Person

It appears as if Lily hailed from a blended family. Her mother, Sarah Wears, married Joshua Liddle in 1894. Joshua had been married before to Jane Ann Robson, with whom he had two sons. As Lily was born in 1883, it seems that Sarah brought her daughter with her into the marriage. I have been unable to find a previous marriage for Sarah, so it may have been that Lily was born out of wedlock.

In 1901 Lillie was living in Durham at the Grand Junction Inn on Gilesgate with her family. Her occupation as dressmaker probably helped her to gain the position of Lady’s Maid in London. The 1911 census records her as “Lily Liddell” rather than “Lillie Liddle”, which appears on the previous return. It may have been that a move to the capital gave Lily the chance to reinvent herself a little. The probate calendars in 1920 record her name as “Lillie Liddell”.

Lily’s will (or the statement that was accepted by the probate court as being her testament), complicates things further. The first line of her will reads:

“I, Phyllis Wears known as Lillie Liddell…”

The rest of the “will” doesn’t really conform to the traditional form of words used in such a document. Lily starts the second part of the document: “Directions in case I peg out.” She leaves some pieces of jewellery to her friends and her money to be divided between “Uncle Jack” (John Lowes), her mother and brothers. She seems quite businesslike in her arrangements and states that “…I’m not taking anything with me.”

Lily was awarded a Scarlet Efficiency Stripe, according to her Voluntary Aid Detachment record card. To qualify for an Efficiency Stripe a VAD nurse had to work in a Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service or a Territorial Nursing Force hospital for at least 13 months. This means that Lily would have been working with trained, professional nurses and had been seen to be up to standard. For more on this award see:

http://www.fairestforce.co.uk/5.html

Lily was also awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Her medals and “death penny” went up for auction in 2012. The lot was estimated to be worth £2500 because of its rarity. It realised £9000.

DNW auction house website, page describing lot including Lily’s medals:
https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/past-catalogues/lot.php?auction_id=265&lot_id=225931

Lily died of pneumococcal peritonitis [infection of the abdominal sac, can be associated with pneumonia] while serving at the Citadel Hospital in Cairo. She was buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt.

Scarlet Finders website, description of Citadel Hospital, Cairo in 1910:
http://www.scarletfinders.co.uk/127.html

Royal Army Medical Corps Journal, description of Citadel Hospital, March 1915:
https://jramc.bmj.com/content/24/3/281

Civil Parish: Durham St. Giles

Birth date: 1883

Death date: 29-Sep-1918

Armed force/civilian: Civilian

Residence: Born: Waldridge Fell
Grand Junction Inn, Gilesgate, Durham (1901 census)
5 Eaton Terrace, London SW (1911 census)
38 Great Cumberland Place, London (Red Cross Record Card)

Organisation membership: The British Red Cross, Voluntary Aid Detachment

Employment: Dress maker
Lady’s maid

Family: (Step)-father: Joshua Liddle
Mother: Sarah Liddle (previously Wears, married 1894)
(Step)-siblings: Edward Liddle, William Liddle

Medal(s): Scarlet Efficiency Stripe
British War Medal
Victory Medal

Memorial(s): Five Sister Memorial, York Minster
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt

Gender: Female

Contributed by Mavis Dixon | Durham County Record Office