👩‍⚕️Carry on Matron🎄Miss Beatrice C Day🔔Family Album📕& a Mr Christmas!🎅

Earlier this year a friend sent me this fabulous photo Album and as it’s such a beauty I thought I’d save it for one of my Christmas Blogs, as luckily it has a few connections with Christmas time!

First, when tracing a family as always I got my notebook and slowly looked through each page and wrote down names and any other bits of writing that would help me with researching this family, as most of the old photos are glued to the pages.

The Pub on the left is The Forrester’s Arms. The small photos have to be of Beatrice Day.

On the first two pages, it says ‘Grandparent Day‘ one page is a photo of a bearded man and under it says ‘George Day. Tailor. Baldock. Also on the page is a small photo of a pub called ‘Foresters Arms‘. The second page is two photos of a lady and says ‘Day nee Hankin‘. It’s a good start!
Another page is Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary. Photos marked ‘Loughton 1957 and 1959 and one says Jim and Mary GROUT.
There are many references to Farnham Hospital, one photo says ‘My Office’ right at the front of the building on the ground floor, a Matron? This lady was definitely a Nurse of some kind. There are also many Newspaper clippings stuck in with news of colleagues, Doctors and Nurses.
Ena and Harold Hankin
Evelyn Hankin 1933. Evelyn is in Torquay in a Nurse’s uniform.
Some photos from ‘The Nursing Mirror’
Then hooray two Girl Guides warrant cards on becoming a Tawny Owl in the name of Miss Beatrice C Day 1941 and 1954. She is definitely the lady who compiled this wonderful Album.

So I started a family tree on Ancestry with Beatrice C Day, I was thinking initially, from looking at the photos, that she had been born about 1920 or even earlier, father surname Day, then Grandfather George Day. Looking for a marriage for George Day with a wife with the surname Hankin was also a brick wall. So I then tried just George Day and the place of Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. Looking through the results on Ancestry this was better as it produced several marriages in Baldock and Census records of a George Day living in Baldock. I actually ended up after two days with 4 different trees and none of them had all the surnames I wanted!

I had started with the first three marriages. 1854-Father Robert Day. Spouse Letha Pate. 1864-Father Joseph Day. Spouse Mary Ann Abrahams. 1869-Father Robert Hayes Day. Spouse Augusta Moss Cane. I felt that the 1969 marriage above was the most likely but I just couldn’t find the link.

The first census record that came up was for George Day in 1861. Name George Day. Birth 1847 Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. Residence 1861 Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. As you can see below the head of household, the father is Robert H Day matching the 1869 marriage record above, but the exciting thing for me was seeing who their neighbours were, their name is Hankin! Surely that’s too much of a coincidence. Robert is a Butcher and the head of household George in the Hankin family is a Harness Maker.

I added this family to the tree and then looked at the hints that came up, the main one being father Robert Hayes Day‘s marriage to Edith Hankin in Baldock in 1842. I carried on expanding the tree with this family but I still felt that something just wasn’t right. Note. As it happens this Robert Hayes Day was correct, as I found later he was Beatrice’s Great Grandfather but at the time I just couldn’t link her to him.

So, I went back to the Album again and decided to start another tree with the Grout Family. The couple in the Album were called Jim and Mary with a son (Reg)Reginald, so I started with Reginald as the home person and I fairly quickly found a family match in Loughton, Essex where some of the photos had been taken.

James Thomas Grout was born in April 1878 in West Ham, Essex, his father was Archer John Grout and his mother was Rebecca (Bristow).

James married Mary Enever Grout in Essex, she was born in January 1879 in Epping, Essex, her father was George Grout and her mother was Eliza Jane (Enever). Archer and George Grout were brothers, so James and Mary were first cousins.

As I added more records to the family groups on this tree I came across the probate record of George Grout and guess what, he was the Publican of the Forrester’s Arms!

This page about the pub I found on the excellent website https://pubshistory.com

As I added more to this tree, the Surnames I had from the Album all started fitting in very nicely, and when I got to adding Beatrice I made her the home person instead of Reginald and now I was also able to delete the four other trees I had started. Here below is a screenshot of Beatrice with all her Ancestors, there are a few Hankins, as you can see Beatrice’s Grandparents were first cousins, as Edith Hankin and William Hankin were siblings, and then further back it looks possible that the Hankins were also related.

