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During the war years, nine old-girls and one member of staff served overseas, and two old-girls were living in Russia.
Clara Ashton, a mother of two young children, lost her husband (old-boy John Leach), and 40 old-girls lost a brother.
Listed below, along with brief details, are the names of 128 old-girls and members of staff whose lives were directly affected by the war; many gave up their leisure time to join Voluntary Aid Detachments as nurses or cooks, while others took the place of a man in an office. The names are taken from lists published in the Record of the Old Girls' Association.
The VAD badge.
Born on 25th December 1887, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1899 to July 1903. In 1911 she was assisting her uncle to run a public house. At the start of the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham, and later at Grecian Street Hospital, Manchester.
In 1918 she volunteered for service overseas and served at Rouen in France; unfortunately we have been unable to locate any further information.
She never married and died in 1971.
QMAAC Recruitment Poster.
Born on 11th December 1895, the daughter of Clement Cooper, a schoolmaster, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 to July 1914, firstly under a Hulme Scholarship and later under an Assheton Scholarship. At school she was an active member of sports teams.
Whilst training to be a teacher at Owens College, Manchester University, she joined their Voluntary Aid Detachment Nursing Service. She was then appointed to the Deaf and Dumb School at Old Trafford.
From September 1918, until she was sent home sick in March 1919, she served with Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps in France.
On returning to England she taught for a year at Eustace Street Council School in Chadderton before embarking for South Africa, where she taught at a boys' school in Pietermaritzburg from September 1920.
She married Maxwell Buchan in December 1922.
Born on 4th August 1891, the daughter of James Lloyd, a wholesale grocer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 to July 1908 under a bursary from Oldham Corporation. She then attended the Oldham Pupil Teacher Centre.
In 1909 she passed the Manchester Matriculation and became a medical student at the London School of Medicine for Women, graduating in 1916.
After working at Charing Cross Hospital she joined the Hospital Néo-Zélandais at Étrembières, under the French Croix Rouge. This hospital, in an old girls' school, was on the French Border near Geneva in Switzerland and dealt mainly with French citizens returning through Switzerland after being detained in Germany. The hospital was endowed by the New Zealand Government.
Silver War Badge.
Known as Elizabeth, she was born on 1st May 1892, the daughter of Edward William Martland, a physician and surgeon. She entered Oldham Hulme Grammar School in September 1900 at the age of eight years, and left in July 1909 having won the form prize in every year. Prior to the war, she had spent some time in Florence, Italy.
In 1914 she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse working with severe cases at Worsley Hall, and in 1916 was attached to the British Expeditionary Force in France. During this time she was wounded, and she was discharged as permanently disabled on 26th June 1918, for which she received a silver war badge.
After the war, unable to continue in a nursing career due to her disability, she took a course on Health Visitors and Child Welfare at King's College for Women in London which opened another field of service to her. She became interested in the welfare of soldiers and other people suffering from nervous mental disorders and, for some years, she ran a Council for Mental Health in Oldham, affiliated to the National Council for Mental Hygiene; her work in this field is perpetuated by the naming of the Elizabeth Martland Psychiatric Unit at what was then called the Oldham and District General Hospital. In January 1939 she attended a three-day conference on Mental Health in London.
She became a governor of Oldham Hulme Grammar School in 1933, a post she held until 1968 when she felt unable to continue to give what she considered the position demanded. She was appointed a County Magistrate in 1937 and became Oldham Borough Magistrate in 1944. She was also vice-president of the Oldham Women Citizens' Association and Division Commissioner of the Girl Guides in Oldham.
At the outbreak of the second world war in 1939 she was invited by the Joint Emergency Committee in London to act as their representative for the Civil Defence Region Number 10, an area consisting of Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland and parts of Derbyshire.
She died in 1969.
Panel on the Royaumont Women
in the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry.
Photograph: historycompany.co.uk
Known as Marjorie, she was born on 19th May 1881, the daughter of Edward William Martland, a physician and surgeon. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1897 to July 1906. Having passed, a year before she left school, the University of London Matriculation Examinations and the entrance examinations for Newnham College, Cambridge, she spent her final year in working for the preliminary scientific examination of the MB degree of the University of London. She was awarded a Foundation Scholarship for three years. She graduated in 1909 from Cambridge having taken the natural science tripos, and proceeded to the London School of Medicine for Women. After the first year there she became a demonstrator in anatomy and was awarded the anatomy prize two years in succession.
She qualified as a doctor and surgeon in 1914 and then held resident posts at the Victoria Hospital for Children in Chelsea (where beds had been reserved for wounded soldiers) and the Hampstead General Hospital.
In 1916 she volunteered to join the staff at the Scottish Women's Unit at Royaumont in France. The hospital had been set up in the old abbey with help from the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and the French Red Cross. It was staffed almost entirely by women and had about 350 beds. She worked there as one of the five surgeons for two years, and also at their second unit near the front lines at Viliers-Cotterets where she was second in command. When the area was heavily shelled it was only with the greatest difficulty that the hospital was evacuated without loss. She was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for "skill and devotion to the French and Allied wounded under repeated bombardment."
