shows that Lilly, as a single 42-year old head of the house, was living in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey with her 80-year old mother Sarah Jane Gray and a single 42-year old servant, Mary Ann Shaw, who is the domestic general servant.  Lilly’s occupation is “Hospital Nurse & Masseuse, QANR”.
Her address was Broomlace, Latchmere Rd. Kingston Upon Thames, a house with seven (7) rooms.

 

In WWI, Matron Elizabeth Gray was in the Territorial Force Nursing Service / Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service. Her start date was 1 January 1914 and her end date was 31 December 1920. (WO 399/23277) She was entitled to a BWM, Victory and TFWM. She arrived in France & Flanders on 29/05/1917 (WO372/23) She was also decorated by the King at Buckingham Palace with the Royal Red Cross (1st Class) on 27 June 1916. It was gazetted on 3 June 1916. (5602).

 

If anyone knows where her BWM, Vic and TFWM along with her RRC are located, please contact me as I would like to reunite her medals.

 

Elizabeth (Lilly) White Gray died on October 19, 1938, in the Gravesend and North Kent Hospital in Gravesend when she was 70 years old. She was living at 1 the Drive, Hill Side Old Road, East Gravesend, Kent. There is a probate record dated 20 December 1938.in which she left L1,360. 6s 2p to her spinster sister Margret Gray.  She was interned in consecrated ground C 4735 on 22 October 1938 at the Kingston cemetery.

 

For more information on the QAIMNSR see:  https://boerwarnurses.com/boer-war-nurses-database/

 

Sister & Matron Elizabeth (Lilly) White Gray

 

WO-372-23-16731.pdf Matron E Gray RRC .pdf

Edited May 17, 2022 by azyeoman
additional information

[Graf]

That is a Gem

[azyeoman]

Thank you. It’s so nice having a photo to go along with the medals and biographical details. 

[azyeoman]

I'm very pleased to say that I am in the midst of reuniting Lilly Gray's medals along with a lot of ephemera, and will post a photo of the reunited group (with the exception of her WWI British Victory Medal) once I have them all together.

This is the largest reunite of the dozen or so I've done over 43 years of collecting.  Oddly, all of them have been with Boer War related pairs and groups.  

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

Congratulations on the reunite.  Glad to see that they are all together again.  I also own a QSA to a nurse but not anywhere near as documented as the one in your collection.  A question; you said above

On 17/05/2022 at 10:02, azyeoman said:

(not officially re-impressed as often found)

I have never heard of this before.  What is your reference for your comment please.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

[azyeoman]

Hi Gordon,

if you check the threads re nurses medals on the AngloBoer War website, you’ll see that some nurses medals in the descriptions of their QSAs and KSAs are “officially renamed”. There are at least three that have that designation. The dealer from whom I bought these specifically mentioned in his write up of Gray’s medals that they were not “officially re-impressed”, which was an additional incentive for me. I don’t know why the govt would issue medals to nurses that had been officially re-impressed, but  there are enough on the market and in collections that are.  I think you’ll find the threads re nurses medals on that site must interesting as well as the entire site itself. Hope this helps. 

 

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

Thanks for your response.  I haven't visited the Anglo Boer War site for a few weeks.  I'll do as you suggest.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

[azyeoman]

Hi Gordon,

 Liverpool has just listed one and this is in the description,

”Queen’s South Africa Medal, no bar, Nursing Sister F. Price, officially re-impressed naming as commonly seen.”

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

Thanks.  I saw that last night.  I'll have to ask Les the provenance for their statement.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon 

[azyeoman]

On 27/08/2022 at 06:48, Gordon Craig said:

azyeoman,

 

Thanks.  I saw that last night.  I'll have to ask Les the provenance for their statement.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon 

Hi Gordon,

Please let us know what he says.  Thanks.  John

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

Their response was that their comment meant "officially re-named".  They believe that when a nurse married that they returned the medal and and asked that the name on the medal be changed to their married name.  There is no proof of this that I, or they, are aware of. They have asked to me inform them of any additional information I may find about renamed QSAs to nurses.  So that is where we leave it for the time being.  I haven't had time to do as you suggest about reading threads re QSA/KSA to nurses.  That will have to wait until the future. We just sold our house and are moving into a condo and packing, sorting etc. don't leave me much time for my hobby.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

It occurred to me that I should just post the response I received and let you draw your own conclusions.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

Hi Gordon,

 

To my knowledge, as I have witnessed the sale of many of these medals in auctions and on other dealers lists as well as selling a good number of such medals myself, that a good percentage of them have been officially re-impressed, naming perfect in execution, the fine work of the Royal Mint, but the edge has been erased and the details being re-impressed.

 

According to a brief look at my sales records I can see roughly 13 examples of the QSA in pairs or singles, which I have retailed, and about 5 happen to be re-impressed.

 

It is fair to state that it is commonly encountered as I have personally witnessed and confirmed this fact based on previous evidence, that close to 40% of the examples I happen to have sold have this quirk.

 

I don’t know if there is any literature on this, there are obviously some theories on such examples:

 

The most common theory is that the women who received these medals would marry and change their name, and the government were willing to rename their medals to reflect that change, obviously this is not something that has been done before as men who received 90%+ of medals never had this need.

