high wood Posted 7 July , 2011 Share Posted 7 July , 2011 This is a photograph of a young nurse by the name of Mary Blanch M Vaux who was born in 1893 in the Medway Towns. From other photographs that I have she may have done her nursing in Swansea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 7 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 7 July , 2011 In 1920, Mary Vaux married Paymaster Lieutenant Humphrey Kendrick Totton, R.N. at Epsom, Surrey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhclark Posted 7 July , 2011 Share Posted 7 July , 2011 According to the 1911 census she was born in Chatham. In 1911 she was residing with her father and stepmother, siblings and half-siblings at the Rectory in Carshalton. Her father was George Bowyer Vaux, Rector of Carshalton All Saints from 1902 to 1919. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 7 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 7 July , 2011 Noel, thank you very much for the information. Chatham is one of the Medway Towns and I wonder what connection her father had with the town before moving to Carshalton. Carshalton is about 10 miles from where I live so I think that I will pop over for a trip to the parish church; there is bound to be a list of rectors somewhere inside. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 7 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 7 July , 2011 A not very clear picture, due to having to reduce its size, of the YMCA Swansea in February 1918. Mary Vaux is in the second row from the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 7 July , 2011 Share Posted 7 July , 2011 The most obvious connection would be if the father had previously been curate/vicar/rector of a church in Chatham. An edition of Crockford's Clerical Directory from the time will outline his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 8 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 8 July , 2011 David, thank you for pointing me in the right direction; I will try and locate an early copy of Crockford's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhclark Posted 8 July , 2011 Share Posted 8 July , 2011 Simon. See http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/query/results/?DateList=&PathList=&SearchWords=Chatham&Verbose=no&Boolean=&Mode=Search&IDX=1500 He held the living of Chatham St. Mary from 1889-1895. I've Googled his name (full and initials) and there seem to be a few hits that might be him. One is as follows: http://anglicanhistory.org/nz/blain_directory/directory.pdf see page 176 of this file for further information about George. The Bowyer Vaux family may be worth following if you are interested. Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fushia Posted 8 July , 2011 Share Posted 8 July , 2011 Mary in the photo what is the uniform the men are wearing. Anne The most obvious connection would be if the father had previously been curate/vicar/rector of a church in Chatham. An edition of Crockford's Clerical Directory from the time will outline his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 8 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 8 July , 2011 Noel, thank you for the link, very useful. Verbena, they are wounded soldiers and they are wearing "hospital blue" uniforms with a red tie. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 10 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 10 July , 2011 Some more photographs have appeared out of the woodwork this morning including three duplicates. On the back of one of the cards is the vital clue, V.A.D. Glam(organ) 132; this is presumably the number of her detachment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 10 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 10 July , 2011 In this photograph, Mary seems to have three bars on her right sleeve and a capital A on her apron. I am not sure of the significance of these insignia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 10 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 10 July , 2011 In this un-named photograph the nurse is holding a glass collecting jar of some description; not the kind of thing normally taken to a photographer's studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASA1 Posted 12 July , 2011 Share Posted 12 July , 2011 The list of MIs for All Saints church shows there is an inscription in the Baptistry east window which confirms George Bowyer Vaux was Rector from March 1902 to December 1919. There are no gravestones listed for either 'Vaux' or 'Totton'. Regards, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhclark Posted 12 July , 2011 Share Posted 12 July , 2011 I think you can safely say that Glamorgan 132 is the number of Mary's VAD unit. Detachments were numbered by the War Office, on a county basis, with even numbers being women's detachments, and odd numbers being men's. I'll guess that the bars on the sleeve are some form of service chevron, perhaps one bar for each year of service? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 13 July , 2011 Share Posted 13 July , 2011 Was able to look at Crockford myself today. After Carshalton Revd Bowyer Vaux was Rector of Lower Heyford 1919-31. He then appears to have retired to The Yews, Odiham, Hants. He was still listed in the 1937 edition, but I didn't look any later than that. He had read Mods and Greats at Christ Church College, Oxford, graduating in 1873 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 13 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 13 July , 2011 Andy, David and Noel, thank you for taking the trouble to find this information for me. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 13 July , 2011 Share Posted 13 July , 2011 Meant to say that I have photos of his entries in the 1920 and 1937 Crockford. Drop me a pm if you want copies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASA1 Posted 15 July , 2011 Share Posted 15 July , 2011 Looking at my notes on Carshalton men who served, 5 members of the Vaux family served and survived . One was Lt Phillip Vaux, HMS Marvel, who was awarded the DSC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 16 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 16 July , 2011 Many thanks for that. it is interesting to see that the family survived the Great War physically unscathed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 17 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 17 July , 2011 More. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anthonyt Posted 24 June , 2013 Share Posted 24 June , 2013 Saw this on the net and thought I'd say Mary Vaux was my grand mother. Not sure why the original poster was interested in her or where the photos came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard_Lewis Posted 24 June , 2013 Share Posted 24 June , 2013 Hi Anthonyt. I'm basically gate-crashing this thread as I have recently become interested in Mary Vaux as I have been commissioned to write 'Swansea in the Great War' where the emphasis will be on the home front, including nursing etc. I plan to use the images in my book (I've received them from a very helpful third party!) and any information that you can add would be appreciated. Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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