The French Croix de Guerre.
After returning to London she decided to specialise in pathology and was appointed biochemist and pathologist at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. She was on the consultant staff of the hospital from 1928 until 1945 when she went to live in Dorset. She continued her work as Emeritus Consultant Pathologist to the Salisbury General Infirmary.
In 1956 an American Television Company were preparing a "This is Your life" programme about the Executive Director of the American Red Cross, Mr J Harrison Heckman. He had been injured in 1918 and taken to the Royaumont Hospital where a red-haired surgeon had managed to save his leg from amputation. The television company wanted to find this surgeon to take part in the programme and, with help from the Medical Women's Federation, had identified Marjorie. She was flown to Los Angeles for four days of luxury and appeared on the programme, much to the surprise of Mr Heckman. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was later able to spend time in New York with the Heckman family.
Marjorie Martland died on 26th February 1962 aged 73.
Born on 29th October 1887, the daughter of John George Mellodew, an auctioneer and land surveyor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1901 to April 1903.
She qualified as a nurse in about 1911 and in 1913 was working as a sister at the Samaritan Hospital in Belfast. When this closed in 1914 she worked at Ancoats Hospital for a while before joining the nursing staff of the Military Hospital at Cambridge University as a member of the First Eastern Cambridge Territorial Unit. The hospital with 1200 beds had been set up in wooden huts on the University cricket ground and the 170 nurses were housed in Selwyn and King's Colleges.
In 1916 she was accepted for service overseas. She was posted to Salonica where she served as a nursing sister, and later to France. In 1919 she joined the Russian Expedition to Tiflis in the Caucasus.
She married Dr N Hodgson on 1st March 1922 and had three children. She died on 28th July 1943 at the age of 55.
The Royal Red Cross Medal.
Known as May, she was born on 13th July 1883, the daughter of Abraham Nicholson, a solicitor and Town Clerk. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1896 to July 1901. She trained as a children's nurse at Princess Christian College, Manchester, and from 1907 at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, qualifying in 1911.
She became a staff nurse with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service on 4th January 1912. Her unit was sent to Belgium and France on 23rd August 1914. In 1915 she was in Rouen, and then St Nazaire. Later she nursed at the Trianon Hotel in Versailles which had been taken over by the Royal Army Medical Corps. She was promoted to sister on 18th May 1917 and finished her overseas service on 11th November 1918. She was mentioned in despatches.
She continued in the army after the war and was promoted to matron. In 1937 she was awarded the decoration of the Royal Red Cross, First Class, in recognition of her exceptional devotion and competency displayed in the performance of nursing duties in Military Hospitals.
Born on 28th November 1875, she studied at Mme Osterberg's Physical Training College at Dartford in Kent, qualifying in 1900 as an instructor in Swedish Educational and Medical Gymnastics, Physiology and Hygiene. She was a visiting gymnastics and swimming instructor at Oldham Hulme Grammar School for two days per week from 1906 to 1914. During this time she also taught at two private schools, and at Strangeways Prison and the Royal Lunatic Asylum in Cheadle.
In 1915 she joined Mrs St Clair Stobart's unit in Serbia as an ambulance driver. Mrs Stobart had founded the Women's Imperial Service League in 1914 and set up a unit in Antwerp in September. However, when the country became overrun by the Germans they were forced to leave. In April 1915 the unit, which now had 15 doctors, went to Serbia. It remained there until October of that year when the country was invaded by Bulgaria.
It is not known if Miss Sharman later served elsewhere with the unit, but her teacher's registration card notes that she was on war service until 1919.
Born on 7th June 1885, the daughter of Thomas E West, a civil and mining engineer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1899 until July 1901. After the family left the area we have not been able to trace her whereabouts.
However, she appears to have kept in contact with the Old-Girls' Association; they report that during the war she worked at the Aide Infirmière in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Royal Red Cross Medal.
Born on 11th June 1880, the daughter of Thomas Wormald, a dentist, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from May 1895 when the school first opened until December 1897. She then trained to qualify as a nurse. In 1911 she was living and working at Bolton Infirmary and in 1914 was at Leeds Hospital.
During the war she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service as a staff nurse and was later promoted to sister. She served firstly in Alexandria, Egypt, and then on hospital ships during the Gallipoli Expedition. In 1916 she became Matron of the Government Hospital at Benha in Egypt. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal for her service.
After the war she became a sister at Wakefield Hospital. She died on 6th September 1967 aged 87.
In the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, a number of men from Oldham were working in the cotton industry in Russia. Some were managing cotton mills while others were involved in the erection and maintenance of machinery. Often these men took their families with them, and any children received their early education there; St Petersburg, for example, had a British community with its own Prep School. However, the children were usually sent home to relatives in Oldham when they reached the age of 11 or 12.
