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Tewkesbury in WWI

Tewkesbury Historical Society

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Tewkesbury during World War I

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 22 August 1916. It is of the canteen staff of the Tewkesbury Y.M.C.A. Soldiers' Club which met at Watson Hall in Barton Street. Among the ladies shown are:

1. Elizabeth Moore, wife of Neville Moore, solicitor (brother of John Moore the author).

2. Edith Priestley, wife of Donald Priestley, the brother of Antarctic explorer Raymond Priestley.

3. Eliza Moore (known as Ina), wife of Cecil Moore, auctioneer, mother of John Moore the author.

4. Mrs. Hayward of the hardware store family.

5. Mrs. Scobell, the grandmother of Barbara Cartland the authoress.

6. Mayoress Mrs. Bishop, in charge of the canteen.

7. Miss Scobell, the aunt of Barbara Cartland the authoress.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 4 September 1915. It is of an outing to Tewkesbury of wounded soldiers from Cheltenham V.A.D. hospitals (Voluntary Aid Detachment hospitals - of which there were eight in Cheltenham). The photograph is by P. Barsanti, an Italian who ran a Coffee House at The Cross in Tewkesbury.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 22 April 1916. It is of the band and choir of the Tewkesbury Y.M.C.A. Soldiers' Club which met at Watson Hall in Barton Street. In the centre is Rev. Ernest 'gun-boat' Smith, the vicar of Tewkesbury.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 2 September 1916. It is of Violet and Mabel Green. In 1917 they received a letter of congratulations for their work from Detroit, U.S.A.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 26 May 1917. The Tewkesbury V.A.D. Hospital was at Mitton. The hospital was run by Mrs. Ethel Devereux, the wife of Dr./Major Devereux, in recognition of this work she received an O.B.E.. The donkey being named "Mrs. Asquith" is no doubt to poke fun at the wife of Herbert Asquith the former Prime Minister. Margot Asquith had made herself unpopular by such antics as visiting German P.O.W. camps and accusing her step-son of being drunk when he was suffering from shell-shock.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 19 February 1916. The "Picture Palace" was in Oldbury Road, Tewkesbury.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 6 January 1917. Violet was the daughter of James Sargeaunt the owner of Tewkesbury park. They met when Capt. Hugh Salmon came to Tewkesbury to recover from serious wounds received in France in 1914. Violet was an auxiliary nurse at his hospital.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 13 June 1917. Alice was the daughter of Alderman Henry Papps. Her brother Austin was killed in the war aged 18, her brother Aubrey was wounded and taken prisoner.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 24 August 1918. Lt. Col. James Watkins joined the army as a Private and rose through the ranks. He was the son of the Ashchurch Stationmaster. Miss Ethel Price was the daughter of Jesse James Price, a grocer at The Cross, Tewkesbury. He was a keen amateur photographer, many of his photographs appeared in the Graphic, often winning prizes. He was also a leading member of the Methodist Church in Tewkesbury, and there is a plaque there commemorating him installing electric lighting in the church in memory of his wife.

This photograph is from the Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic newspaper published 22 March 1919. Gertrude Devereux was the daughter of Dr./Major William Devereux and his wife Ethel of North House, Tewkesbury.

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