NEWSLETTER NUMBER 51 JULY 2018

1ST ASH GIRL GUIDES

THE HISTORY OF ASH, ASH VALE, ASH GREEN AND TONGHAM

The Museum is Open 3rd Sunday each month 2 - 4.30pm and Entry is Free

Open Sundays 9 and 16 September 2018 2 - 4.30pm for Heritage Open Days

ASH MUSEUM

1st Ash Girl Guides on the occasion of the presentation of Queen's Guide to Ann Dewhurst in 1952.

This was taken in the St Peter's Church Hall. (1129/8)

Ash Museum, Cemetery Chapel, Ash Cemetery, Ash Church Road, Ash, Surrey GU12 6LX

email: ash.museum@ntlworld.com www.ashmuseum.org.uk www.facebook.com/ashmuseum

Winifred Manfield, the first Captain of 1st Ash Girl

Guides. (1129/3)

1st Ash Girl Guides

camp at Yateley in

1932. (928/2/4)

1st Ash Girl Guides with Miss May Gatehouse. In

January 1933 the Guides met in St Peter’s Church

Room at 6pm on Mondays and Miss May

Gatehouse of Church Path Ash Common was

Captain; whilst the Brownies met at 2.30pm on

Saturdays and Miss Manfield of Hascombe Villas

Church Road was Brown Owl. (928/1/5)

Annie Trimmer of Ash

Green, who became a

Lieutenant in the 1st

Ash Girl Guides.

(928/1/2)

Edna Hersey, 1st Ash Girl Guide, in 1936. Edna

later became Brown Owl. (1129/4)

1st Ash Girl Guides marching past the Chester Arms pub towards the level crossing at Ash Station on

Armistice Day 1950. (1129/7)

1st Ash Girl Guides were taught the

Elizabethan Minuet to perform at the Ash

Coronation Celebrations in 1953 by Mr and

Mrs Cox who ran the Old Time Dancing

classes at the Ash Victoria Hall. Left to

right: Ann Neville (later Swabey), Pat Smith,

Janet Ware (later Lunn), Rita Best, Diana

Wetherill (later Caplin), Diane Bloomfield

(later Tuck), Margaret Barlow (later Sivill).

(1129/11)

1st Ash Girl Guides presentation of Queen's Guide to

Joyce Giles 1st Ash Guides 1952. Left to right: Eileen

Collins, Rosemary Chiffney, Sylvia Debut, Ann

Dewhurst, Joyce Giles. (1129/10)

Left. Edna Hersey.

1st Ash Guide, late

1930s, with her

nieces Joyce and

Pame l a Co l l i n s .

(1129/5)

With thanks to

Margaret Sivill and the

Guides research team

and Mr and Mrs

Knight

FIRST WORLD WAR CENTENARY - NEWS FROM 1918

CASUALT IES IN FRANCE

Private George Sidney Jones 6th Battalion

Dragoon Guards died 1 April 1918 aged 22.

George lived in 3 Prospect Cottages in Tongham.

He had joined the Carabiniers aged 15 and had

gone to France in October 1914.

Private William Kimber 6th Battalion The

Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment died 5 April

1918 aged 33. William lived in Flimby Lodge in

Hutton Road Ash Vale when he enlisted in 1916.

Lance Corporal George Guthrie 2nd

Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry died

10 April 1918 aged 21. George’s family lived at

Upware in Prospect Road. He had been in the

army for seven years and was a bugler.

Private Horace Postans 1st Battalion Norfolk

Regiment died 16 June1918 aged 19. Horace lived

in 5 Stanley Villas in Shawfield Road.

DIED IN BELGIUM

Lance Serjeant Harry Alexander Taylor 1st

Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers died 11 April 1918

aged 20. Harry lived in Cuthbert Road Ash Vale

and was employed by Messrs Dickerson Army

contractors as a clerk.

Corporal Reginald Knowles 1st Battalion Royal

Irish Fusiliers died 11 April 1918 aged 35.

Reginald was the stepson of Annie Knowles of 1

Osgood Cottages, who ran the Ash Wharf

Boathouse.

PRIVATE HANKINS BURIED IN ASH

Private Albert George Hankins 5th Battalion

Northamptonshire Regiment died 26 April 1918

aged 23. He was wounded in both legs in France

and his right leg was amputated at the hip in

hospital in Manchester. He died an hour later.

Private Hankins’ funeral was in the Ash Street

Wesleyan Chapel and he was buried in Ash

Cemetery.

MISS FLORENCE EMBLETON

BURIED WITH FULL MIL ITARY HONOURS

IN ASH CEMETERY

Mechanic Driver Florence Embleton

Women's Legion died 26 May 1918 aged 30.

Miss Embleton was the only daughter of Major and

Mrs John Embleton of Valetta in Frimley Road.

She had been engaged on various kinds of war

work since the beginning of the war. She had

been a clerk at the Field Stores and a nurse at

Aldershot hospital. She had joined the Women’s

Legion in October 1917, and had been a Motor

Driver in No 52 Motor Transport Company,

Army Service Corps, Aldershot, and was attached

to the Army School of Sanitation.

