Henrietta Whiteford

She was Matron of the Charterhouse for only four years; yet she is one of the most intriguing figures connected with the institution.
We can piece together her life from official documents and newspaper reports, but they give us only the bare facts.  She was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, on 7 December 1864. She was the daughter of a vicar and was educated at home.  In 1871 she was living with her 8 siblings in the vicarage in Maidwell, Northamptonshire, but neither parent is there.  By 1881 she was boarding as a pupil teacher in Mirfield with one of her sisters, Augusta (who, as Augusta Cradock, became a very successful children's author between the wars).
In February 1889 Henrietta enrolled at the London Hospital on a two-year nursing course and left in January 1891 to take the post of Sister in a government civil hospital in Gibraltar. After that she became a private nurse. We next find her in 1898 receiving the Maidstone Typhoid Medal for her nursing at the Maidstone hospital during that epidemic.
From February 1900 Henrietta served in South Africa as a nurse during the Boer War. She came home later that year to nurse her sick mother, then returned to serve until 1909. We know that she was awarded two medals during that period, but there are no details of the actions which merited those awards. Back at home in London, she qualified as a midwife.

In 1910 the Charterhouse Matron, Lena Jordan, retired and her job was advertised; a qualified nurse was required. There were 163 applicants. On 1 November the Hull Daily Mail reported the appointment of Henrietta, giving the full list of her experience, postings and medals.
It could scarcely have been more impressive.
No doubt she was looking forward to a quiet life, and for four years that is apparently what happened. But when war broke out in 1914 Henrietta was called up into the Army Nursing Reserve and left for London in August. Her job was kept open for her, while the assistant Matron, Gertrude Glister, took her place.

The next we hear of Henrietta is a newspaper report in June 1916. It includes the only photograph of this remarkable lady.  On 6 June Sister Henrietta Whiteford of the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve  had been invested with the Royal Red Cross First Class by King George V at Buckingham Palace.  The Charterhouse trustees noted that it was the highest nursing medal anyone could get - but again, we have no details of the service which warranted it.  A fat file on her service record in the National Archives is nearly all concerned with her unsuccessful attempts to get a pension from the War Office.  In 1916 Henrietta was over 50, and life in war-torn France was taking its toll.  She returned to England on sick leave in 1917, said to be suffering from neurasthenia (a popular but meaningless diagnosis).  She was reported to have difficulty sleeping and was exhausted all the time.  She stayed in London and in 1918 wrote to the Charterhouse trustees to say that she would not be returning to her job there.  Her health had given way, she said.
Henrietta lived the rest of her life in London.  We don't know how she earned her living, but private nursing is a possibility.  She died on 18 January 1934 at St Peter's Home, Kilburn.  She left effects worth £555 to her sister (around £32k in today's values).
While her time at the Charterhouse was brief, Henrietta Whiteford deserves to be remembered.
(My thanks to Sarah Rogers for her invaluable contribution to this story.)