Blencowe Frances I 1864

Frances Isabel Blencowe  [3822]

1864-1952

Father Nm: John George Blencowe [738] born 1815 c 27.3.1817 St. Marys St. Marylebone died 10.4.1900 Bincham Sussex; Oldest Known Ancestor – Thomas Blencowe, C1475, Marston St Lawrence.

Mother Nm:  Frances Campion [1919] born 6.12.1829 Danny Park Sussex died 8.4.1918 Chailey

Marriage Dt:

K comments: Brothers that served John Ingham, 21st Sussex Yeomanry and Robert Campion RDC.

Spouse Comments:

Children:

(Research):GR[B] Lewes Sept 1864 JD GR[D] Lewes vol5h p 438 Dec 1952 Memorial.inscription [Ken Toll].

1871 Census The Hooke, Chailey.

With her grandfather, parents, siblings and a legion of domestic servants. The household was headed by Robert Willis Blencowe, a 74-year-old widower whose occupation is noted as magistrate and landowner. With him at The Hooke were his son, John George Blencowe (aged 54, also a magistrate), his daughter-in-law Frances Blencowe (nee Campion), aged 42 and seven grandchildren: Florence Charlotte Blencowe (aged 11), John Ingham Blencowe (aged 10), Harriet Blencowe (aged eight), Frances Isabel Blencowe (aged six), Mary Blencowe (aged five), Elizabeth P[Penelope] Blencowe (aged three) and William Poole Blencowe (aged two). An eighth grandchild, Robert Campion Blencowe (aged 12), was at boarding school in Hove. The final family member noted on the 1871 census is Robert Willis’s unmarried sister Elizabeth Blencowe (aged 69).

1881 Census BinEham Mansion in Chailey.

The family had lived for a short while at Bineham farmhouse but with eight children to accommodate it was just too small. John George, therefore, commissioned the architect Decimus Burton to build him a new home, Bincham Mansion, on a secluded site nearby. John George Blencowe (aged 64), is noted as the head of the family on the 1881 census and with him are his wife Frances (aged 51) and his children: Florence (aged 21), Harriet (aged 18), Frances (age 16), Mary (aged 15) and Penelope (age 13). It would appear that the girls were educated at home – Ann Smith (aged 56) is noted on the census as a governess – but by this stage, their three brothers – Robert, John and William – had moved away.

1891 Census,

John George and his wife are still at Bineham with their daughters.

1901 census

Living on her own means at Bineham with her sister Mary.

1911 The First World War Military Hospitals’ Index

Red Cross Nurse.

Online War Photo Album	Voluntary Aid Detachment

WW1

Blencowe Frances Isabel, 1864, Chailey, Voluntary Aid Detachment.

Frances Blencowe family owned large tracts of land in Chailey and was one of several influential families in the area. During the war years, Frances was commandant of Sussex 54 VAD (briefly in 1914) and latterly the RFC hospital at Brook House1. She also nursed at Netley (briefly for three weeks), in Serbia and in France. After the war, she returned to Sussex 54 VAD and took over as Commandant when Margaret Cotesworth resigned in 1921.

1914 Chailey VAD Group

1915

• Aug.-Oct. Frances had left England to work in the Belgrade Naval Hospital in Belgrade Serbia, attached to Rear-Admiral Troubridge’s staff. The city and the Hospital were attacked by the Austrian Hungarian Army 5^th -8^th October and had to be evacuated, only leaving the capital as the enemy was entering it. The staff escaped and Frances remained in Serbia until November 1915 taking part in the retreat. In recognition of her humanitarian care of wounded Serbian soldiers, she was later awarded the Serbian Cross of Mercy, presented to her by the Crown Prince of Serbia.
• Nov. Hickwells Convalescence Home.Right, patients and staff snapped by Nurse Edith Oliver outside Hickwells in 1915.  Nurse Frances Blencowe stands on the left, and her niece, Nurse Margaret Penelope Blencowe stands on the right.  In the centre stands Sussex 54 VAD Commandant Miss Susan Margaret Cotesworth.  Seated on the bench, second from right, is the Matron, Miss Emily Marshall.  The soldier next to her appears to be recovering from frostbite or trench foot.Sussex 54 VAD was mobilised and Hickwell’s became attached to the Second Eastern General Hospital in Brighton. From now on, until the end of the war, Sussex 54 VAD would deal with wounded soldiers fresh from the battlefields and would act, effectively, as an annexe to the military hospital in Brighton.