Dorothy Brocklehurst was born in Oldham on 9th April 1899. Her parents had married the previous year and in 1901 were living together with their daughter in Oldham. Sometime after this her father Peter Brocklehurst, an erector and fitter of textile machinery, and her mother Mary Annie Lawton, went to work in Russia leaving Dorothy with her grandparents. She attended Miss Wild's Private School for four years before coming to Oldham Hulme Grammar School in April 1913. Shortly after leaving school in July 1916, during the war but before the Russian Revolution, she travelled with her mother to Russia. The following account of their journey is given in the 1916 - 1917 Record of the Old Girls' Association:
Russian women washing clothes in the river.
Photograph sent to the Old-Girls' Association in 1913.
Oldham Hulme Grammar School Archive.
"Dorothy Brocklehurst, who has returned with her mother to Russia, gives a most interesting account of her journey and of the district in which she lives.
They went via Bergen, of course, and she tells of the splendid scenery between Bergen and Christiania, of the mountains whose summits are clothed in snow, of numerous lakes with wooded shores or bare rocks rising almost perpendicularly from the water's edge, giving a desolate appearance to the landscape. At times when skirting the lakes the railway track on the mountain side is so narrow that it seems as if one must be hurled into the lake below.
Recent railway restrictions in England however are as nothing compared with the difficulties attending travelling in Russia. They had to book again at Petrograd (St Petersburg), and paid a man six shillings to wait his turn for three hours at the booking office, and even then, he got only second class tickets not in a sleeping car. Dorothy continues: 'We were there an hour and a half before the train started and found that there was not even standing room. We went into a first class corridor and found five empty, locked compartments; we had been told that all the places had been taken in first class. These compartments were taken one by one till only one remained. Three hours after entering the train the guard opened the compartment for us, but mother had to pay sixteen shillings on each ticket and no receipt was given.' The compartments were evidently held for the highest bidder."
Her home is in one of the prettiest districts in Russia; there is a beautiful river, woods and forests on all sides, with wild fruits and birds in plenty. No wonder that she finds it a great change from living in Oldham.
Dorothy later returned to England and, in 1928 after taking a course in Domestic Economy at Manchester College became the housekeeper at the hostel for college students. In 1930 she was appointed assistant warden at Thwaite Hall, the women's hostel of Hull University.
Dorothy never married, and died in 1992 at the age of 93.
Mary Nadejda Wild, known as Nadia, was born in Russia on 26th February 1891. Her birth was registered in the St Petersburg area where her father John James Wild was working. In about 1899 she came to England to live with her grandfather John Potter, a mill manager. She attended a private school for three years before coming to Oldham Hulme Grammar School in January 1903. She left school in July 1908 at the age of 17 and returned to Russia.
An article in the 1921 issue of the Record of the Old Girls' Association tells briefly of how, in 1917, when the Russian Revolution took place, Nadia and her family were taken prisoner and held as hostages for two years. They lived chiefly on black bread, frozen potatoes, cabbage and water, which they were able to procure by selling or exchanging their possessions. They were eventually exchanged for Russian prisoners and managed to return to England.
Nadia worked at the Head Office of the District Bank in Manchester. She never married, and died on 8th December 1961 at the age of 69.
Voluntary Aid Detachments Poster.
Miss Alexander was a member of staff at Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1912 until December 1917. Born on 22nd September 1890, she had graduated from the Bedford Froebel Training College in 1911. She was responsible for teaching English, Arithmetic and French to forms I and II, and for teaching needlework throughout the school. In 1915 she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment, working as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 30th August 1896, the daughter of George A Ashworth, an oil merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from March 1908 to April 1913. Active in sports whilst at school she won prizes for gymnastics. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham, and later took the place of a man as a clerk in a mill office. She married George H Rushton on 12th August 1920.
Born on 29th September 1897, the daughter of John Bowes, a surgeon, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from June 1905 to July 1913. She joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at the Red Cross Hospital at Rhyl in North Wales. After marriage to David A Lewis on 1st September 1921 she remained in Wales.
Photograph from Paul Bowes Family Tree,
Ancestry.co.uk.
Born on 15th September 1895, the daughter of John Bowes, a surgeon, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from June 1905 to July 1911. She joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at the Military Hospital at Neath in South Wales. She married Clarence D Kirkbride on 9th May 1918, and died in Vancouver, Canada on 12th November 1987.
Born on 27th January 1893, the daughter of George Herbert Braddock, a gas meter manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to December 1907. In 1911 she was a student. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She married Arthur W Foster on 28th December 1922.
Known as Lily, she was born on 22nd June 1895, the daughter of George Herbert Braddock, a gas meter manufacturer. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to July 1908, going then to Harrogate Ladies' College. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She died at Cannes in France on 12th March 1927.
Born on 26th September 1896, the daughter of Joseph Edward Brearley, a skip manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to July 1911. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Crompton Hospital. Her brother, Fred Crossland Brearley, an old-boy of the school, was killed in action in France in 1916. She married Frank Stott on 14th September 1921.
