The Liverpool Diocesan Council for Social Aid was pleased to host Dr Paul Watson on Monday 2nd December, 2024. Paul travelled from Cambridgeshire to Liverpool to view the Charity archive in hope of discovering more about his Great Aunt, Catherine (Kate) Nickson. Kate was a resident at the Charity’s hostel in 1918, which was then called the Liverpool and Lancashire Female Refuge, situated at 7 Mount Vernon Green.
Paul shared that Kate likely came to the Refuge from Service, with the Register from that period noting her arrival on 24th February 1918, due to ‘dishonesty’. Tragically, her stay was very short as she contracted Pnuemonia just seven months later, likely to have been a casualty of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, and died in the Refuge. The records of the Matron at that time, Clara Adelaide Clarke, after whom Adelaide House is named, noted her “…regret to inform the Committee [Ladies Committee] of the death of Kate Nickson after a short illness of 36 hours.” (Matrons Register, October 25th, 1918). Records show that a further nine girls were sick in the house in September/October 1918 and another six went to hospital, all making a full recovery. Kate was only 15 when she passed.
The Charity is grateful to Paul for sharing further details of his families story with us and for giving us permission to share Kate’s story. Paul commented, “I was very grateful for the opportunity to find out more about my great-aunt Kate and it was quite an emotional experience seeing the accounts written over a century ago which made the events seem very fresh and real."
LDCSA, as one of the oldest charities of its kind in the country, has a unique archive from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Charity has plans to secure heritage funding to enable it to research and preserve its archive - acknowledging and remembering the diverse women who came through its doors.
Comments