Josephine Angois

“Have had a very busy night and no time to sit down… but feel less tired than when there is nothing to do.”

Introduction

Descended from Calais lace workers and born in Nottingham, Josephine Louise Angois was a volunteer nurse in the 20th century’s bloodiest war. She lived an extraordinary ‘ordinary’ life. Through the pages of her scrapbook we can explore her years in wartime.

Angois’ father, Paul Angois, was born in France in Pierre les Calais, a village associated with the lace industry. As a teenager Paul moved with his family to Sneinton, a village near Nottingham, also associated with lace-making. Rather than pursuing a career in lace, Paul became an engineer. In 1881 he married a French girl, Marthe Guinois, from Orleans. Marthe had been living in Darlington as a French teacher. On 30 May 1884, three years after Paul and Marthe had married, Josephine Louise Angois was born.

A year after Angois’ birth her father set up a small bicycle workshop in Raleigh Street, Nottingham, with a partner, Richard Woodhead, adopting the brand name Raleigh. By 1889 the firm was very successful, with a nominal capital of £20,000. Paul Angois held a secure position as director responsible for design. Sadly, after this upward change in the family fortunes, Angois’ mother died. Angois was only eleven years old. Within a year her father had remarried, an English lady this time, Sarah Ellen Holmes. By the 1901 census Paul was comfortable enough to be listed as a ‘retired cycle manufacturer’.

Angois [left] circa 1915

War on the horizon

... in these abnormal times let it be taken for granted that every woman is doing her best

Angois did not train as a nurse, but she joined the British Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment, Nottingham 40 in 1913. She learnt first aid and home nursing, as well as taking cookery classes. These volunteers became known as VADs and had to pass examinations to become certificated. It is likely that Angois’ training took place at Welbeck Abbey in Sherwood Forest. This was the 6th Duke of Portland and Duchess Winifred’s home. As soon as war broke out they had established an auxiliary Red Cross hospital here. You can see the Duchess conducting a Red Cross Inspection on 31 July 1914 in the scrapbook. On the same page we find a picture of a number of Voluntary Aid Detachments, gathered in the Abbey’s huge Indoor Riding House.

Background image: Voluntary Aid Detachments. Identified by Gareth Hughes, Portland Collections Manager

VAD training

Less than a year later, in April 1915, Angois went to number 83, Pall Mall, where she was issued with an Identity Certificate, number 3786, by the British Red Cross. The number is etched on the reverse of her Red Cross badge. She attached this to her scrapbook with a red, white and blue ribbon. One of Angois’ Red Cross cards records the fact she was a J.W.V.A.D. – a Joint War VAD. Most VADs were under the control of the War Office, but others were in the service of the Joint War Committee. This combined the efforts of the British Red Cross and the Order of St. John. These volunteers staffed rapidly expanding hospitals and hostels. Many of them, like Angois, served overseas. They were given some living allowances (Angois received three francs a week for laundry) but no salary for their work. Belonging to the Joint War Committee must have meant something to Angois, as she put part of her brassard (armband) on the cover of her scrapbook. It shows the Order of St. Johns in the top half, and the Red Cross on the bottom. This was kept alongside her Red Cross badge.

During 1915 more nurses were needed to staff the increasing number of hospitals and casualties and the VADs, originally trained for service at home, were now recruited for special service overseas. Angois was one of them. She received a telegram at home – she was called to serve in No. 1 British Red Cross Duchess of Westminster’s Hospital, in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France.

Report here tomorrow morning prepared to start for France

No. 1 British Red Cross Hospital

Angois’ scrapbook is filled with postcards of the No. 1 British Red Cross Duchess of Westminster’s Hospital, and images of the town, Le Touquet. The hospital was opened by Constance, the Duchess of Westmister at a former casino with her own money and donated funds. Le Touquet was a fashionable seaside town, and with surrounding woods and golf courses, it had been a popular holiday destination before the war. The No. 1 British Red Cross Hospital was a Base Hospital, and took casualties from the front lines Casualty Clearing Stations. Le Touquet was very close to Etaples, which was a massive British base with over twenty hospitals.

The No. 1 British Red Cross Hospital was quite a small hospital, with only four wards and 150 beds. Angois kept images of the interior of the hospital. Her pictures show Wards A and B to have been spacious and bright, clean and tidy. The chandeliers were wrapped up in protective cloths with screens on frames around each bed. Although set up initially for all ranks, the hospital soon took in mainly officers, who received a greater degree of privacy.

The Staff of Ward A

Captain Fraser

Josephine Angois

Miss Carson

Miss Price-Jones

Miss Ram

Miss Villiers

Mr Dick

Sister Hallett

Sister Morris

Sister Rearden

Sister Shankland

Sister Taylor

Sister Vincent

The Staff of Ward B

Major Brandson

Major Pritchard

Miss Densham Matron

Miss Durst

Miss Johnstone

Miss Layard

Miss Stack

Sister Butterworth

Sister Gash

Sister Giles

Sister Harris

Sister Mitchell

Sister Oakden

Angois documented the staff from Ward A and B, you can see the mix of nurses and VADs (identifiable through their Red Cross) required on the wards. Thankfully, Angois was very thorough and each person is named. We can see her sitting on the bottom row, second to the right in Ward A.

As well as four wards the hospital had a laboratory and an X-ray department. Captain Stone was the radiographer. Nine medical officers are named in a picture of the medical staff, including Colonel Watson, the Commanding Officer.

Constance, the Duchess of Westminster, the patron of the hospital, also took an active role as a nurse. In a newspaper cutting Angois saved she was described as ‘an excellent masseuse’ along with two nurses, Miss Richmond and Miss Molesworth. Angois must have admired them, or was proud to serve with them, as she cut their picture from a magazine.

Medical Officers from the No. 1 British Red Cross Hospital

Captain Adjutant Eilank