Person:Alice Meekins (1)

Childhood

Alice Meekins was born on 15th April 1902 at the Infirmary in Plumstead, in the south-eastern suburbs of London. She was the daughter of a laundress and field hand named Alice Meekins, formerly Keating, and her husband Henry Meekins, a coal porter, general dealer and dock labourer. Alice had a large number of brothers and sisters. The family frequently found themselves in the Woolwich Union Workhouse, which was part of the same complex as the Infirmary at Plumstead where she'd been born. Indeed, her mother Alice had been admitted to the Workhouse in November 1901, with a note saying "husband Henry deserted". She stayed in the workhouse until 8th April 1902 when she was transferred to the neighbouring infirmary, where she presumably stayed until after Alice was born there.

Alice whilst working as a nurse

Alice's father died in 1917 at Swanley. By 1921, Alice was working at the Southern Hospital in Darenth.

Adulthood

In 1925 Alice married an engineer called Alfred Edmund Savage at Dartford. At the time of their marriage Alice was working as a mental nurse at the hospital in Bexley. Alice and Alfred had two daughters and a son between 1925 and 1940, but the boy died young in 1941. They lived at 3 Hazel Road in Dartford from shortly after their marriage.

The 1939 Register, taken at the outbreak of the Second World War finds Alice and Alfred living at 3 Hazel Road with their children.

Alice's mother died in 1945 at Gildenhill Farm near Swanley, where she'd been living with Alice's sister Margaret.

Alice had four grandchildren, all born in the late 1940s and early 1950s in the Dartford area.

Alfred died in 1964. Alice survived him by sixteen years, in which time she left 3 Hazel Road and moved to 118 Lunedale Road. Alice died at Joyce Green Hospital in Dartford on 7th September 1980, aged 78.

1. ↑ Birth certificate, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   REGISTRATION DISTRICT Woolwich
   1902 BIRTH in the Sub-district of East Plumstead in the County of London
   No.	When and where born	Name, if any	Sex	Name and surname of father	Name, surname and maiden name of mother	Occupation of father	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered	Signature of registrar
   407	Fifteenth April 1902 The Infirmary	Alice	Girl	Henry Meekins	Alice Meekins formerly Katon of 74 High Street Woolwich	Coal Porter	A. Meekins Mother 74 High Street, Woolwich	Twenty eighth April 1902	W.J. Vincent Registrar

2.   London: Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records (London Metropolitan Archives, London).
   Summary table of information drawn from Admission, Discharge and Creed registers.
   

   Admitted	Discharged	Workhouse	Notes
   29 May 1902	6 Jun 1902	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted from infirmary with mother, "Husband in prison". Discharged with mother.
   2 Dec 1902	18 Dec 1902	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with parents, siblings George, Kate and Hannah, and grandmother Honorah Keating. Discharged with mother and siblings.
   24 Jan 1903	30 Jan 1903	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother, "Husband Henry, 42, left her 19th January 1903", and siblings George, Catherine and Hannah. Discharged with mother and siblings.
   6 Feb 1903	13 Feb 1903	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother and siblings George, Catherine and Hannah. Date of birth given as 25 May 1902. Discharged with mother and siblings.
   23 Feb 1903	7 Mar 1903	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother and siblings George, Catherine and Hannah: "Father Henry in Infirmary". Discharged with mother and siblings.
   9 Oct 1903	24 Oct 1903	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother, "Husband Henry left her 7th October", and siblings George, Mary Ann, Catherine and Hannah. Siblings all transferred to other institutions at Hampstead and Orpington. Discharged with mother 24 Oct 1903.
   5 Nov 1903	4 Jan 1904	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother, "Husband Henry (42) deserted". Discharged with mother.
   6 Jan 1904	16 Apr 1904	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with mother, "Husband Henry deserted, four children chargeable". Siblings George, Mary Ann, Catherine and Hannah returned from Orpington and Hampstead 15 Apr 1904 to join them in workhouse. Discharged with mother and siblings.
   4 May 1904	6 May 1904	Woolwich Union Workhouse	Admitted with parents and siblings George, Mary Ann, Catherine and Hannah. Discharged together.

3. ↑ Baptisms register, in Woolwich, London. Catholic Parish Registers of St Peter the Apostle (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, London).

   Meekins, Workhouse Woolwich / Die 15 Aprilis 1902 nata et die 30 Novembris 1903 baptizata est Alicia Meekins fili[a] Henrici et Aliciae Meekins (olim Keating) conjugum:
   a me D. McCarthy
   Patrinus fuit [blank] Matrina fuit Sarah Roberts

   [Approximate translation:]
   Meekins, Workhouse Woolwich / Born 15th April 1902 and baptised 30th November 1903 Alice Meekins daughter of Henry and Alice Meekins (formerly Keating) his wife:
   by me D. McCarthy
   Godfather [blank] Godmother Sarah Roberts

4. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 3322, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: St. Mary's Roman Catholic Industrial School for Girls, Wellesley Road, Croydon
   Many girls, including:
   Kate Meekins, inmate, female, 14 [1896/7], School, b. London
   Hannah Meekins, inmate, female, 11 [1899/1900], School, b. London
   Alice Meekins, inmate, female, 8 [1902/3], School, b. London

5. ↑ General Register Office. 1939 Register
   Dartford Municipal Borough, 29 Sep 1939.