🎄Frederick Hugh Day, Beatrice’s father is our first Christmas link as he was born on Christmas Day 1876🎄

Album Pages

Left page 3 Pics and says Frances Dent but is it Miss Frances Denton? It looks like the same lady to me. A Ward sister at Farnham Hospital.

On the right page, it says Jean Bates and Evelyn, bottom pic. She matches with the Bride. Evelyn D Stubbles marriage to Thomas Carmichael. Marriage quarter 1. Volume 5G. Page number 1670. Marriage year 1954. District Surrey South Western. (The wedding date was 7 February 1954).

On the left above we have a sister of Evelyn, her name is Patricia Mary Stubbles and she wed William James Tonkins, they married in the third quarter of 1954 and Evelyn and another sister Alice (on the right page at the bottom) were Bridesmaids. Both of the sisters were married at Hale Parish Church (The Church Of St John The Evangelist) in Farnham, Surrey. Also on the right is Marjorie March looking out the window of her Farnham office. Most of the adults in this Album are friends and colleagues from the Farnham Hospital or Family Members.

All the above are taken mostly in Loughton of the Grout family, **Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary and Reg Grout**, their son. The bottom centre right it says ‘ME & Mary Grout’ ME matches all the other photos so has to be **Miss Beatrice Catherine Day**.

More Grout family on the left and on the right X marks the spot of Beatrice’s office right at the front of the Hospital, so could she have possibly been the Hospital Secretary and not a Nurse or Matron as I first thought? Also a pic of Miss Daish and Sylvester the Cat.

Interesting newspaper articles, none mentioning Beatrice but about either colleagues, friends or neighbours, she lived in Downing Street, Farnham, Surrey.

The lady on the right-hand side centre pic is Beatrice. She was part of the Aldershot and Farnham group of the Infantile Paralysis Fellowship.

From the British Polio website: ‘The group was founded on 29 January 1939 by Patricia Carey, who had contracted polio age eight, and Frederic Morena, who had contracted the disease at the age of 42, as a self-help and mutual aid society for those affected by polio. Over time the focus of the charity’s work has shifted due to the eradication of polio in the UK during the 1980s and the discovery of post-polio syndrome, and the fellowship’s work has become more about supporting those with PPS’.

Ena Florence Hankin 1907-1971 and Harold Day Hankin 1909-1978 were first cousins to Beatrice, their mother was Florence Day (1872-1975) a sister of Beatrice’s father Frederick Hugh Day (1876-1940)

Both the photos above and below are of Evelyn Elsie Hankin a first cousin to Beatrice and sister of Ena and Harold, Evelyn was born on 24 August 1902, her father was William Hankin and her mother Florence Day. She never married and obviously loved acting, she died on 11 July 1993 in Torbay, Devon, at the age of 90. I also found a record in the London Gazette dated 1971(Free to search) Hooper & Wollen, Carlton House, Torquay, Devon, Solicitors. (Richard John Wollen, Nigel James Wollen and Evelyn Elsie Hankin) Not often you get this lucky to find a lady’s occupation, she was a Solicitor in Torquay. Then this record below from Find My Past after her death in 1993.

Beatrice looks such a happy lady, doesn’t she.

Lots of photos of Nursing colleagues and a big clue helping me to confirm Beatrice’s family were these two Girl Guide Warrants, one stuck on the other as the one underneath says Miss Beatrice C Day. The C was a huge help!

Someone, not Beatrice, has helped me out on this photo above on the bottom right and I am very grateful! It names the people left to right and far-right front it says **‘Matron’** Hooray! It is dated Oct 1953 The opening of the new Pathological Laboratory, Farnham Hospital.

Others mentioned on the back front left to right are Dr Thomas General Surgeon. Sir Robert Haining. Lord Holder. Lady Haining. Pathological Chairman Dr Hobbs.

The Abery’s left and then on the right Mary Smith, Evelyn and Doreen. Also Pija.

Beatrice was also an Artist and both of these beautiful flower watercolours above are by her, the Roses on the right are dated 1929, when she was 17. The writing on the back of the little photo above is the back of the photo below. Her bicycle was called ‘Sheba’.