 

However to confirm this fact investigations would need to be done genealogically into the marriage records for the nurses and what name they carried during the war, cross checking the medal rolls and nursing records, something I don’t typically have time to do.

 

I would imagine the Angloboerwar.com forum would have more information, they typically track provenance of these types of medals and may have some notes on what percentage of the medals happen to be re-impressed and the reasons for this.

 

I would be interested to know if you find out further information.

 

Best Regards
Joshua

[azyeoman]

Thanks Gordon, 

it would be good to cross reference the married names with the nominal rolls. I’d be surprised if there Govt were so accommodating, but I may be jaded by modern politics. 
Cheers,

John

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

Many thoughts have gone through my mind since Joshua's email.  One of them is that the generally accepted theory about married women returning their medals for renaming doesn't hold water.  It is only a theory to explain the high number of renamed medals to nurses on QSAs.  You mentioned the nominal roles being changed to match the married name.  Like you, I doubt that happened.  Therefore, for these renamed medals to be authentic, the name on the medal and the name on the roll should not match.  To be acceptable, as a renamed medal, you would need to know the named  as used before the marriage.  Or, as Joshua says, do a genealogical search for the name on each medal.  The QSA on Liverpool Medals now, named to F. Price, has been renamed but according to them she is on the roles of the NO 14 Stationary Hospital in Maritzburg dated 28 January 1902 as F. Price.  I'm going  to leave my comments here.  If nothing else I've learned that one needs to be very careful in purchasing a QSA or a KSA named to a nurse.  As well, I've learned that because a dealer says something, it does not mean it is correct.  I'm not saying they are lying but as always it is "buyer beware".

 

Regards,

 

Gordon 

[azyeoman]

Hi Gordon,

if you look at the second nominal roll above, you’ll see Elizabeth Gray and underneath the note that she is “Now Mrs Brotherton”. So there is some evidence that at least one marriage was noted. This Is NOT the Elizabeth Gray whose medals I have, but another Elizabeth Gray. If GMIC would allow authors to edit  beyond the first 24 hours, then I could remove it, edit and update the thread, alas….  I will most likely start another thread.  I’m also writing an article for the Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America, which will be up-to-date re research, photos, ephemera and the reunited medals. But, we do know now there were actually three Elizabeth Grays in the Boer War, two Brit’s and an Aussie who later became an matron and was awarded the ARRC. “My” Elizabeth Gray was Elizabeth White Gray, “Lilly” and her QSA & KSA are both officially named ( NOT renamed), and she was one of 277 women to receive the TFWM.  What would be interesting to find out is whether the E. Gray who married was issued medals with her maiden name or with her married name.  
 

As for medals being returned for renaming due to marriage, I would agree with you that it is doubtful that happened.

 

Perhaps Sister E. Brotherton’s medal is out there, and perhaps there are others who can clarify this conundrum. Now, you see why I bought the QSA/KSA to Sister Elizabeth White Gray, they were both officially named, and as such I had nothing to worry about.

 

 More to come as Lilly’s medals should arrive tomorrow. It’ll be fantastic to see them all together again. 

 

 

 

 

[azyeoman]

The reunited group of Sister Elizabeth “Lilly” White Gray, minus her WWI Victory Medal.  Please contact me if you know it’s location so that I might do the ultimate reunite!  ?
 

Edited September 1, 2022 by azyeoman

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman,

 

Very interesting post re Nurse Gray.  Interesting that her married name has been entered on the role.  I look forward to your article in the Journal.  Lots of good info in this thread to keep for my reference.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

[azyeoman]

A new photo provided by a member of the family of Nursing Sister Elizabeth White “Lily” Gray at work during the Boer War. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by azyeoman

[azyeoman]

And yet another photo of Nursing Sister Elizabeth White Gray. 

[Gordon Craig]

azyeoman

 

Both of these photos are very interesting but the first one is particularly interesting . The nurse in the photo appears to be wearing a cape badge for Princess Christians Army Nursing Reserve.  She is wearing a different badge in the second photo.  Possibly of the hospital where she took he training?   The second photo also gives a reasonably good picture of the nurses belt.  Buckles of that designed stayed in use for over 100 years after this photo was taken.  Really nice photos to have. 

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

[azyeoman]

Hi Gordon,

Yes, she would have worn the  PCANRS badge you’ve shown. It would have been numbered with her personal number, which was 555; although there are unnumbered ones. I have one numbered 406, which was worn by Nursing Sister Elizabeth Allen Couch who was awarded a QSA/KSA pair for her service in the war at No. 17 Stationary Hospital in Middleburg.  They are very substantial Sterling silver badges and indeed stand out in photos.  I understand that some were reissued to replacement nurses who arrived later on.  I agree that her nursing buckle is very interesting.

Edited September 7, 2022 by azyeoman

[azyeoman]

The latest photo of Sister Elizabeth White Gray’s reunited group. I’ve removed the MID emblem as I have not yet the LG entry that she was MID. If anyone knows the location of her WWI Victory Medal please contact me as I would very much like to reunite all her medals. 

Edited September 18, 2022 by azyeoman