Alice Eliza Bancroft
- Born: 30 Sep 1865, 30 Talbot Terrace,
Bayswater, London 2
- Marriage (1): Lt. Col. Sidney Fitz-Wyman
Cooke on 25 Aug 1896 in Farnborough, Hampshire 1
- Died: 2 Mar 1945, 43, Kings Road, Horsham
aged 79 4
|
Alice was born in what is now Talbot Road,
Notting Hill, London,5 where her mother and her two older sisters
were living following her father's return to regimental duties in 1865.
It is not known how long the Bancroft family remained based in London,
but it is very likely it did so until at least 1869 when her father and
the battalion he commanded returned to England from Barbados.
For the next few years, it was probably a matter of "following the
battalion" while it was stationed in England which the Bancroft family
seems to have done until 1876. Indeed, the 1871 Census shows Alice with
her parents and sisters at Canterbury barracks6 and newspaper reports later place the family
at Colchester7 and Aldershot.8 In February 1876, her father's battalion was
posted to India but she and her family remained in England, very likely
in London.
When Alice's father was made Brigade Depot Commander at Preston in
1879, her family joined him there but by then she and her older sister
Blanche may well have been boarders during term time at a small school
for young ladies situated in Islington, North London. Certainly, they
were there at time of the 1881 Census. Alice was 16 years of age then
and probably remained at the school for another year.9
Even though Alice was the first of her sisters to do so, it was not
until August 1896 that she and Sidney Cooke were married in her local
parish church.10 No doubt the propinquity of the family home
in Farnborough to local Army garrisons helped bring about that happy
event.
Alice and Sidney had three sons born in relatively close succession
between 1897 and 1901; the first was born in London and the other two
at Farnborough. In September 1901, after a short spell in India, Sydney
was appointed adjutant of the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the South
Wales Borderers based in Newport, Monmouthshire,11 and it may be that Alice and the children
joined him but nothing has been found to confirm that they did.
By the time Sydney retired from active service in 1905, Alice's father
had died, her family home had been sold and Sydney's father, mother and
two unmarried sisters were living in Eastbourne so it is perhaps not
surprising that she and Sydney chose to take a house in The Goffs there
which they kept until 1916.12 13
Judging by local newspaper reports, Alice and Sidney led a busy social
life at Eastbourne.14 Much of this, of course, was due to Sidney's
position as a Borough Councillor between 1907 and 1913 and his roles in
several local associations and societies, for instance as the Hon. Sec.
of the local British Red Cross Society division15 or, more surprisingly, as President of
Eastbourne Association of East Anglians,16 the latter role stimulated, perhaps, by a
summer holiday at Hunstanton. It might also have something to do with
the content of local newspapers in the early years of the 20th century
when, for example, the comings and goings of the Cooke and other
families during the "summer holidays" were considered newsworthy. The
Cookes incidentally, were reported as going to stay at Newington (for 2
months), Saffron Walden (7 weeks) and Hunstanton (7 weeks) in the
summers of 1908, 1909, 1910 respectively.17 After the Great War, newspaper reporting
styles changed and, possibly, Alice and Sidney chose not to be active
in those community affairs that attracted press interest but,
nevertheless, it is rather surprising that in terms of surviving
newspaper reports, they virtually disappear from sight until 1943.
Eastbourne turned out to be convenient for Alice's sons' early
schooling as the then highly regarded boys' preparatory school, Temple
Grove, had moved there from East Sheen in 1902. Alice's cousin Julia
Vidal's (nιe Espeut) youngest son was at the school between 1902 and
1906 and word of its quality may have reached the Cooke's ears but its
location (just 600 yards or so from The Goffs) would have been an
important factor in choosing it. All three of Alice's sons are said to
have attended the school before going to Charterhouse but,
interestingly enough, at the time of the 1911 census, the youngest,
Desmond, was living at home with his parents while his brothers were
boarding; perhaps as a 10-year-old, he was still attending as a day boy.
