Aunt: Flossie/Florrie/Florence Sugden (nee Wray) born 1889
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Aunt Flossie indirectly provided the only evidence that
the Wrays were remotely interested in their family
history. When I began contacting my cousins, several
produced (with an air of reverence) the distribution
document of her estate which detailed her siblings or
their children who were alive in 1978. Even my father,
who was not known for nostalgia, had kept his copy.
Although we knew her as ‘Flossie’, her parents named
her ‘Florry’. She was born on 15 August 1889 at Back
Lane, Preston and was eventually baptized on 12 July
1891. She started school very early - on the 25 April
1892 - indeed the headmistress commented that
‘Florence Wray is young for Standard Three’, in 1898.
Her school record is only noteworthy because she was
knocked down and injured in the playground by Herbert
Robinson (the son of Preston’s tailor) in 1899 and was
later absent for ten days in the summer of 1902 with ‘a
gathering in her head’.
On 4 April 1904 (a Sunday), Flossie now aged fourteen
was ‘bird-keeping’ (ie bird-scaring) with one of her
brothers when she asked three Hitchin youths the time.
They went on towards two empty houses where they
broke twenty-six panes of glass with stones and a
catapult. Flossie was a witness in the resulting court
case. The houses were owned by Hannah Squires and
were situated at Sootfield Green, so Flossie and her
brother were in a nearby field, maybe of Castle Farm.
Bird-scaring was a spring-time task when the corn had
been newly sown. Children were employed to go out to
the fields as soon as it was light and remain there until
the birds had gone to roost. Despite the long hours, the
work was welcomed - perhaps the child was paid 6d a
day. They went to work with a wooden rattle, or beat an
old pail with a stick - or just shouted at the birds. Perhaps
Flossie’s enquiry about the time revealed how she was
looking forward to being released from her labour - it was
common for young bird-scarers to ask passers-by what
the time it was.
The 1911 census found ‘Florence’ (sic) working as a cook for the architect Cecil Henry Perkins and
his family, at Church Road in the heart of Bracknell, Berks. He was involved in work at Herstmonceux
Castle, Sussex. Quite how she qualified for this position is a mystery - although Dad always said that
their mother was a “good cook’’. Possibly Flossie’s association with this architect smoothed the way
for her next career move.
Flossie trained as a nurse, at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridgeshire. Her acceptance by the
nursing profession shows some resourcefulness. Flossie served in the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial
Nursing Service Reserve during WW1 (see medal card below). When the armistice was signed, she
was transferred or “lent” to the Queen Alexandra’s Military Nursing Service for India (QAMNSI).
The nursing service was ‘incredibly concerned with social class and status’. Preference was given to
daughters of professional people such as teachers, chaplains and Army officers. The following are
typical comments in the minutes of the Nursing Board:
‘Not in the least acceptable; her father is a shoemaker.’
‘Not a lady by birth nor by education.’
‘Hardly up to standard, personally and socially.’
Quite how Flossie ‘got through this social net’ and later married above her station (as we shall see) is
a mystery. However, sometime in 1919, this thirty-year-old nurse from Preston sailed for five weeks to
India through the Suez Canal and then travelled a further two days across the Indian sub-continent to
the dust and heat of the North West Frontier. She received a medal for her service at Waziristan from
1919-21 (shown at bottom of page). A niece remembers being spellbound by Flossie’s stories of her
Indian experiences – of panthers who carried off small animals from the camp at night.
Then came an announcement in Pioneer Mail and India Weekly News Vol 48 Page 46: “A marriage
has been arranged and will shortly take place between Miss F Wray of Preston, Hertfordshire and
Captain H Sugden IAR”.
On 14 April 1921, Florence (sic) Wray (25! - she was 31) married
Harold Sugden (31) at St Thomas’ Church, Dera Ismail Khan
(shown right) in the diocese of Lahore, Pakistan (see certificate
below). The occupation of the couple’s fathers was not required on
the marriage certificate – it would have been interesting to read
her description of Alfred Wray’s occupation. Harold Sugden’s
ancestry was quite different to Flossie’s modest origins.