Born on 5th July 1898, the daughter of Joseph Edward Brearley, a skip manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from to January 1908 to December 1913. During the war she served with the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, training recruits at Chadderton. Her brother, Fred Crossland Brearley, an old-boy of the school, was killed in action in France in 1916. She never married, and died in 1983 at the age of 84.
Born on 22nd January 1896, the daughter of Charles Frederick Brierley, a yarn salesman, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1909 to July 1911. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment at The Knoll in Oldham.
Born on 17th June 1899, the daughter of James Broadbent, a leather merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1908, leaving in July 1912 to attend another school. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 27th October 1893, the daughter of Arthur Brothers, an accountant , she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1902 to April 1910. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Greenfield Hospital.
Born on 23rd July 1891, the daughter of the Reverend Stuart Caldwell, a Baptist Minister , she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to July 1908. In 1911 she was a part-time student. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married Raymond V Tate in 1923.
Miss Clegg was a member of staff at Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1914 to March 1915. Born on 28th August 1881, she graduated BA 1st class honours in Classics from Durham University in 1903, obtaining her teaching diploma at the same time. She organised geography and arithmetic throughout the school, and was in charge of the basketball club. She resigned at Easter 1915 to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham, before going to Oxford University in October 1915 to study for the Oxford Geography Diploma. She later returned to teaching as a geography specialist.
Born on 17th May 1894, the daughter of Clement Cooper, a schoolmaster, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to July 1911, firstly under a Town Scholarship and later under an Assheton Scholarship. While at school she won a number of Royal Drawing Society certificates, and was an active member of sports teams. She graduated from Owens College, Manchester University, MA 1st class honours in French in 1916, before taking the training course for teaching. Whilst at university she joined their Voluntary Aid Detachment nursing service. She married Frederick V Cant on 25th June 1919.
Born on 17th August 1892, the daughter of John J Farrow, a carriage proprietor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1905 to December 1908. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook and nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married Major James O Roberts on 7th April 1920.
Photograph from Oldham Hulme
Grammar School Archive.
Born on 4th November 1891, the daughter of Herbert Fletcher, a brewer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1904 to December 1907. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook and nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married Leonard C Row on 29th October 1919.
Known as Trixie, she was born on 18th April 1891, the daughter of James Fletcher, a yarn salesman. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1902 to July 1907. In 1913 she was awarded a 1st class diploma from Manchester School of Domestic Economy. During the war she put these skills to good use as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She is also reported to have worked in the office of a cotton mill. She married Captain W Ormrod on 25th June 1919.
Known as May, she was born on 18th June 1889, the daughter of T E Gartside, a cotton mill manager. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1903 to July 1906. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married William M Holden in 1917.
Miss Gellatly was a member of staff at Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1914 until December 1916. Born on 26th August 1891, she had trained in educational and remedial gymnastics at Madame Osterbert's Physical Training College at Dartford in Kent. She was employed for half of the week to teach gymnastics, dancing and swimming. During the early years of the war she instructed ambulance classes. She married Charles Macnee of the Royal Naval Reserve Transport Service in 1917 and in May 1922 sailed to join her husband in Jamaica. They returned in 1928 and settled in Scotland.
Miss Gwynne was a member of staff at Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1911 until July 1914. Born on 3rd April 1887, she had graduated from Somerville College, Oxford University in 1909 with 2nd class honours from the School of Modern History. She gained her teaching diploma at Sheffield University. She was responsible for Roman and English History throughout the school. She resigned in 1914 to take up an appointment at a private school in Montreal, Canada. In 1916 she returned to England to join the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at a hospital near Hyde Park, London, before marrying later that year.
Born on 7th July 1880, the daughter of Edward Hague, a cotton spinner and mill owner, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1895 to December 1897. In 1911 she was caring for her father and aunt. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She married Hugh Higson in 1928.
Born on 12th June 1901, the daughter of John Hilton, a banker's clerk, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1911 to March 1917. After leaving school she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She married Eric D Smith in 1920.
Known as Evelyn, she was born on 15th September 1888, the daughter of Bernard J Holt, a manager. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1900 to March 1905. In 1911 she was living with her widowed mother. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married Dr William Browne on 26th July 1921.
Born on 22nd August 1897, the daughter of George Ingham, a rope and twine manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1908 to December 1911. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She married Richard Fitton on 15th April 1920.
Born on 22nd April 1897, the daughter of J Turner Jackson, a solicitor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 to March 1915.During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook and nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married Joseph S Partington in 1922.
Known as Helen, she was born on 1st July 1887, the daughter of Richard Johnson, an overseas commercial traveller. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1902 to March 1904. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse, working with severe cases at Worsley Hall. She never married and died in 1963.
Born on 1st May 1892, the daughter of Richard Johnson, an overseas commercial traveller , she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under a Town Scholarship from September 1906. She left in July 1910 having failed the pupil teacher examinations. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. In 1918 she qualified as a masseuse at the Institute of Massage and Remedial Gymnastics and then embarked on a medical course at the Manchester Medical School, qualifying MB ChB in 1925.