In the summer of 1917, a house known as Inholmes Mansion at Burgess
Hill came up for sale and was acquired by an undisclosed purchaser for
£1050.18 Sidney gave the house as his residence in
1919,19 so it seems likely that the Cooke family
acquired it then.20 Inholmes Mansion is reported as having been
sold again in the summer of 1925 there is notice of a sale of
"surplus household furniture and effects" there that December.21 This fits well with the year Helena
O'Flanagan (Alice's Aunt Julia's daughter) says Alice and Sidney moved
to "one on the borders of Hampshire",22 in this instance, Camberley.
A bit of a mystery surrounds the Cooke family's occupation of Inholmes.
Though it is believed that Sidney acquired this 15-roomed property at
the time of the 1917 sale, by June 1918, it was being advertised widely
as the location of a "The Practical College" providing "Domestic
Training, Gardening, Farming, &c., for Gentlewomen", these
advertisements continued until May 1919.23 The only detailed newspaper report of The
College that has been found describes it thus, "Inholmes Mansion,
Burgess Hill, has been opened as The Practical College, under the
superintendence of Miss E. Taunton, for training ladies in Domestic
Science, Gardening, Farming, Bookbinding and other branches of work.
Last Wednesday evening a lecture was given by Mr. H. Edmonds, B.Sc.,
Lecturer on Botany and Geology at the Municipal Technical College,
Brighton, the subject being Soils.
".24
Neither the above report nor any of the earlier advertisements make
mention of Alice or Sydney but it may be that they sponsored The
Practical College or allowed some part of the Inholmes' site to be used
for it. If that was the case, they were showing surprisingly
enlightened support for post-war female economic emancipation. Sadly,
the College cannot have prospered because after the summer of 1919,
there is no mention of it again in any newspapers.
After living some years in Camberley25 and one or two at West Byfleet, Alice and
Sidney eventually settled in Horsham at Orwell Lodge, Wimblehurst Road,
in about 1934. When the 1939 Register was prepared, Alice and Sidney
were recorded as living there with a cook and, probably, a teenage maid.26 Alice's sister Edith was also with them,
most probably for a visit, as she still had a house in London at that
time. Edith was described as being "[an] Invalid" and was accompanied
by a female "Invalid Attendant".
Alice was widowed in January 1943 and no doubt had planned to continue
to live at Orwell Lodge but sadly the German Luftwaffe had other ideas
and barely two weeks after Sidney's death, on February 10th, the house
received a direct hit during a German "hit-and-run" bombing raid. A
local newspaper gave this report of the attack:27
|
IN THE
GARDEN WHEN HOUSE RECEIVED DIRECT HIT - Remarkable Escapes in
Wednesday's Raid.
Two houses, one
which received a direct hit, collapsed into piles of bricks, after a
single enemy raider had dropped bombs on a residential district in a
southern town on Wednesday.
Again. there were some miraculous escapes. No one was killed and apart
from, those suffering from shock and concussion, only a few were
injured - three fairly seriously.
A large number of houses were more or less damaged and a boys'
school had its windows blown out. Mrs. Cooke, an elderly woman, whose
husband died recently, had a narrow escape. It was the maid's afternoon
off and Mrs. Cooke was in the garden feeding the chickens when her
house received a direct hit. She was unhurt, but received treatment for
shock. A farmer, returned home to find his house in ruins. His sister
and her friends were sitting round a bridge table when the bomb fell
but they, scrambled out through a hole in the wreckage with cuts and
bruises. A gardener, working in an adjoining garden, was injured.
Clothing and curtains, flung high into the air with debris, hung in
nearby trees as Demolition squads, assisted by overseas soldiers, began
their work. Among those whose houses were substantially damaged were
the headmaster of the boys' school and Mr. George Potter, Mr. Cecil
Hunt, and two doctors' and a solicitor's. |
It has not been discovered what happened to Alice and her maid
following the destruction of Orwell Lodge but two years later, when
Alice died, she was still living in Horsham.28
At her death, Alice left an estate valued at c. £15,000, her sons
Geoffrey and Desmond were her executors.29
Alice married Lt. Col. Sidney Fitz-Wyman
Cooke, son of Robert Thomas Cooke and Mary Catherine Wavell, on 25 Aug
1896 in Farnborough, Hampshire.1 (Lt. Col. Sidney Fitz-Wyman
Cooke was born on 17 May 1865 in India 30 and died on 24 Jan 1943 in
Orwell Lodge, Horsham 31.)
|
Sources
1 Parish
Registers of England and Wales,
Farnborough, St Peter Marriages 1896.
