This is a long shot but I am researching my ancestry. On the 9th May 1947 my grandmother, Ada Elizabeth Cook, was awarded the British Empire Medal for an act of civilian bravery at St Alphage Hospital. She was a domestic assistant at the time. I am dimly aware that she pulled people out of wreckage caused by a gas explosion at the hospital. I would be delighted if anyone who has information would share it with me. Dave
Do you mean she was awarded the medal for an act on 9th May 1947 or presented with the medal on this date???? In theory but I'm sure one of the NA experts will correct me that details of the reasons for the award should be at the National Archive at Kew..... I was born in SE London but can't recall the St Alphage Hospital.....where was it?
hello Dave welcome to the forum do you have any dates is your spelling correct St Alfege's Hospital shows up Vanbrugh Hill, Greenwich, SE10 9JH Previous name(s) Greenwich Union Infirmary (1874 - 1928) Greenwich and Deptford Hospital (1928 - 1930) St Alfege's Hospital (1931 - 1968) The National Archives | Search the archives | Hospital Records| Details By 1944 the Hospital still remained divided into two parts: St Alfege's Hospital I (the infirmary) had acute 618 beds and St Alfege's II (the former workhouse) had 498 beds for long-stay patients. Work began in 1965 at the northwest cormer of the site, which had been cleared of buildings damaged during bombing in WW2. Lost_Hospitals_of_London
Dave I think that this is the hospital that you mean I would suggest that you contact Greenwich Local Heritage Centre - they will have copies of the local newspapers of the period John
John & CL1, Thanks if it disappeared in about 1968 probably why I don't remember it...... Now who's lying about their age!! John
Dave I have had a quick glance through the book : The Blitz Then and Now vol 3 which does show a few details of hospitals Lewisham/Deptford/Greenwich hit in SE London during WW2 if you could narrow the date down a few links for you to explore Greenwich Council - Heritage Centre - Greenwich Heritage Centre Lewisham Local History Society OLD DEPTFORD HISTORY please keep us updated PS: looks like it was demolished 2001
You could try using the National Archives Medal Search Engine. It seems to be playing up at the moment. The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Refine Browse Criteria Or try the London Gazette online too. I think you'll probably have to do some digging though as Cook is quite a popular name.
I think St Alfege Church tower was destroyed in 1940.... maybe the hospital was affected then? Bit of a wait for recognition until 1947 though.....
Welcome Dave Was that your Gran's correct name at time of award? Just checking - as if she got married after, then you would have to search under her maiden name. Do you have access to Times archives? Many such awards were listed along with brief details from citation. Andy It isn't playing up - documentsonline search engine is for Army awards only. This would fall under civil division. You could try using the National Archives Medal Search Engine. It seems to be playing up at the moment. The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Refine Browse Criteria
Thanks guys for showing an interest. I have in my possession both the British Empire Medal and a note from King George dated 9th May 1947 on Buckingham Palace notepaper. The text reads thus: 'I greatly regret that I am unable to give you personally the award which you have so well earned. I now send it to you with my congratulations and my best wishes for your future happiness' George RI The research thus far has been on the internet. I have looked at the National Archive website and also the London Gazette. I found her name in the Supplement of the London Gazette listing awards dated 24th June 1947. The text reads thus: Miss Ada Elizabeth COOK, Domestic Assistant, St. Alfege's London County Council Hospital. I believe that whatever she did was post war and am assuming that there was some sort of fire or explosion at the hospital and she did what she had to do. She was an extremely private woman and had no idea she was decorated. we were all suprised when it was revealed that she held the BEM at her funeral in Mar 1986. For the record. She was awarded the BEM in her maiden name though at the time King George presented the award she married my Grandfather, Sidney Charles Church of Brightfield Road, Lee Green Thanks for reading
Wasn't it Lewisham where the air raid shelter was hit causing many casualties, or some kind if panic getting into the shelter? Could it be Kennington Park you mean? Vauxhall, Kennington & the Blitz There was a terrible loss of life due to the poor design of the shelters, put up to appease the locals after the government ban on the use of underground stations. The panic was at Bethnal [sic?] Green station, an air raid warning had sounded and the AA guns opened up, this along with the rumours of the raid dropping landmines caused a panic and a rush into the station, 173 were killed. 1943 Memorial at Bethnal Green Underground Station
There was a very good book published by the Evening News Newspaper just after the war called Hitler Passed This Way. This was all about the bombing of London with before and after pictures in it. I had a copy of this book till about two years ago when I gave it to my eldest son. The bombing of Sandhurst School. I remember those aircraft flying over my house on their way into London and if I remember right there was four of them. They were flying very low and at first we thought that they were ours. After the School was attack the aircraft from every airfield for miles around took of in swarms and three of them were shot down and one passed over Southend streaming smoke and was not expected to get home to France. It was the only time I heard of the RAF machine gunning the German pilots after they had bailed out. At this time I was living not to far from Biggin hill and we had a lot of RAF people from the Station billeted with us
This is my first post, slo bear with me, if it sounds silly! My dad who is 80 is always telling me things about WW2. Yesterday he was telling me about when he was a boy in London. He used to go to a school which he called Duncan Road. Anyone know if that was the actul name? He said it was a very large school. He told me about how him and his sister used to have to sleep with three children who lived next door in one double bed, due to the bombing. He said they used to get all their things together and go with their parents to the underground station to get a good place to sleep on the platform. Occasionally they did not go to the underground. They had no garden, so no Anderson shelter. Their shelter was some sort of comcrete structure which they shared with people from other houses. He recaled one day when they thought the shelter had been hit by a bomb. The 'bomb' hit the concrete roof and landed on the top of an out building. His mother went upstairs in their house to look at what they thought was an unexploded bomb. It was a big metal tube, which you could see through. Hit had ben the disguarded shell of something the anti aircraft guns had expelled, which must have been a relief. He told me of the day an aircraft flew so low, beneath the barrage balloon, so low that my dad and his frinds could seen the pilot who was wavung. All the kids waved back when my Grandma, his mum, dragged him down to the ground, telling the kids it was the Germans. My dad said that that plane went on the bomb a school in Lewisham and killed a lot of children. Dad then said that the Germans later sent an apology for bombing the school as they actually hoped to bomg the power station. Does any of this sound right to anyone? I never know if he tells me the right facts and I find it all very interesting.