Born on 24th May 1897, the daughter of James W Knott, a rope manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1908 to July 1915. She graduated 1st class BCom from the Faculty of Commerce at the Victoria University, Manchester, in 1919. Whilst at university she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment at Owens College. She also worked for the National Registration Programme. After the war she became a lecturer in economics at a commercial school in Southport. She died in 1983.
Born on 20th February 1891, the daughter of Henry Lawton, a machine maker, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to July 1909. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She later worked at the Star and Garter Home for the permanently disabled for six months (the maximum time allowed due to the nature of the work) and then at the Military Hospital at Walton-on-Thames in Surrey. In 1919 she worked at a welfare centre in Lees, looking after babies to relieve their mothers.
Born on 16th August 1884, the daughter of Henry Lawton, a machine maker, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1896 to July 1902. In 1911 she was still living with her parents and siblings. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 29th April 1896, the daughter of John Macpherson, a bank cashier, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1908 to July 1914. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 16th August 1887, the daughter of Walter Maw, a solicitor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1897 to May 1902. We have no record of her after she left school until, when the war started in 1914, she became Quartermaster at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. The quartermaster was responsible for the receipt, custody and issue of items from the provisions store. She remained in this post until the end of the war and received honourable mention in recognition of her services.
Photograph from Oldham Hulme
Grammar School Archive.
Born on 6th April 1887, the daughter of Arthur Mayall, a cotton spinner and secretary, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1898 to July 1902. She married Captain John Norman Williamson in 1907 and moved to Southport. Despite having three children by the start of the war, she found time to work in the Comforts Department of the Voluntary Aid Detachment at Southport.
Miss McHardy was a member of staff at Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1912 until July 1916. Born on 21st November 1886, she had graduated MA from the University of Aberdeen in 1909. She then went to Girton College, Cambridge University, graduating with the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos in 1912. During the early years of the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She resigned in 1916 to study at the London School of Medicine for Women. On completing her medical course in 1922 she was appointed house surgeon at the Bradford Infirmary.
Born on 25th January 1891, the daughter of Frank Mellodew, an auctioneer and valuer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1902 to December 1906. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. In 1918 she took the place of a man at the Union Bank in Royton. She married Robert Hasty in 1924.
Born on 16th December 1889, the daughter of Frank Mellodew, an auctioneer and valuer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1902 to December 1906. She gained the Higher Froebel Certificate in 1911 and taught at a private school on Werneth Hall Road which, in 1919, she took over the running of. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 2nd December 1899, the daughter of Edward Mercer, a machine tool maker, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1910 to July 1916. She then joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Known as Madge, she was born on 10th November 1886, the daughter of Frank R Newton, a cotton spinner. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1899 to July 1902 when she left for boarding school. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Worsley Hall where severe cases were treated. It was reported in the Record of the Old-Girls' Association that in July 1918 she had joined the Women's Royal Air Force and was initially posted to a large aircraft repair depot near Sheffield where she became quartermaster and officer of sports. She was then transferred to Salisbury. We have no further information. She died in 1975 at the age of 88.
Born on 26th February 1896, the daughter of Ebenezer Thomas Parkes, a bank manager, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1909 to July 1912. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She never married, and died in Cambridge in 1982.
Born on 1st February 1894, the daughter of Charles H Pickford, a cotton spinner, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1907 to December 1910. At school she was known to have a good singing voice. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook and entertainer at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married Frank Mercer in 1918.
Photograph from Oldham Hulme
Grammar School Archive.
Born on 13th March 1890, the daughter of Charles William Rye, a mill manager, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1898 to March 1908. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham. She married Albert Jackson on 5th June 1919.
Born on 30th January 1897, the daughter of Samuel Edwin Shaw, the managing director of a cotton mill , she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to May 1910. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook and nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 21st June 1897, the daughter of A E Smith, a solicitor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1907, leaving in December 1910 to go to boarding school. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 30th June 1891, the daughter of Booth Smith, a builder, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to July 1908. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 10th April 1896, the daughter of John H Snowdon, a cotton mill manager, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1909 to March 1911. During the war she took the place of a man in an office and later joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at The Knoll in Oldham.
Born on 20th November 1890, the daughter of Walter F Spencer, a heating engineer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1902 to December 1907. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. In 1916 she travelled to London to study singing under Sir Henry Wood.
Born on 10th January 1890, the daughter of Thomas Stevenson, a schoolmaster, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1901 to July 1905, firstly under a Hulme Scholarship and, from 1904, under a Town Scholarship during which time she was a pupil teacher. In 1911 she was an assistant mistress at a local elementary school. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Boundary Park Hospital, Oldham.
Born in London on 8th August 1887, the daughter of the Reverend A T Viner, a congregational minister, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1896 to December 1902. She qualified as a nurse and during the war joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a sister at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Known as Winifred, she was born on 23rd January 1888, the daughter of the Reverend Frederick Wareham. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1901 to July 1905. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Heaton Mersey Hospital, the family having moved to that area.