1899. Marriage solemnised at the [Parish Church in the Parish of
Farnborough in
the County of Southampton] . No. 28 - August 25 1896
Sidney Fitz -Wyman Cooke - Full [age] - Bachelor - Captain S. Wales
Borderers -
Farnborough - Robert Thomas Cooke - Gentlemen
Alice Eliza Bancroft - Full [age] - Spinster - - Knellwood Farnborough
-
William Charles Bancroft - Lieut. General
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of
the
Established Church, by or after banns by me
???? [Unreadable signature
[
This Marriage was solemnised between us, Sidney Fitz-Wyman Cooke, Alice
Eliza
Bancroft in the Presence of us, William Charles Bancroft, Florence
Blanche
Bancroft, Edith Maude Bancroft, Charles [unreadable surname].
2 Parish
Registers of England and Wales, St
Stephen, Paddington Registers 1856-1897 Baptisms 1865 Page 11,
No.84 (see
below).
3 Parish
Registers of England and Wales, St
Stephen, Paddington Registers 1856-1897 Baptisms 1865 Page 11,
No.84.
1865 8th November Born 30 Sept. 1865 - Alice Eliza - William &
Eliza
Henrietta - Bancroft - 30 Talbot Terrace - Captain 16th Foot - John
Alex. Jacob
curate.
4 Probate
Court (England and Wales), "Calendar
of Grants of Probate and Administration", Wills and Admons 1945.
COOKE Alice Eliza of 43 Kings-Road Horsham in Sussex widow died 2 March
1945
Probate Llandudno 24 May 2 Geoffrey Charles Sidney Bancroft Cooke
lieutenant-colonel H. M. army and Desmond Aubrey Robert Bancroft Cooke
colonel
H. M. army. Effects £15293 6s. 7d.
5 The
Argus (Published at Melbourne, Vic. :
1848 - 1957), Friday 22 December 1865, Page 4, Col E BIRTHS. ...
BANCROFT.- On the 30th September, at 3 Talbot-terrace, Bayswater,
London, the
wife of Captain Bancroft, 16th Regiment, of a daughter.
6 National
Census,
1871 - Parish:
Canterbury; ED: Canterbury Barracks 2bn/16th Beds; Piece: 970;
Household Sch'd
No: 1 - Alice E Bancroft - 5 - Daughter.
7 Essex
Standard (Published at Colchester,
Essex), Friday 19 July 1872 Page 3 - COLCHESTER. ...
Col. and Mrs. Bancroft. 16th Regt; Col. and Mrs. Baker, 10th Hussars;
Capt. and
Mrs. Barry ; ...
8 Aldershot
Military Gazette, Saturday 25
January 1873 Page 2 - 2ND BATTALION 16TH REGIMENT. ...
Cheers were given for the Chaplain and for Col. Bancroft and his lady,
the
audience was large (the being crowded in every part), and included Col.
and
Mrs. Bancroft, Col. Wilson and Mrs. Wilson (18th Royal Irish),
.
9 National
Census, ...
1881 - Parish: Preston; ED: 10b; Piece: 970; Piece: 4234; Folio: 82 -
Edith M
Bancroft - 19 - Daughter*
1881 - Parish: St Mary; ED: 84; Piece: 275; Folio: 98; Page: 9 - Alice
E.
Bancroft 16 Scholar. * Edith was living in Preston with her parents
while
Blanche and Alice were at school in London.
10 The
Argus (Published at Melbourne, Vic. :
1848 - 1957), Friday 23 October 1896, Page 1 Col A MARRIAGES. ...
