Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry
She was posted to Kenya during the Mau Mau emergency in August 1954, returning to the UK in October 1956. From December 1956 until April 1957 Miss Cholmeley was posted to the Red Cross Hostel for British Nationals from Egypt following the crisis in Suez. In May 1957 Miss Cholmeley went out to Cyprus as Matron of the Red Cross Home for Sick Children then situated in Saittas. She was largely responsible for organising the move to a new Home in Kyrenia where she remained as Matron until April 1967. From April 1967 until May 1970 Miss Cholmeley was Matron of Queen Alexandra House, Folkestone - a home for elderly retired nurses. As will be seen from her record of service, Miss Cholmeley has served with distinction in many different countries, often in extremely dangerous and difficult circumstances. Her work in Malaya and in Kenya in particular took her to remote areas where she relied only on the reputation of the Red Cross for protection against subversive elements. In Malaya she was responsible for running Clinics in the resettlement villages where she treated thousands of people and, by gaining their respect and confidence, contributed greatly to raising their morale as well as looking after their physical needs. Similarly in Kenya where her work lay mainly among Kikuyu women and children, she helped to build confidence and prepare the way for a return to normal conditions. In Cyprus it is no exaggeration to say that by her outstanding leadership and example Miss Cholmeley was responsible for the Red Cross Children’s Home at Kyrenia becoming known as the happiest place on the island during all the troubles there. It was also a unique institution in that the staff of Greek, Turkish and Armenian Cypriots worked well together in caring for the children who were also drawn from all communities, which was a situation not possible at the time anywhere else in the island. miss Cholmeley and her staff won the admiration of all the various United Nations Forces stationed in Cyprus, as a result of which the Home received invaluable financial support and other services given free by the Forces such as the planning and equipping of the swimming pool and gymnasium for the poliomyelitis and other patients.’
Helen Joyce Cholmeley was born in Hull, Yorkshire in June 1909, and trained as a nurse at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, 1929 -33. She enlisted as a Staff Nurse with the Territorial Army Nursing Service in April 1939, and served as a Sister during the Second War stationed at the 17th British General Hospital, Camiers, France, from 9 January 1940. Cholmeley’s personal account of her evacuation from France is held by the National Archives (WO222/2143), in which she states: ‘However that night orders came to move again but in spite of several false alarms we did not go until morning May 23rd. We left the unit and with our Padre and Driver started by ambulance for Dunkirk. Because of a recent air raid we could not get to the docks and were then sent on to Calais, but at Gravelines the bridge had been blocked so we spent some time at a camp until they decided which way we were to go. We were taken round by a smaller bridge and here the roads were very blocked by refugees. There was no boat that day so we went to the H.Q. of the Area Commandant at Calais. The next day we went aboard the City of Christchurch which had come bringing tanks the day before - and the day after reached Southampton on May 25th.’
Cholmeley’s ARRC was invested by the King at Buckingham Palace, 10 February 1942. She was commissioned Lieutenant in February 1951 (with seniority 4 April 1939), and the British Red Cross Society Report for 1954 gives additional details of her service in Kenya: ‘Two teams flew to Kenya in April to work in the forest villages among the resettled women and children of the Kikuyu tribe. Miss Margaret Robinson, S.R.N., and Miss Joan Priest, Welfare Officer, work together at Nyeri. Miss Evelyn Bennett worked principally among the children in a police camp and, later, in Nairobi. Another welfare, Miss Henley Colgate, is at Fort Hall. These teams were reinforced in September by Miss Helen Cholmeley, S.R.N.... Reports indicate that all the teams are doing outstanding work under difficult circumstances. Even in so short a time they have succeeded in gaining the confidence of many of the villagers and being of real service to them.’
Lieutenant Cholmely retired from the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers in June 1962, and she died in Somerset in August 1997. Sold with extensive copied research, including a photographic image of recipient in uniform.
www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 24% (+VAT where applicable)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168