Harold’s grandfather, William Sugden (born 1816 in Bath), was a surgeon and apothecary. Harold’s
father, Edward Sugden, was born in 1850 at Backwell in Somerset. At the age of 21, he studied to be
an architect. He then switched careers and trained as an Anglican clergyman at Chichester
Theological College.
He was a curate at St Mary Magdelene, Dundee (1878-82) and later the priest in charge of the
Episcopalian Churches at Carnoustie (1882-89) and Coupar Angus (which is 10 miles north-west of
Dundee 1887-1900). Using his architectural expertise, he also designed several church buildings in
Scotland such as St John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 116 Albert Street, Dundee (1885) and the
Church of St Margaret, Lochee, Dundee.
Edward married Elizabeth Mary Sparks in 1887 at Chepstow, Monmouthshire and they had a son,
Harold (born 8 June 1891 at Coupar Angus, Forfar), and a daughter. In 1901, Harold was at Heaton
Lodge Boarding School at Kirkheaton, Yorkshire.
According to the Indian Army records at the British Library, H. Sugden was appointed to the Indian
Army on 4 September 1918. In January 1919, he was a Lieutenant in the infantry and became a
temporary Captain in 1920 until October 1922 - he described himself as a Captain when he married
in 1921. He was released from the army in October 1924.
It is generally believed by Flossie’s family that the marriage foundered because of pressure from
Harold’s relatives. That she kept her engagement ring and passed it on to a favourite niece perhaps
indicates her feelings about her marriage.
When she returned to her parents’ home at Preston, she became a matron
at ‘Foxholes’ maternity home in Hitchin (right) which is a measure of her
ability and strong (not to say stern) character. She was known as ‘Matron
Sugden’ and was nursing there in 1951 when her mother died. She would
drive there (somewhat erratically) which again was comparatively unusual
for a woman at that time. Later, Flossie worked in a home for the elderly at
Stevenage.
As soon as she heard that the cottage at Chequers Lane could be bought,
she visited the owner, Mr. Vickers, and purchased it. Her sister, Maggie,
remembered that Flossie was very generous to her children.
Flossie’s next door neighbours were the Newells (at 6 Chequers Cottages). Chris Newell’s instant
memory of Flossie was that she saved his sister Barbara’s life when a boiled sweet lodged in her
throat. She was turning blue, when Flossie ‘popped it out’.
Towards the end of her life, Flossie became a little
unbalanced. She locked her sister, Nan, out of the
house and a villager remembers being terrified at
school because Flossie arrived there declaring
that there was a terrible epidemic and demanding
that all the children had to be vaccinated.
Flossie died intestate on 19 July 1966 at Fairfield
Mental Hospital, Stotfold, Beds. Her immediately
disposable estate was valued at £4,500.
Her sister Nan continued to live at the family home
until her death in 1978. Then, 5 Chequers
Cottages was sold for £18,000.
Of Harold Sugden
For some years I had tried to find the whereabouts of Aunt Flossie’s husband, Harold Sugden, after
the mid-1920s. The break-through happened with the publication of the 1939 Register which provided
this information:
The presence of Harold’s mother and sister here at St Annes, Park Avenue, Westward Ho, Devon (a
detached bungalow) confirms that Flossie’s husband was living in the West Country in 1939. He was
noted ‘M’ on the Register (ie married) and his occupation was ‘locomotive fitter’.
Now Harold could be found in the 1911 census - with his family:
The Sugdens were living in nine-roomed, semi-detached 21 Westbridge Road, Portswood,
Southampton. The family were able to employ a servant. Harold was an apprentice in a locomotive
department. Further records of his railway employment at this time were discovered. He had worked
probably as an apprentice at the London and South Western Railway engineering yard, Eastleigh,
Hants from 7 October 1907 until October 1912. He was then employed by a motor company before
starting work as a fitter back at the Eastleigh works on 8 July 1913. He left this job because he was
considered to be ‘unsuitable’ on 13 July 1914 when his character was assessed as good and his
abilities as fair. A fortnight later, the World War 1 began.