FITZWYMAN-COOKE BANCROFT.- On the 25th August, at Knellwood,
Farnborough,
England, by the Rev. E. D. Judkins, Captain Fitzwyman- Cooke, 1st
Battalion
South Wales Borderers, to Alice Eliza, youngest daughter of Lt.-General
Bancroft, and grand-daughter of the late Hon. Henry Miller, of Findon,
Kew.
11 Star
of Gwent (Published in Monmouthshire,
Wales), Friday 30 August 1901 Page 8 LOCAL SIFTINGS.
Captain Moore, (South Wales Borderers) goes to the Thirds; and Captain
Cooke
(South Wales Borderers), now in India, becomes the successor to Major
E. S.
Gillman in the Fourths.
.
12 Kent
& Sussex Courier, Friday 19 July
1907 Page 12. ...
GOOD Housemaid required, end of month, for private house. Apply, Mrs
Cooke,
Trevella, The Goffs, Eastbourne.
13 Eastbourne
Chronicle, Saturday 16 December 1916 Page 4 By instructions of
Colonel S.
F. COOKE.
TERRYS (FAI.). Will Sell by auction, on MONDAY, December 18th 1916, at
eleven
o'clock, on the Premises at 'TREVELLA," THE GOFFS, EASTBOURNE, THE
RESIDUE
OF FURNITURE AND EFFECTS, comprising about 200 Lots. On View Saturday,
December
16, 1916
14 Eastbourne Chronicle,
Varoius. ...
Saturday 7 March 1908 Page 6 - THE MAYOR AND MAYORESS AT HOME. A
SUCCESSFUL
FUNCTION.
Mr. and Mr.. E. A. Brown, Mr. H. T. Bartlett. Mr. G. Brown.
Councillor Major
S. F. Cooke and Mrs. Cooke, Councillor and Mrs. Cornwell,
Saturday 11 January 1908 Page 5 - PRIMROSE LEAGUE BALL
... Among the guests we noticed ... Councillor Major S. F. Cooke and
Mrs.
Cooke, Mr. and Mrs. R. T. Thornton and Miss Thornton, ...
15 Eastbourne
Gazette (Published at Eastbourne), Wednesday
26 February
1913 Page 8 - COMBINED CHURCH PARADE. ...
The Red Cross detachment marched to Trevella, the residence of
Councillor Major
S. F. Cooke, where the certificates recently gained in the nursing
examination
were distributed by Mrs. Cooke. In his address to the men the major
mentioned
that they were the first company of the Sussex men to obtain the
certificates.
...
16 Eastbourne
Gazette (Published at Eastbourne), Wednesday
9 November
1910 Page 8 - LOCAL NEWS. ...
Councillor Major Cooke (president) and Mrs. Cooke will hold reception
at the
Chatsworth Hotel on Thursday evening next week when they will entertain
the
members of the Eastbourne Association of East Anglian.
17 Eastbourne
Gazette (Published at
Eastbourne), Various. Wednesday 5 August 1908 Page 8 - PERSONAL NOTES
... Councillor Major S. F. Cooke and Mrs. Cooke, of Trevella, leave
Eastbourne
to-day (Wednesday) for Newington, Chatham, where they will stay for two
months.
Wednesday 28 July 1909 Page 8 - PERSONAL NOTES
Councillor Major S. F. Cooke, and Mrs. Cooke and family leave
Eastbourne
to-day, for the Vineyard, Saffron Walden, Essex, where they will stay
for seven
weeks.
Wednesday 27 July 1910 Page 8 - PERSONAL NOTES..
Councillor Major S. F. Cooke, Mrs. Cooke and family leave Eastbourne
to-day
(Wednesday) for Hunstanton. Norfolk, where they will stay for seven
weeks.
.
18 Sussex
Daily News, Thursday 12 July 1917
Page 7 PROPERTY IN THE MARKET.
Inholmes Mansion, Burgess Hill. Sold for £1,050,
.
19 London
Gazette, 18 November 1919, Page 13968.
whose will was proved in the Principal Probate Registry, on the 1st
day of November last, by Sidney Fitzwyman Cooke, of Inholmes, Burgess
Hill, in
the county of Sussex, Lieutenant-Colonel in His Majesty's Army,
.