Born on 6th July 1895, the daughter of Sam Whitehead, a contractor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1907 to July 1911. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Known as Josephine, she was born on 27th April 1890, the daughter of George William Wild, a cotton broker. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1902 to November 1905. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 16th November 1887, the daughter of Herbert Wilde, a brush manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1899 to July 1903. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She married William Harling in 1917 and died in 1984 at the age of 96.
Born on 23rd July 1891, the daughter of Herbert Wilde, a brush manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1899 to July 1910. She then trained to become a teacher at the Froebel Institute in London. In 1913 she was appointed as a form mistress at the Merchant Taylors' School, Great Crosby, Liverpool. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Woodfield Hospital, Oldham. She also worked in her father's office. In 1920 she travelled to the United States with her brother Randal White Wilde, a cotton broker, returning five months later. She travelled again in 1921 and on 1st June 1922 she was married to Paul Rush at his home town of Evansville, Indiana, USA. They settled near her brother in Memphis, Tennessee. She occasionally travelled back to the UK to visit her family, sometimes with her husband, sometimes with her daughter. She died in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1987 at the age of 95.
Gladys Elizabeth Wilkinson and the triplets under her care at the Sale Welfare Centre.
Photograph from Oldham Hulme Grammar School Archive.
Born on 21st April 1892, the daughter of James Bates Wilkinson, a medical officer of health, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1902 to July 1911. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Wilmslow Hospital, and in 1916 started training to become a qualified nurse. She then took a medical degree at Manchester University, graduating in 1928. She became a medical officer of health for Cheshire County Council. She never married and died in 1981 at the age of 88.
Born on 21st December 1891, the daughter of Frederick Wood, a timber merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from March 1905 to December 1908. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 8th November 1898, the daughter of Robert Wood, a timber merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to July 1914 . During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Born on 20th April 1895, the daughter of Robert Wood, a timber merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to March 1911. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a cook at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Known as May, she was born on 2nd January 1894, the daughter of Frederick Wood, a timber merchant. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from March 1905 to July 1910. During the war she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as a nurse at Abbey Hills Hospital, Oldham.
Known as Dolly, she was born on 16th March 1897, the daughter of James Ashton, a building contractor. She was the tenth of eleven children and, after the death of her father in 1906, her elder brothers appear to have taken over the family business. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1908 to March 1913. During the war she became a clerk in a cotton mill. She married Arnold Wood, a sheep farmer, in 1923 and emigrated to New Zealand.
Known as Maud, she was born on 10th May 1895, the daughter of George Alfred Ashworth, an oil merchant. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from March 1908 to December 1910. During the war she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill. Her brother Stuart Anderton Ashworth died at sea in 1915 at the age of 16. She married Wilfrid Hall in 1917 and died in 1990 at the age of 95.
Born on 17th July 1898, the daughter of Thomas Henry Bagot, a schoolmaster, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1908 to March 1915. After leaving school she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill. She married James Buckley on 15th October 1924 and died in 1964 at the age of 66.
Born on 13th July 1896, the adopted daughter of Shaw Boothroyd, a sheet metal worker, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1909 to July 1915. After leaving school she took a job in the drawing office of Messrs Platt's Works.
Born on 16th February 1894, the daughter of John Bladd, an iron turner, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 under an Assheton Scholarship. After a failed attempt in 1908, she was successful in securing a Town Bursary in 1909 which would allow her to become a pupil teacher while continuing her own education. She left school in July 1911 to attend Oldham Pupil Teacher Centre. During the war she volunteered to work on National Registration. She died on 23rd January 1920 at the age of 25 and it is interesting to note that six siblings had died in infancy.
Born on 28th August 1893, the daughter of Benjamin Blomiley, the Station Master at Shaw, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 under a Shaw Scholarship and from 1908 under an Assheton Scholarship, leaving in 1909. During the war she worked as a railway clerk. She never married and died in 1969 at the age of 75.
Known as Millicent, she was born on 20th October 1896, the daughter of William N Booth, a commercial clerk. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to Summer 1911, before going to boarding school in Brussels. During the war she worked as a bank clerk. She married Herbert Butterworth in 1922 and died in 1968 at the age of 71.
Born on 14th July 1896, the daughter of Bennet Bradbury, a clerk, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1907 to July 1910. During the war she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill. Her only sibling, brother Harry, an old-boy of the school and a chemistry student at Manchester University, had been granted a commission at the beginning of the war. After serving in France from July 1915 he was transferred as an anti-gas officer to the Royal Engineers in Egypt and died there of heart failure shortly after the war ended. She married Herbert Hasty in 1923.
Born on 20th April 1900, the daughter of Fred Brierley, an accountant and collector of income tax, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1913 to December 1916. On leaving school she worked as a clerk in her father's company. She married Eric W Wood in 1925 and died in 1962.
Born on 17th September 1898, the daughter of Herbert Bromley, a banker's clerk, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1909 to December 1915, where she was involved in many different sporting activities. After leaving school she worked as a bank clerk. In 1925 she married Alec Shaw, an old-boy of the school. She died in 1986 at the age of 87.