On 28 October 1914, Harold left London on the Khiva bound for Calcutta, India. He was described as
a fitter. Harold’s destination was Assam which had recently become a more settled area after the
border with Tibet had been agreed. It may be that he was going to work on the Indian railways, but
more likely he was to work as an engineer on a tea plantation - this employment was sometimes
advertised in the British press. Harold was initiated into the Freemasons at their Unity Lodge, Nazira,
Assam on 11 January 1918 when he was noted as a tea planter. He took up a commission in the
Indian Army on 4 September 1918 and resigned from the Lodge on 30 March 1921.
Harold’s mother, Elizabeth Mary Sugden, died at Park Avenue, Westward Ho on 9 July 1956. Perhaps
significantly probate to her estate (value: £822) was granted to her daughter, Ethel. Ethel died on 26
June 1969. She in turn left an estate of £2,366 and was living at Donnington House, Westward Ho -
which was probably a care home on the coast then, as it is today. Perhaps there was a reason why
Harold was not involved in the distribution of his mother’s estate as we will see.
After noting in 1939 that he was married and living with his mother and sister in 1939, Harold married
again:
Harold married the widow, Florence Kate Wainstein, at Bath register office on 5 August 1941.
Florence had married Simel Wainstein/Vanstein at Paddington, Middlesex in early 1927. Simel was
probably Jewish. They had two sons: Silas R Wainstein (born 1927) and Isaiah L Wainstein (1930).
Possibly both sons preferred to be known later by their middle names which were Russell and Leon.
Russell (a Bath rugby player and police constable) also adopted his mother’s maiden name Colwill.
The relevance of this will become clear. In 1939, Florence like Harold was living at Westward Ho
(at 5 Park View Terrace) together with her aged parents and probably her two sons though two
undisclosed names have been blacked out of the record.
When he married, Harold told the registrar that he was a widower. This was, of course, untrue.
Flossie was still very much alive.
Harold was a bigamist.
He died a few months after Flossie, on 12 February 1967, at 30 Upper East Hayes, Bath. The
informant was his stepson Russell Colwill (sic).
Both Flossie and Harold died intestate, without making a will. Flossie’s estate was administered by
her sister, Maggie Whitby with help from her brothers, Jack and Sam Wray. It was evidently assumed
that either Flossie and Harold had divorced or perhaps Harold had died. None of the Wray family
appear to have had an inkling that Harold was alive, living in England, legally still Flossie’s husband
and therefore entitled to her entire estate.
Instead, after tracking down the locations of Flossie’s surviving siblings or the children of those who
had died (a process that took more than two years) Letters of Administration were granted on
16 September 1968.Then, Flossie’s assets were distributed (in error) and the family agreed that Nan
be allowed to continue living at 5 Chequers Cottages. By this time, if Flossie’s estate had been
correctly administered, Harold’s sister, Ethel Sugden, would have been the sole beneficiary.
Postscript
Demonstrating once again due to the power of the internet, this article was found by someone with
close connections to Harold’s family, who kindly sent several photographs which contribute
significantly to this story:
Edward and Elizabeth Sugden with Ethel and Harold
Harold Sugden
Florence Kate Sugden (nee Wainstein)
Top
Flossie’s WW1 medal card and her Waziristan medal
The photograph of Flossie with the cherubic boy at the beginning of this article was taken in the
summer of 1951 at a Wray/Littlefield wedding in Portsmouth. I just wish I could remember the
occasion…..
1 January 1954
Foxholes Maternity Home, Hitchin
Postscript
More information about what unbalanced Aunt Flossie
has been provided by a cousin. In later life she
travelled to work using a ‘Quickly’ motor bicycle such
as the one shown right.
These machines began to be produced in 1953, The
motor unit included a 49 cc two-stroke engine, a two or
three-speed transmission, a bicycle pedal assembly to
start the engine and assist propulsion up hills, and a
centre-stand. I understand that Flossie was involved in
an accident of her way to work which affected her.
