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Auction: 22001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 363

The R.R.C. group of seven awarded to Lady Superintendent E.A. Tweedale, Order of St. John, who served as Commandant of the St. John's Auxiliary Hospital in Rochdale, her tireless work seeing the Hospital expand from 24 beds to 320, and Lady District Superintendent of No. 4 District of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade as well as serving as a J.P., she was later to become a Dame of Grace with the Order

Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class, (A.R.R.C.), silver and enamel, with bow riband; The Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Officer´s breast Badge, silver and enamel; Coronation 1911, St. John Ambulance Brigade (Lady Supt. E. Tweedale.), Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Service Medal of the Order of St. John, with 4 long service clasps (1645 Lady Dist. Supt. E. A. Tweedale. (District Staff.) No 4 Dist. 1919.); British Red Cross Medal for War Service, minor contact wear, edge bruise to sixth and some wear to number and title, overall very fine (7)

[C.B.E.] London Gazette 3 June 1932.

A.R.R.C. London Gazette 24 October 1917.

Elizabeth Ann Tweedale was born at Rochdale, Lancashire on 9 November 1889, the daughter of Edward and Mary Tweedale of 62 Huddersfield Road, Butterworth Ogden Chapel. Living in Rochdale at the time of the 1911 census the family had moved to 61 Wellith Lane Rochdale and Tweedale was working as a king spinner in a local mill. She married John James Pemberton at St. Mary’s Church, Balderstone on 3 February 1912. At the outbreak of the Great War she was already working with St. John Ambulance and volunteered for service on 4 August 1914 with her records stating that her previous engagement had been ‘Interviewing V.A.D. for Service in Military Hospitals at Rochdale’ at the St. John Ambulance Drill Hall, Rochdale. The war saw the Hall converted into an Auxiliary Hospital, of which Tweedale was appointed commandant, opening its door on 4 November 1914.

Starting with 24 beds they increased to 320 by the end of the war with Tweedale having responsibility for the extension and increase of buildings to accommodate the massive increase in patients. Her work was not simply administrative however and she worked tirelessly to ensure that the local area did its bit to finance the St. John Ambulance’s efforts at the frontline. Her first collection for Motor Ambulances in 1914 raised £870 and from that she organised the ‘Our Duty’ fund which ran from 1916-18. She was appointed a Lady of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of St. John on 9 June 1916. Demobilised on 30 July 1919 she continued her work with St. John Ambulance as the Lady District Superintendent of No.4 District and later became a Justice of the Peace. She died in March 1957, her memory carries on in the Tweedale Nursing Cadet Trophy, first awarded to her in September 1932 by Colonel Trimble’; sold together with East Lancashire St. John Ambulance War Service enamelled badge numbered 6304 to the reverse along with copied research including forum posts, a previous listing and London Gazette entries.

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Sold for
£700

Starting price
£350