First World War nurse given CWGC headstone more than 100 years after death

Nurse Olive Bennett of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) died on 30 October 1916, but her death was never recorded as a casualty of war and she was therefore not given a CWGC headstone or her name added to the Roll of Honour.

Nurse Bennett was only 29 years old when she died on active service ‘as a result of her too constant and strenuous work’. She was the daughter of Walter and Lucy Bennet, who were originally from Norfolk, moving to Plymouth sometime between 1891 and 1901.

The ceremony, organised by the Ford Park Cemetery Trust, was attended by the group, as well as Regional Supervisor for the Commission, Neil Lewis, and Bobbie Barclay from the Red Cross.

Celebrant, Wendy Coulton, led the service.

The VAD were county branches of the Red Cross with their own groups of volunteers.

Neil Lewis, CWGC’s Regional Supervisor for the South West, said: “At the time of Olive’s death, the CWGC was not informed and therefore did not have the opportunity to give her a Commission headstone.

“However, thanks to the In from the Cold Project, which searches for forces personnel not on the Roll of Honour, we have been able to rectify this and make sure Olive is remembered for her bravery and dedication.”

Bobbie Barclay, Patron of the British Red Cross in Devon, said: “It is a real honour to attend VAD Olive Louise Bennett’s commemoration service and to see her new headstone. To attend a service more than 100 years after Olive’s death shows the huge contribution that she, and thousands of other women like her, played during World War One.

“It is a privilege to pay tribute to Olive’s humanitarian service and to remember the important role of all British Red Cross volunteers, both during the Great War and throughout the decades that have followed.

“The Red Cross has a proud history and heritage and many of the services we provide today, such as loaning wheelchairs and searching for missing family members, started during the First World War and were inspired by the work and dedication of VADs like Olive.”