Hello, The School in Lewisham sound like Sandhurst School which is in Catford-part of Lewisham today. Some of the other bits don't fit though. Google maps shows only one Duncan Rd and thats in East London. There are only a few Underground Stations in South East London and as far as I'm aware they are not under ground or near Catford. The nearest is in New Cross. There isn't a Power Station in Catford either. The nearest is in Battersea that I'm aware of. As far as I'm aware the German fighters that bombers Sandhurst School were attacking the railway yards at Hither Green. Does your father remember his address where he lived during the war? I think there was another school bombed in another part of London but I only know bits and pieces from where I grew up in Catford. Cheers Andy
I am lucky enough to own a street atlas of London from 1939 and it shows 2 Duncan Road's Duncan Rd 1 is in the area referred to as Dalston, running between Sheep lane and Broadway mount, one below Westgate st and above Jackman st, unfortunately there are no postcodes from that time. Duncan Rd 2 is showing as Richmond,off Lower Mortlake rd.now called Salisbury Rd.
Could it be Kennington Park you mean? Vauxhall, Kennington & the Blitz There was a terrible loss of life due to the poor design of the shelters, put up to appease the locals after the government ban on the use of underground stations. The panic was at Bethnal [sic?] Green station, an air raid warning had sounded and the AA guns opened up, this along with the rumours of the raid dropping landmines caused a panic and a rush into the station, 173 were killed. 1943 Memorial at Bethnal Green Underground Station Hello Brad Re Lewisham it was a V1 that struck the top of a shelter quote from flying bombs and rockets The V1 struck the crowded Lewisham town centre (outside current "Lewisham centre" on map )at 09.41 on Friday the 28th July 1944. It exploded in the crowded market area after impacting on the roof of a street level air raid shelter outside Marks and Spencer's. Major damage was caused to the shops which also include Woolworth's and Sainsburies and devastation was caused to the market at this point, 59 people died in this tragedy and a further 124 were very seriously injured. Hundreds of others suffered less serious injury. Casualties occurred in the shops, in the basement café of Woolworth's and on passing buses. The Post Office was also badly damaged. This was the worst single V1 incident in South London. The blast area was particularly large and extended Up to 600 yards in each direction. This is probably indicative of the larger and more powerful warheads that were used by the Nazis later in the attacks.In total about 100 shops were very badly damaged and flats,shops and houses suffered varying degrees of damage across a wide area. The High Street in this point was completely re-built after the war on both side of the road.
As Andy states it was Sandhurst school Catford, Sandhurst Road School WW2 Names - Lewisham War Memorials BBC - WW2 People's War - Bombing of Sandhurst School, London, SE6
Hi, I am a newie too. There were two maiden aunts in my Dad's family who were killed in 1944 in a bomb blast in Lewisham. They lived in Elmer Road and they died 16 Jun 1944- I think it was a 'v' bomb but can't find much. I was brought up in Lee and went to school in Catford so I find it all fascinating-especially as my Dad was a navigator in the RAF and Mum was also in the RAF and lived through the Blitz. They had a rough time of it and I really don't think Dad ever recovered in some ways even though he survived and lived to be 85
Hi, I am a newie too. There were two maiden aunts in my Dad's family who were killed in 1944 in a bomb blast in Lewisham. They lived in Elmer Road and they died 16 Jun 1944- I think it was a 'v' bomb but can't find much. Welcome to the forum, starlight. There are 12 casualties listed for that day, looks like several adjacent houses were hit, so probably a V bomb. I think there are maps of the bomb locations somewhere? 001 BRAZIER AE - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 002 COLEMAN B - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 003 COLEMAN A - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 004 HORNSBY E - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 005 HORNSBY GT - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 006 HUNT EM - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 007 MATTHEWS LJ - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 008 MILES ES - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 009 MOORE AE - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 010 MORGAN L - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 011 WILSHER CW - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD 012 WORBOYS E - - 16/06/1944 CIVILIAN WAR DEAD
