Fenwick, Ethel Gordon
It was on the morning of April 9. 1947, a day of fitful spring sunshine, that the ashes of our late President, Mrs Bedord Fenwick, were interred in the peaceful precincts of Thoroton Church, Nottingham, where the funeral service, privately arranged for members of her family, was conducted by the Vicar of Thoroton, the Rev. W.E.D. Thomson. The last journey of her earthly remains lay though the lanes, highways and quaint villages of the beautiful Trent Valley, of which she was ever reminiscent, and where the ladscape, now recovering from the grip of long winter, showed signs of the rising of soft verdure, over this unspoiled countryside, the familiar scene of her earliest years that led at last to the perfect little pile of Thoroton Church.
Here the impressive Memorial service to Ethel Gordon Fenwick was held.The casket of ashes, with flowers of unsurpassed beauty, lay before the altar steps in this sanctuary of calm dating from Tudors time, where Easter flowers were still fresh in their glory. How often in her early youth must she have passed along the aisles and beneath the Norman arches, or in her appreciation of antiquity gazed on the Saxon window of the Church she loved! As the service proceeds in the rendering of the XXIV Psalm could her spirit be there with her only son Mr C.B. Fenwick K.C., her daughter in law, Mrs Christian Fenwick, and her grandson, David, when paying their last tribute to her memory?
Close by is the window raised in memory to her mother and stepfather where it is written: "In memory of George Storer, their stepfather, and Harriette, hhis wife, this window was erected by their children, Clara, Ethel and Eric, 1909".
Leaving the church, the casket is laid in her grave where sweet violets are dropped and, as we turn at the close of the commital service, we leave her at rest amongst her ancestors where, just visible though the trees close by, stands the home of her youth, Thoroton Hall. And beyond. Almost as far as the eyes can see, meadow and uplands remain just as she knew them almost 90 years ago. Matchless in her time, as a defender of the cause of justice and liberty of conscience, the name of Ethel Gordon Fenwick will go down in history among the great, in those peerless words: "I have fought the good fight".
By the courtesy of her grandson, Mr David Fenwick, we are able to reproduce the church of her youth and the scene of her last resting place. ASB.
Biographical
| Registration number | 1 |
|---|---|
| Surname | Fenwick |
| First name(s) | Ethel Gordon |
| Address(es) | 20 Upper Wimpole Street, London W |
| Date of registration | 7 March 1890 |
| Qualifications | Children's Hospital, Nottingham |
| Remarks | Deceased March 1947 |
Personal details
| Date of birth | 26 January 1857 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Spinney House, Nr Elgin, Morayshire |
| Maiden name | Manson |
| Married name | Bedford-Fenwick |
| Family details | Parents: David Davidson Manson, farmer and Harriette Palmer of Thurnscoe, Yorkshire |
| Date of death | 1947 |
| Place of death | Friend's house in Colney Hatch, London |
Professional details
| Additional training | 1 April 1878 paying probationer Children's Hospital, Nottingham |
|---|---|
| Work experience | 1881 - 87, Matron, St Bartholomew's |
| Additional professional details | Opened the Cordon House Home Hospital |
| Sources | Register of Nurses (RBNA 4/1) - Royal British Nurses' Association Records, King's College London Archives Susan McGann, 'Mrs Bedford-Fenwick - A Restless Genius', The Battle of the Nurses |