Muriel Annie Buckenham, 1900-1937

Muriel Annie Lindsay (née Buckenham) was born in 1900 at Osborne House, High Street, Stoke Ferry. She was the youngest daughter to William Alfred Buckenham and Annie Buckenham (nee Thwaites). Muriel was known to all as “Queenie”

Queenie’s mother, Annie Thwaites, was born in 1866 at School Cottage, Lime Kiln Lane (now School Lane), Whittington. Annie’s father was William Thwaites (1824-1916). He started his working life as a coachpainter in Hastings. He then became a schoolmaster at Westminster. In 1851 he is recorded as teaching at Shorncliffe Barracks Convict Station in Kent. The station was a holding stage for convicts awaiting transportation. He later took up ministering to the convicts in the Hulks at Woolwich. He found their situation extremely distressing. He declared that some of the chief officers were as shamelessly wicked as the convicts. He wrote to the Times and members of the Lords and Commons. Then, he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee. The committee eventually abolished the Hulks. He later moved to Norfolk and in 1873 and became a church deacon at Northwold. He was then curate at Whittington before being ordained priest in 1875. He remained Whittington’s vicar for 41 years.¹

Queenie’s early life

In 1908, when Queenie was 8 years old, Stoke Ferry was described as a place where “considerable business is done at the wharf in corn, coals, malt, and flour…”. Hence, as her father traded in all these commodities, Queenie grew up in a quite wealthy household. Her family upheld strictly Victorian/Edwardian Christian values. Her mother, as well as running a busy household, was a consistent fundraiser for local causes. She supported The Bible Society, Waifs and Strays, Whittington and Stoke Ferry Schools, etc. She was a member of the Women’s Institute. She was also daughter to an outspoken local priest with a proven social conscience. Queenie’s aunt, Fanny Louisa Thwaites, ran the school at Whittington until it closed in 1910. Her uncle, Samuel William Thwaites, was the schoolmaster at Binton School, near Holt. Her father was a successful local business man and landowner. He was an upstanding member of All Saints Church in Stoke Ferry where he was the Choirmaster and a Warden. He was also Chairman of the Parish Council. He was a member of the Rural District Council. He was a leading Freemason in the area. On top of this he was an accomplished singer. He organised bowls and tennis matches. He also ran the local cricket, football, and badminton teams. When Queenie was 12, her father decided to break his partnership with fellow feed mill owners. These included William Henry and Charles Hewitt Tuck. He decided to branch off in business on his own account. So, it was in this atmosphere and culture of commitment to personal and social development, Queenie’s character was formed. She became a determined, confident and adventuresome young woman.

Queenie’s Career

Queenie left school at the age of 16 and joined the Voluntary Aided Detachment (VAD) Auxiliary Hospital in Downham Market. Here she performed nursing and ward work for soldiers injured in the First World War (right).  After eight months at Downham VAD Queenie was transferred to the New Zealand Hospital, Weybridge, Surry in 1918. Then, between 1919-24, she gained her formal nursing qualifications at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge (right).

She continued her professional career development in London. She held posts in the capital’s various clinics and hospitals including the Chelsea Hospital for Women. Queenie passed her midwifery examinations. She appeared on the Midwives Roll of 1928. This was at a time when midwives were mainly used by those who could not afford a doctor. The 1920’s were a time of important advances in medical care. These included the first vaccines to overcome the scourge of tuberculosis. They also included X-Rays, improvements in dental treatment and surgery techniques. There were also rapid changes in attitude towards mental health. This was due to the huge number of “shellshock” cases after the First World War. Queenie, in Downham, Addenbrooke’s, and London, will have been at the heart of these important developments. Eventually Queenie took a position as a ward sister at the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases. It was here she met her future husband, Dr. Kenneth Lindsay who was successfully studying for a Diploma in Tropical Medicine.

Around 1931 Queenie left London to accept the prestigious position as Matron of the new Memorial Hospital, Edenbridge. She stayed there until August 1933.She left when she became engaged to Kenneth, who was now in the military with the rank of Captain. She then began making her preparations for a new life with her future husband in India.

Queenie’s Marriage

Queenie traveled to India, and on November 14, 1934 she married Captain Kenneth L. Lindsay (IMS), M.A., M.D., F.R.G.S. the only son of Dr. J. W and Mrs. Lindsay, of Tolworth, Surry.

The marriage took place at All Saints Church, Malabar Hill, Bombay (now Mumbai) in South West India.  Surely, Queenie smiled when she realised that she had traveled so far to be married in a church with the same name as the one she knew so well in her native Norfolk village. They were married by the garrison chaplain and Queenie was given in marriage by Mr. H.T. Butler, a friend of the family.

The couple honeymooned in Agra, Lucknow, and other cities. They then made their home in The Military Hospital, Jaipur in northern India.

Queenie’s Death

For some reason, perhaps because her husband had been ordered to return, Queenie came back to the UK in 1935. Soon after, she traveled back to Asia, this time to Burma. But here she died on the 30th October 1937 at the Dufferin Hospital, Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma (now Myanmar). Sadly, despite all of her and her husband’s knowledge of tropical diseases, Queenie had died of black water fever. This was a serious complication of Malaria.

Footnote

What would Queenie’s future have been but for the outbreak of World War 1? Most likely she would have left school. She would have probably married the son of a local businessman. He could have been a son of one of her father’s fellow Free Masons. He could have also been a young clergyman or schoolteacher. Then, most probably she, like her mother Annie before her, would have devoted her life to baring children. She would have looked after the home and done good works in the district. Instead, the war, with all its horrors, allowed her to expand her horizons. She traveled abroad and managed to carve out, no matter how briefly, a successful career.

Website sources used

• British Newspaper Archive
• Downham History (accessed March 2023)
• Red Cross (accessed March 2023)
• Thwaites’ family history (accessed March 2023)

Footnote

1. Directory description for Whittington, 1896: ” … The living is a vicarage, average tithe rent-charge £38, gross yearly value £272, net £250, with residence, in the gift of the representatives of the late Mrs. Norman, and held since 1875 by the Rev. William Thwaites.  … Endowed School, formerly a Dissenting Chapel, was endowed by the late Mrs. Norman  … the school will hold 70 children; average attendance 20; Miss Thwaites, mistress.” Kelly’s Directory of Norfolk, 1896. ↩︎