Known as May, she was born on 3rd July 1892, the daughter of William Buckley, an insurance agent. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to July 1909. During the war she volunteered to work on National Registration.
Born on 19th June 1894, the daughter of James Edwin Carter, a compositor (for printing), she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 under an Assheton Scholarship, and from 1909 under a Town Bursary. She left in 1911 to attend the Oldham Pupil Teacher Centre. During the war she volunteered to work on National Registration. She married William Young on 19th April 1922 and died on 24th June 1965 at the age of 71.
Born on 12th April 1900, the daughter of James Edwin Carter, a registrar of births, marriages and deaths, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under an Assheton Scholarship from September 1912 to July 1917. On leaving school she volunteered to work on National Registration.
Born on 28th May 1900, the daughter of John Chadwick, a solicitor working overseas, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January to December 1914. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 13 May 1896, the daughter of John Robert Clynes, MP, a Trades Union Secretary, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1910 to December 1912. During the war she worked as an office clerk. She married Frank Herbert in 1919.
Born on 11th February 1896, the daughter of Lucas William Cooke, a bank accountant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1909 to December 1911. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 27th July 1897, the daughter of Robert Corns, a butcher, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1911 to December 1912. During the war she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill. She never married and, in 1948, she spent six months in Brazil, giving her occupation at the time as a school secretary. She died in 1986 at the age of 88.
Born on 2nd November 1895, the daughter of Robert Eatough, a medical practitioner, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1905 to December 1912 before going to boarding school in Belgium. During the war she worked as a bank clerk. She married George Vincent David William Ramsden in 1924.
Miss Evington was a member of staff at Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1897 until her retirement in July 1929. Born on 26th March 1866, she had previously taught in private schools in England and France and had taken the course of the Alliance Française. She was in charge of organising the teaching of French throughout the school and also in charge of the Old Girls' Association. In 1915 she volunteered to work on National Registration and, as she is not mentioned as having been absent from school during this time, she probably did this work during the summer break. She never married, and died in 1946 at the age of 80.
Born on 10th September 1898, the daughter of Frederick Field, a flock manufacturer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1911 to July 1914. During the war she worked as a clerk in her father's office.
Known as Grace, she was born on 27th October 1896, the daughter of Edward Colin Foote, a borough surveyor. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1911 to March 1913 before going to boarding school in Southport. During the war she worked as a bank clerk. She married Ernest Robinson in 1928.
Born on 29th September 1900, the daughter of J A Gaunt, Surveyor of H M Customs, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1913 to July 1916. On leaving school she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 4th October 1900, the daughter of Arthur A Hill, a provision merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1913 to December 1914. During the war she worked in an office.
Born on 6th February 1892, the daughter of John Hodgson, a surgeon, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1901 to June 1905. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 30th May 1887, the daughter of John Hodgson, a surgeon, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from May 1897 to June 1905. During the war she worked as a bank clerk. In 1918 she was secretary to the curator of the Museum of Manchester University.
Born on 17th July 1884, the daughter of Arthur Holt, a draughtsman, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1897 to July 1901. During the war she worked in an office. She married John L Watson in 1912.
Known as Gertrude, she was born on 16th January 1884, the daughter of James Hurst, a chemist. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from May 1897 to December 1899. During the war she was a clerk in the tram office at Blackpool. She died on 22nd April 1923 at the age of 39.
Born on 15th October 1901, the daughter of Abraham Jackson, an accountant , she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from November 1913 to July 1918. On leaving school she worked as a clerk in her father's office.
Born on 29th May 1893, the daughter of George Kempsey, a company secretary, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1904 to March 1909, before going to boarding school. In 1915 she was at college in Manchester training for secretarial work. During the war she worked as a clerk at Salford Gas Works. She married Stanley H Baker on 25th July 1920.
Born on 8th January 1886, the daughter of John Kershaw, a company secretary, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1898 to July 1901. During the war she was involved in the making of munitions. She married William Dunkerley on 16th July 1919.
Born on 24th November 1897, the daughter of Ernest Kirkman, a caretaker, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1910 under a Town Scholarship and from September 1914 under a Town Bursary. She left in July 1915 to attend Oldham Pupil Teacher Centre. She volunteered during the war at the recruiting office.
Evening Telegraph and Post,
25th February 1915.
Born on 28th January 1891, the daughter of George J Lansdell, a wine merchant, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1903 to December 1907. In 1912, the Record of the Old-Girls' Association reported that she was making a career as a singer and by 1914 she was appearing as a soprano soloist at concerts around the country. During the early years of the war she appeared as a soloist at a number of benefit concerts in aid of the Belgian Relief Fund, including on 18th November 1914, a selection of songs at the City Hall, Perth, on 6th January 1915, "Elijah" with the Hallé Orchestra and choir at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, and on 24th February 1915, Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus" with the Dundee Amateur Choral Union. In 1916, after a course of study in London, she was chosen by Sir Thomas Beecham to appear with his Opera Company, and continued her career for the next few years. She married Austen E Leeson on 11th August 1919.
