Sadie Bonnell
Encyclopedia
Sadie Bonnell MM
(June 4, 1888 – September 2, 1993) was a FANY ambulance driver in the First World War who won the Military Medal
.
She was educated at Bedales, the first co-educational school in England
. After leaving school she lived at home and, as she recalled, "looked after the servants, that kind of thing". At the outbreak of the First World War, when she was 26, she joined First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) as an ambulance driver. The FANYs had been founded in 1907 as an all-women mounted volunteer Corps
.
Though the FANYs were ready in 1914, the War Office remained sceptical. Rejected as a British Army ambulance driver, Sadie Bonnell joined the Canadian Army Service Corps. At the time she earned the Military Medal
in 1915, she was based in a large camp on the road to Arques
in France. She collected wounded men from a dressing station under heavy German bombardment, with Evelyn Brown, a volunteer American. The enemy's shells had set a nearby ammunition dump on fire. She returned again and again, succeeding in removing all the wounded. She was decorated by the commander of British Second Army
, General Sir Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer
with the Military Medal
.
She also was reported as showing courage during the East End Air Raid. She drove an ambulance in 1916 during some of the first air raids London
experienced. She was one of the first women to drive an open-topped sports car around Europe. She loved fast cars and between the wars drove a six-cylinder AC with a red fish mascot on the bonnet.
She married Herbert Marriott (either in 1919, according to her obituary in the Daily Telegraph or on 01.09.1916, according to the Bonnell Genealogy Family Tree), but he died in 1921 during the influenza pandemic
.
She spent the Second World War
in Sussex
and knew A. A. Milne
and his son, Christopher Robin
. She later married Charles Leslie Talbot in 1948. He died in 1967. She had no children.
She adored spending time in trees on platforms she had built herself, and continued doing so until well into her eighties. She designed and had built a house called "Thrushling". After she sold it she revisited it and reviled the owners for covering her beautiful parquet floor with a carpet. She spent her final years at Dorset House, Droitwich. She received a telegram from the Queen on her hundredth birthday on 4 June 1988. She died on 2 September 1993. Her obituary appeared in the Daily Telegraph and The Times
the next day.
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
(June 4, 1888 – September 2, 1993) was a FANY ambulance driver in the First World War who won the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
.
She was educated at Bedales, the first co-educational school in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. After leaving school she lived at home and, as she recalled, "looked after the servants, that kind of thing". At the outbreak of the First World War, when she was 26, she joined First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) as an ambulance driver. The FANYs had been founded in 1907 as an all-women mounted volunteer Corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
.
Though the FANYs were ready in 1914, the War Office remained sceptical. Rejected as a British Army ambulance driver, Sadie Bonnell joined the Canadian Army Service Corps. At the time she earned the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
in 1915, she was based in a large camp on the road to Arques
Arques
Arques may refer to the following places in France:* Arques, Aude, in the Aude département* Arques, Aveyron, in the Aveyron département* Arques, Pas-de-Calais, in the Pas-de-Calais département...
in France. She collected wounded men from a dressing station under heavy German bombardment, with Evelyn Brown, a volunteer American. The enemy's shells had set a nearby ammunition dump on fire. She returned again and again, succeeding in removing all the wounded. She was decorated by the commander of British Second Army
British Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...
, General Sir Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer
Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer
Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE was a British colonial official and soldier born in Torquay who commanded the British Second Army in World War I and later served as High Commissioner of the British Mandate for Palestine.-Military...
with the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
.
She also was reported as showing courage during the East End Air Raid. She drove an ambulance in 1916 during some of the first air raids London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
experienced. She was one of the first women to drive an open-topped sports car around Europe. She loved fast cars and between the wars drove a six-cylinder AC with a red fish mascot on the bonnet.
She married Herbert Marriott (either in 1919, according to her obituary in the Daily Telegraph or on 01.09.1916, according to the Bonnell Genealogy Family Tree), but he died in 1921 during the influenza pandemic
Influenza pandemic
An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the human population. In contrast to the regular seasonal epidemics of influenza, these pandemics occur irregularly, with the 1918 Spanish flu the most serious pandemic in...
.
She spent the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and knew A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
and his son, Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin Milne was the son of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories and in two books of poems.-Early life:...
. She later married Charles Leslie Talbot in 1948. He died in 1967. She had no children.
She adored spending time in trees on platforms she had built herself, and continued doing so until well into her eighties. She designed and had built a house called "Thrushling". After she sold it she revisited it and reviled the owners for covering her beautiful parquet floor with a carpet. She spent her final years at Dorset House, Droitwich. She received a telegram from the Queen on her hundredth birthday on 4 June 1988. She died on 2 September 1993. Her obituary appeared in the Daily Telegraph and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
the next day.