Chailey Heritage - Kenneth and William Garnett

I know nothing about Kenneth Gordon Garnett or his brother William Hubert Stuart Garnett. Both men are commemorated on a memorial at Chailey Heritage. The cuttings below are taken from De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1918.

Chailey Heritage 1928

My thanks to Roger Dougherty of Coneyhurst Paper Collectables for sending me the photo above. It shows Dr Charles William Kimmins and, presumably, boys from Chailey Heritage. It was taken in 1928. The biographies of Dr Kimmins's sons Anthony Martin Kimmins and Brian Charles Hannan Kimmins are on the Chailey 1914-1918 website.

Convalescents - Chailey Heritage 1918

I've been sent the link to the picture above which I presume, although I don't know for certain, was taken at Chailey Heritage. Does anybody recognise the buildings or, for that matter, any of the people pictured?

The only identified person so far is Horace Wilfred Dexter, wounded on 12th April 1918, who sits third from left on the front row.

My thanks to David Dexter for the photograph. Click on it for a larger version.

Chailey Heritage during WW1

Chailey Heritage's role during WW1 has always been beyond the scope of my research project. (I have researched Hickwells and Beechlands VAD hospitals but never Chailey Heritage). I do however, have some notes on Chailey Heritage during WW1 and today, quite out of the blue, I received this undated photograph of the "interior of the Princess Louise Military Wards, Heritage Colony, Chailey."

The following from my notes and transcripts of contemporary newspaper articles:

Friday June 11th 1915 [East Sussex News]
[Report that the Haywards Heath Band, accompanied by a number of the bandsmen of the 2/9th Manchester Battalion, visited the Heritage, North Common on Saturday, to play for the wounded soldiers and crippled boys there.]

March 14th 1916 - Page 7 [Mid-Sussex Times]

The Heritage Schools Chailey
EDUCATIVE CONVALESCENCE FOR WOUNDED MILITARY MEN
Among the war problems which are becoming increasingly pertinent, is that of the industrial position of the wounded soldier after the war. As it is obvious that a solution cannot be left until the fighting is over, an experiment in educative convalescence for our gallant, but maimed, lads has been originated at the Heritage Craft Schools for Crippled Children at Chailey, which are carried on in connection with The Guild of Brave Poor Things. Here are situated the Princess Louise Military Wards for wounded men, and the effort on behalf of their inmates has proved to have an enormous value. It has brought out the unique opportunity of testing the men in the use of new limbs and unaccustomed artificial apparatus in the workshops side by side with crippled boys similarly afflicted. The suggestiveness of the Scheme bears the hall mark of genius as well as novelty, but unquestionably the men learn much, unconsciously, from the attitude of the boys.

I have other photos of Chailey Heritage during WW1 tucked away somewhere and in due course I'll scan these and post them here.

My thanks to Jim Type for a) remembering me and b) sending me the photo that I've used on this page. Jim's relatives, Albert Heasman, Frederick Heasman and Gilbert Heasman, and Henry Downing all have pages on the main Chailey 1914-1918 website.

British Army WW1 Records

William Lansdowne: one handkerchief, one penny coin, one notebook...

When William Lansdowne sailed for France with the 13th King's Royal Rifle Corps in July 1915, his wife May was four months pregnant. When he was killed in action in February 1916, the baby daughter he'd never seen (except perhaps in a photograph) was under two months old.

The month after he was killed, May Lansdowne received a pathetic bundle containing her husband's effects. This contained, "...one soft helmet, one mouth organ, eleven postcards, one handkerchief, one penny coin, one notebook, one gospel, one tin box and two photos." Reading his service record even now, over ninety years after he was killed, is extremely poignant.

May Lansdowne had connections with Chailey Girls Heritage, probably working there as a servant, and it appears to be her connection with Chailey Heritage which links William, a Londoner, to Chailey.

William does not receive any mention in Chailey Parish Magazine but Soldiers Died in the Great War notes that his place of residence was Chailey at the time he enlisted, and I am pleased to be able to acknowledge, in a tiny way, his sacrifice via this blog and my Chailey 1914-1918 website.

Read William Lansdowne's service record with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here!

Chailey's Men - updates

I've added additional information to the pages for Ivor Grantham, George Hilton, Thomas Homewood, George Kemp and Wilfred Lockyer. I've also found service records for John William Harmer and William Alfred Lansdowne and I'll be updating their pages shortly.

John Harmer was a long serving Territorial who joined Sussex RGA in 1911 and went on to win the Military Medal.

William Lansdowne was a Londoner who was working as a waiter when he joined the King's Royal Rifles Corps. His wife was working at the Girls' Heritage in Chailey which explains his conection with the parish, although he is not mentioned in Chailey Parish Magazine. He was killed in action in 1916 leaving a three month old daughter.

Read John Harmer's and William Lansdowne's WW1 service records with a FREE 14 day trial to Ancestry.co.uk - Click here!

Alan Herbert Mainwaring West

My thanks are due yet agin to Ian Seccombe of Chailey who recently sent me a photograph of a memorial to Alan Herbert Mainwaring West which is located in St Martin's Chapel, Chailey Heritage. Blogger seems to be playing up at the moment and I'm unable to post the image here. However, I have uploaded it on the website.

Chailey Heritage 2008

Here, courtesy of Ian Seccombe of Chailey, is a recent shot of Chailey Heritage. Comparing it with the photo that I posted here of the building in 1908, the passage of years has, to outward appearances at least, been kind.

Chailey Heritage

It's a little off tangent but Heritage boys did serve their King and Country during WW1 and for that reason alone, I'm happy to include this 1908 photo of Chailey Heritage. Note the original title - Guild of the Poor Brave Things.