Known as Daisy, she was born on 25th July 1887, the daughter of Henry Charles Lee, a printer and stationer. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1898 to March 1902. During the war she worked as a clerk in the Treasury Department at Manchester Town Hall. In 1919 she worked training students in horticulture at the Eltham Hostel in Kent. Her brother Charles Henry Lee, an old-boy of the school who was awarded a military cross, died in 1920 of wounds received during the war.
Born on 25th April 1884, the daughter of Arthur Allison Leech, a cotton waste dealer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under an Assheton Scholarship from September 1906, and under a Town Bursary from 1909. She left in July 1911 to attend Oldham Pupil Teacher Centre. During the war she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill. She married Procktor Mallalieu on 11th November 1920.
Born on 23rd August 1896, the daughter of Arthur Allison Leech, a cotton waste dealer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under a Hulme Scholarship from September 1908 to July 1913. She was involved in many different sporting activities whilst at school. After leaving she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill during the war.
Born on 27th January 1901, the daughter of John Liversage, a surveyor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January to December 1915. After leaving school she worked in an office during the war.
Born on 15th February 1885, the daughter of John J Mellor, a book-keeper, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1899 to July 1901. In November 1902 she was accepted by the Post Office as a 'learner' at Oldham. She married Wallace E Calder on 2nd August 1915. In 1916 she worked as a clerk at the Borough Treasurer's Office. She died in 1962 at the age of 77.
Born on 10th July 1898, the daughter of Edward Mercer, a machine tool maker, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April 1910 to July 1913. During the war she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill.
Born on 4th January 1899, the daughter of Albert Mills, a wholesale grocer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1914 to July 1915. After leaving school she worked as a clerk in the Education Office at Oldham. On 23rd February 1922 she married Maurice Horsfall, an old-boy of the school who had served in Egypt and France. She died in 1983 at the age of 84.
Born on 21st May 1902, the daughter of John Mills, a horse driver, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1914 to July 1916. On leaving school she worked as a clerk in the office of Thomas Mellodew and Company of Moorside. She married Edward S Dunkerley in 1925.
Born on 21st February 1889, the daughter of John E Newton, a cotton spinner, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from June 1901 to July 1904. During the war she worked as a gardener at Langdale Hall.
Born on 6th July 1899, the daughter of James Parkinson, a drug vendor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1914 to July 1915. During the war she worked in the office of a munitions factory. She married William R Jones in 1926.
Born on 14th April 1898, the daughter of Henry Atherton Parkyn, a yarn salesman, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from April to October 1908 and from January 1911 to July 1914. During the war she worked in an office. She married Harold Gartside in 1920.
Born on 19th February 1895, the daughter of Joseph Pennington, a cotton waste dealer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under an Assheton Scholarship from September 1907 to March 1911. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 18th August 1890, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under a town bursary from September 1903 to July 1908. During the war she worked as a clerk in the General Post Office at Oldham.
Born on 14th January 1893, the daughter of Thomas S Robinson, a chief clerk at the County Court, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1904 to July 1910. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 31st October 1899, the daughter of James Buckley Robinson, a dyer and finisher, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under an Assheton Scholarship from September 1912 to July 1916 when she moved to St Albans. After working at her father's office she took a job with Barclays Bank in London. She married Jay B Smith in 1917.
Known as Marian, she was born on 6th September 1898, the daughter of Harry Dixon Rodgers, a cashier and builder's merchant. She attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from October 1911 to July 1914. During the war she worked as a clerk at the General Post Office, Oldham. She married Harry Mills in 1921.
Born on 28th June 1894, the daughter of Harry Dixon Rodgers, a cashier, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to July 1910. During the war she worked as a clerk at the General Post Office, Oldham.
Born on 8th September 1895, the daughter of Charles W Rye, a mill manager, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1904 to March 1910. During the war she became a junior auditor.
Born on 17th March 1902, the daughter of Christopher Shimeld, a solicitor, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1914 to July 1918. After leaving school she became a clerk in her father's office.
Born on 23rd December 1895, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1907 to December 1912. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 14th October 1900, the daughter of Fred Smith, a carder, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School under a Hulme Scholarship from September 1912 to July 1916. She then worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office. In 1922 she was a senior typist at the War Pensions Committee in Oldham.
Born on 28th January 1894, the daughter of Leonard Stanton, an excursion and tourist agent , she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from January 1908 to December 1909. During the war she worked as a clerk for the railway, having already studied shorthand and typing. She married William T Huckell in 1921.
Born on 8th April 1892, the daughter of John Urmson, an engineer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1906 to March 1908. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 17th June 1894, the daughter of John Kay Whitehead, a commercial traveller, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1907 to July 1910. During the war she worked as a bank clerk.
Born on 4th July 1886, the daughter of Ralph J Whitehead, a printer, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1900 to December 1901. During the war she worked as a clerk in an office.
Born on 13th July 1897, the daughter of Joseph A Wrigley, a yarn salesman, she attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School from September 1908 to July 1914. During the war she worked as a clerk in a cotton mill.