She was given a funeral with full military honours.

The coffin was carried on a gun carriage with a

Union Jack covering the coffin and the band of the

Middlesex Regiment. The pall bearers were from

the Women’s Legion, and a trumpeter from the

Army Service Corps sounded the last post.

In June there was a Rose Day at Ash. The ladies of

Ash and Ash Vale raised £43 for war charities as

compared with £30 last year, from sales of the

charming Alexandra rose. The event was

organised by Mrs Eldred Wright and included

selling the roses to people travelling on early

morning trains at the railway station.

On 26 June 1918 a quote was sent to the

Reverend Lambrick of St Peter’s Church by Sutton

and Co. timber merchants at Guildford, to buy

two windfall elms. To take down two trees in the

churchyard involved moving a group of

gravestones to prevent damage, so they decided

that they had better stand until labour was not so

expensive and difficult to obtain.

In August William J Emmings of Ash Green,

market gardener, was given three months

exemption at the Farnham Rural Tribunal. His

agricultural certificate had now been withdrawn

but he had a letter saying he would not be called

up until after the harvest.

HOME FRONT

MUSEUM NEWS AND EVENTS

Dates for your Diary

Ash Museum Annual Quiz Night

Saturday 20 October 2018

Ash Museum AGM Friday 16 November 2018

Records of the VADs (Voluntary Aid Detachment)

can be seen on www.scarletfinders.co.uk and they

reveal that a number of local ladies worked at the

Connaught Hospital in North Camp during the

war.

Miss Sara Louisa Drage of 4 Sydney Villas Frimley

Road Ash Vale was a full time paid storekeeper in

the pack store 21 April 1916.

Mrs Kate Florence Foster (nee Stedman) of The

Poplars Ash Street was a paid storekeeper 26

April 1916 to March 1919.

Miss Theodora Hume-Wright of Elleray Ash Vale

was a full time clerk and then a laboratory

attendant 26 April 1916 to 26 May 1917. Her

brother Maurice was killed on 10 July 1916, and is

remembered on Ash War Memorial.

Miss Olive Jones of Sherbourne Ash Vale was a full

time storekeeper 26 April 1916 to March 1919.

Her brother Alfred Roy died 22 March 1918, and

is remembered on Ash War Memorial.

Mrs Mary Willett of Ectonville Station Road Ash

Vale was a full time clerk 16 June 1916 until March

1919.

Mrs Maud Mary Howard of 2 Sydney Villas Ash

Vale was a full time paid storekeeper in the pack

store 16 September 1916 to March 1919.

Miss Ellen Drage of 4 Sydney Villas Frimley Road

Ash Vale was a full time paid storekeeper in the

linen store 3 February 1918

Mrs Louisa Frances Bence of 5 Grove Road Ash

Vale was a full time paid cook 30 August 1918, and

previously on the labour staff. Louisa's brother

Hubert died 5 February 1917 and is remembered

on Ash War Memorial.

THE CAMBRIDGE HOSPITAL

Mrs Emily Doris Cann of Ash Vale Post Office was

a full time clerk at the Cambridge Hospital 5

October 1917 to February 1919.

LOCAL GIRLS WHO WERE VADS

AT THE CONNAUGHT HOSPITAL The museum was opened as usual on the third

Sunday of each month during the winter and

spring. As always it proved popular with visitors

of all ages. For our younger visitors, there are

now some activity sheets to help them understand

some of the museum’s exhibits.

Two local schools have enjoyed private visits to

the museum as part of their local history

curriculum. The children enjoyed finding exhibits

and asked all sorts of challenging questions.

The museum is taking part in the Surrey Museums

Air-mazing I-Spy Challenge this summer. Museums

all over Surrey have found an air themed object

from their collection and are challenging children

to spot them all. As well as Ash Museum other

local places to find clues include the Basingstoke

Canal Visitor Centre and the museums at

Godalming and Farnham.

Postcards of Ash views are now on sale for 50p

each in the museum and other local outlets.

An illustrated talk about Ash Museum has been

compiled by Alan Norris, and he is willing to

present it to local clubs, societies, etc. The talk

covers the history of the cemetery chapel, the

creation of the Museum, its contents, facilities and

recent events. For further information please

contact us at ash.museum@ntlworld.com.

If you would be able to spare an occasional

afternoon to help steward the museum, please get

in touch. No knowledge or experience is

necessary as you would be paired with one of the

trustees. More volunteers would mean that the

museum would be able to open more often which

is something the trustees would love to see

happen.

TONGHAM TREASURES

Outside the butchers in The Street Tongham, which was opposite the junction with Ash Road. (406/25)

Looking up what is now Manor Road, with Spoil Lane to the right. This road used to be called Ash Road

in Seale and Tongham parish and Tongham Road in Ash parish, and was renamed Manor Road in about

1949. (487/6)