20 Mid
Sussex Times, Tuesday 12 June 1923 Page
4 Situations Vacant, &c.
HOUSE PARLOURMAID REQUIRED. About 18. Five Maids. Three in family.
Apply
stating wages, &c. to Mrs. Cooke. Inholmes, Burgess Hill. Sussex.
21 Mid Sussex
Times Tuesday, 10 November 1925,
Page 4 Col C - Auctions, Sales, &c.
Preliminary Announcement. INHOLMES MANSION, BURGESS HILL. Messrs. J. R.
THORNTON & Co. (having sold the Residence) have been
favoured with
instructions to Sell on the Premises, as above. At an Early Date. THE
SURPLUS
HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE AND EFFECTS. Further particulars in future
announcement.
Auction and Estate Offices 6 Bank Buildings. Burgess Hill. 'Phone 120.
Though this notice does not refer to the sale of Inholmes Mansion
itself, the
auctioneers claim to have sold it previously, presumably, on the
instructions
of Sidney Cooke.
22 Helena
O'Flanagan, "Helen O'Flanagan's family
notes" (Notes written about her Bancroft ancestors and descendants
dated
December 11th 1926.),
Colonel and Mrs S. Cooke sold their place in Sussex & and have just
bought
one in or on the borders of Hampshire.
23 Mid Sussex
Times, Tuesday 25 June
1918, Page 3 Col A SCHOLASTIC.
THE PRACTICAL COLLEGE, INHOLMES MANSION, BURGESS HILL Domestic
Training.
Gardening. Farming, &c., for Gentlewomen.- Apply PRINCIPAL
24 Mid Sussex
Times Tuesday 13 May
1919, Page 8 Col D BURGESS HILL.
25 Post
Office Telephone Directories (Annual
telephone directories published by the Post Office listing their
subscribers.),
...
1928 Col. S. F Cooke, Sark Brig, Crawley rdg., Camberley
1935 S F Cooke, 2 Wimblehurst rd Horsham.
26 1939
England and Wales Register (The 1939
Register was created at the onset of WWII with the purpose of producing
National Identity Cards, the register later came to be
multi-functional, first
as an aid in the use of ration books and later helping officials record
the
movement of the civilian population over the following decades and from
1948,
as the basis for the National Health Service Register.), County:
Sussex; ED:
EMFM; RD: Horsham: Reg. Dist: 81/2; SCH. No: 181.
27 West
Sussex County Times, Friday 12
February 1943, Page 1 Col C IN THE GARDEN WHEN HOUSE RECEIVED DIRECT
HIT.
28 West
Sussex County Times, Friday 9 March
1945 Page 8 Col C LATE MRS. A. E. COOKE.
Mrs Alice Eliza Cooke, died at 43, Kings-road, Horsham. on March 2 at
the age
of 80. She was the widow of Lieut.-Col. S. F. W Cooke. who died on
January 24.
1943.
29
Probate Court (England and Wales), "Calendar
of Grants of Probate and Administration", Wills and Admons 1945 (see
above).
COOKE Alice Eliza of 43 Kings-Road Horsham in Sussex widow died 2 March
1945
Probate Llandudno 24 May 2 Geoffrey Charles Sidney Bancroft Cooke
lieutenant-colonel H. M. army and Desmond Aubrey Robert Bancroft Cooke
colonel
H. M.army.
30
"British Army Officer Records" (Records
in the PRO, Kew, England pertaining to officers who served the British
Army),
1764-1932.
Name: Sidney Fitz Wyman Cooke; Marital status: Married; Rank: Captain;
Birth
Date: 17 May 1865; Birth Place: Calcutta; Enlistment Date: 1886
.
31 The
Times (London), Tuesday, February 2,
1943 Page 1 Col B DEATHS.
COOKE.- On Jan 24, 1943, at his home in Horsham, Lieut. Colonel Sidney
Fitzwyman Cooke, late 24th Regiment (South Wales borderers). Burial
took place
privately on Jan.27th. No letters.
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