1916

• 1^st Feb 1916 – 8^th Jan.1917 VAD Nurse Serbia. Red Cross record confirmation of Serbian Medal and that Francis was Commandant of an RFC hospital not in France. Frances’ own photo album and the Red Cross card reveals that she worked again as a VAD nurse for this period.
• May. Beechlands House In May 1916, although already working as a VAD, Frances’ Military Hospitals index card notes that she was selected as a nurse. The following month, Sussex 54 transferred its auxiliary hospital operation from Hickwells to larger accommodation at Beechland House in nearby Newick and Frances went with them.

1917

• 8th Jan. Discharged from Duties from in Serbia and returned to UK.
• 22^nd Jun. Brook House. The Sussex Express announced: “Officers’ New Convalescent Home At Chailey”. The article ran: “A new convalescent hospital known as Brook House, Chailey, the residence of Lieut M R Robertson, was opened last week for the accommodation of wounded officers attached to the Flying Corps. The commandant is Miss Blencowe of Bincham, Chailey and the Matron, Miss Jackson, a lady of wide experience. The work in connection with the establishment is purely voluntary and many local ladies have offered their services. Brook House lies in ideal grounds, is embowered in trees and can accommodate between 25 and 30 officers.” It was a position Frances would hold for the next seven months.

  

• Oct. Frances Blencowe’s unswerving dedication to nursing was publicly recognised. The Sussex Express for October 6th reported that “This week Miss Blencowe’s name appears in the list of nurses who have been mentioned to the Secretary for War for valuable services rendered in nursing the wounded.” A photo of Frances accompanied the article.

1918-1919

• 18^th Oct. 1918 – 1^st May 1919. The Anglo-Belge Hospital at Villers-Cotterets, France. Frances Blencowe worked as a “General Service Member” at the Anglo-Belge Hospital. Red Cross archives do not detail how Frances occupied herself between February and September 1918, but by October 18th she had again left England. This time her destination was France and the Anglo-Belge Hospital in Rouen where she worked as a General Service Member. She remained there until well after the Armistice, returning to England in May 1919.

The BRCS records show that addition to above Francis was for 8 months the Commandant of an RFC/RAF hospital this may have been the RAF detention hospital at Charmes-sur-Moselle in France.

Sources

1. The main source of the material is the research of Paul Nixon and his Chailey blog site

Medals

Awarded the 1914-15 Star, British and Victory Medals	Awarded Serbian Cross of Mercy in recognition of her humanitarian care of wounded Serbian soldiers she was later awarded the Serbian Cross of Mercy, presented to her by the Crown Prince of Serbia

After the War

1921 census

Chailey

First name(s)	Last name	Relationship to head	Sex	Birth year	Age in years	Birth place	Occupation	Employer
Robert Campion	Blencowe	Head	Male	1858	63	Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England	None	None
Frances Isobel	Blencowe	Sister	Female	1864	56	Chailey, Sussex, England	None	None
Mary	Edwards	Visitor	Female	1866	54	Chailey, Sussex, England	None	None
Eleanor Mary	Edwards	Visitor	Female	1906	14	Herefordshire, England	–	–
Alice	Wilson	Servant	Female	1870	50	Cosham, Hampshire, England	Cook	Private
Janet	Dockerell	Servant	Female	1859	62	Huntingdonshire, England	House Maid	Private
Amy	Pointing	Servant	Female	1901	20	Chailey, Sussex, England	House Maid	Private
Albert Edward	Iee	Servant	Male	1888	33	Upham, Hampshire, England	Butler	Private
Thomas William	Plumover	Servant	Male	1907	14	Offham, Sussex, England	House Boy	Private

In 1921, Margaret Cotesworth resigned as Commandant of Sussex 54 VAD and Frances immediately took over. By the end of that year, she commanded a strength of 40 women and had held six classes in First Aid. Her sister-in-law was also still active. The Sussex Branch Report for 1923 notes Mrs J Blencowe of North Hall, East Chiltington as Vice President (1924) of the Plumpton and East Chiltington centre.

Three years later, the 1926 Sussex Branch report records that Sussex 54 VAD, still under the care of its Commandant, Frances Blencowe is responsible for the Medical Supply Depot situated at The Green, Chailey and adds that it ‘has now been working for nearly five years.’

1939 Census

The Pound House, Markstakes Lane, South Common Chailey, Lewes, Sussex

Frances

Blencowe

08 Jul 1884

Female

Private Means

Single

It is uncertain when Frances retired from nursing. In later life, she moved to the the Pound House, Chailey, opposite the entrance to The Hooke, and passed away there in 1952.

Blencowes of Chailey Photo Album

This album contains photographs of the Blencowes of Chailey wealthy landowners and prominent citizens of Chailey who contributed through the the children of John George Blencowe and Frances Henrietta Campion. Many of the photographs come from the research of Paul Nixon.

Gallery

Note: there are 7 service records for this woman that exist that are not shown in this gallery for copyright reasons.