Alice and Edith. Family or friends?

Frances and her mother? Family or friends?

These pages on the right are of a child called Andrew, but the very interesting thing about Andrew is his Surname.

🎄My second Christmas link🎄As you can see in this saved newspaper clipping below. Andrew’s full name was Mr Andrew Christmas! Was Sally’s surname Christmas too? Was she his sister?

A loose newspaper clipping reporting on changes in Downing Street, Farnham, where Beatrice lived with her widowed mother.

A loose page in the Album by BCD, Beatrice Catherine Day.

Julie and Graham Evers and more photos of Beatrice.

I believe this beautiful photo above left was Beatrice as a small child with her mother Beatrice.

Beatrice Catherine Day was born on 20 October 1912 in Naas, Kildare, her father was Frederick Hugh Day, a soldier when she was born, and her mother was Beatrice Caroline Grout.

As you can see Beatrice had an older brother Francis Hugh Day who died at just 12 days old, the family held a Private Baptism for him, and little Francis sadly died later the same day.

Here’s a link to the small family tree I’ve compiled for the Day and Grout families: Beatrice C Day/Grout Family

In 1939 Beatrice was working for the Women’s Voluntary Service in Wallington (Carshalton, Surrey) on the 1939 register below.

After her father Frederick died in 1940 Beatrice and her Mum Beatrice Caroline lived at 44a Downing St, Farnham, Surrey, England.

I was surprised to find that at the age of 50, Beatrice Catherine Day married Donald Noel Turner on 15 December 1964. Donald was born on 17 February 1923 in Stoke, Staffordshire, the son of Dorothy M Coxon and William H Turner and brother to William and Marjorie. Donald was 11 years younger than Beatrice.

🎄My third Christmas link is that Donald’s middle name was NOEL!🎄

It’s an error on the 1939 Register as it says in the left-hand column that the marriage was on 15 December 1964, but it was obviously 1962 according to the registration of marriage that was in the first quarter of 1963.

I didn’t have much luck finding out more about Donald and frustratingly I couldn’t find him in the 1939 Register on Ancestry. So I looked on Find My Past 1939 Register and hooray I found him! On Ancestry his entry is redacted still, first image. But on Find My Past it’s open to view, the second image below.

This image of the 1939 Register is from Ancestry. When you compare with the image below you can see Donald is redacted still.

This image of **Donald N Turner, born 17 Feb 1923** is the fourth name up from the bottom. 1939 Register is from Find My Past.

Beatrice Catherine Turner died in June 1988 in Surrey at the age of 75. Donald Noel Turner died on 23 December 1999 aged 76 in Brighton, Sussex. His Probate record on Find My Past: Document type: Grant and will. Death date 23 Dec 1999 Number 365400 Probate year 2000 Record set England & Wales Government Probate Death Index 1858-2019.

This is a lovely happy Photo in the Album that shows Beatrice in her uniform.

This is my favourite photo of the whole Album and has to be of Beatrice as a young child.

Last but not least, who was the Tailor mentioned back on the first page? Once I had a few Ancestors on the tree I was able to look at the occupations. Beatrice’s father, Frederick Hugh Day was in the Army, in 1911 an Army Sergeant and then by 1939 a Clerical officer in the Civil Service.

Grandfather Frederick Day was a Farm Bailiff.

Great Grandfather Robert Hayes Day was a Master Butcher.

On her mother’s side Beatrice’s Grandfather George Grout was a General Shopkeeper and her Great Grandfather James Grout was also a General Shopkeeper.

Another Grandfather William Hankin was a Master Baker but her Great Grandfather John Hankin was a Tailor and Glover! Yay! He also came from Baldock as many of Beatrice’s Ancestors did. John was born in 1786 and married Rebecca Draper on 10 February 1807 in Baldock, Hertfordshire.

Another Grandfather Joseph Enever was a Builder and her Great Grandfather John Enever is a mystery at the moment needing more research. But I’m so happy that I found the elusive Tailor!

As always if you are a descendant of this family or know of any more information, please do get in touch via a comment here or by email to lynnswaffles@gmail.com