   3 Hazel Road, Dartford, Kent
   Savage, Alfred E. / male / b. 17 Jan 1903 / married / Engineer Turner Heavy Centre? Lathe
   Savage, Alice / female / b. 15 Apr 1902 / married / Unpaid Housewife's duties
   [one record closed]
   Savage, Doreen B. / female / b. 29 Jun 1927 / single / at school
   Lockyer [later crossed out and replaced with "Gustar", Marian L. / female / b. 1 Jul 1919 / Canteen Waitress - engineer's
   [one record closed]

6. ↑ Death certificate, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   Registration District: Gravesend, Sub-district: Dartford, Administrative area: County of Kent
   No. 23
   Date and place of death: Seventh September 1980, Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford
   Name and surname: Alice SAVAGE
   Sex: Female
   Maiden surname of woman who has married: MEEKINS
   Date and place of birth: 15 April 1902, Woolwich, Greenwich
   Occupation and usual address: Widow of Alfred Edmund SAVAGE, Mechanical Engineer, 118 Lunedale Road, Dartford
   Cause of death: Ia. Cerebrovascular accident, Certified by Susan Lee M.B.
   Registered: Eighth September 1980

7.   UK & Ireland Nursing Registers 1898-1968 (Royal College of Nursing, London).

   List of persons admitted to or re-included in the Roll of Nurses maintained by the General Nursing Council for England and Wales during the period September 1st, 1965 to December 31st, 1965 together with names of persons removed from the Roll during the same period
   Enrolment No. 90458
   Name: Savage, Alice (née Meekins)
   Date of Enrolment: 17.2.65
   Training School or Qualifications: Rule 16B(a).

8.   Woolwich Gazette, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 2, 12 Feb 1904.

   AN ABSCONDING PARENT.
   Henry Meekins, 42, labourer, was charged on Monday on a warrant with unlawfully running away and leaving his wife and 5 children chargeable to the Common Fund of the Woolwich Union. – Mr. A.J. Godfrey, relieving officer, prosecuted, and said prisoner’s family had been chargeable since Oct. 9, and were still in the Workhouse. – Warrant-officer Williams said prisoner had been travelling the country and he arrested him that morning at common lodging house. – Two months.

9.   Woolwich Gazette, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   Page 2, 25 Nov 1904.

   In the Police Courts
   WOOLWICH
   A DESTITUTE FAMILY.
   Mary Meekins, 10, Kate, 8, Hannah, 4, and Alice, 2, were charged with wandering without visible means of subsistence, and Alice Meekins, the mother, was charged with being drunk and disorderly and neglecting the children. Henry Meekins, of 4, Warren Lane, was summoned for neglecting the children. All the cases were taken together. – P.C. 283R said at 12.45 on the 14th he saw the four children crying in Powis street. They were cold and said they had nowhere to go. He took the children to the station where they were charged with wandering. About 5 p.m. the same day he saw the mother and asked her if she knew where her children were, and she said she had heard they were at the police station. He asked her why she had left them outside a public house in High street, Woolwich, and she said she did not leave them there, but had sent them to a woman in Powis street, and she supposed they had been turned out. Prisoner said she was frightened to go to the police station after the children, for fear she would be charged. Prisoner also said her husband was out of work; that they had no money, and that the husband was in a lodging house and did not care about his family. Prisoner also said her husband had fetched her up from the country and had then left her as he had done before. Witness saw the father on the 15th, and asked him why his children were in the street. He said, “I can’t help it, I’ve got no money; and it’s a job to get lodgings here with children.” He alleged that his wife got drunk with the money he gave her. – P.C. 26RR said on the night of the 13th he locked the prisoners up for being drunk. – Mr. Bristow, an inspector of the N.S.P.C.C., said he examined the children on the 15th. They were well nourished, but their clothing and boots were dirty, ragged and worn. Defendant told him that he had not had a home for seven years, and that his wife sold up the other and spent the money in drink. Prisoner told him that he earned on the average 25s. a week, and that he had sent his wife £3 during the last two months. Defendant’s employer said he was a good worker and a sober man. – Mr. Mark Bristow, relieving officer, said he had known prisoner’s family for seven years. The woman had been constantly in and out of the workhouse. – Mrs. Meeking denied that she sold the home up or drank the money. – Mr. Baggallay sentenced the woman to a month’s hard labour and discharged the man. – The children were sent to St. Mary’s School, Croydon, the man to pay 4s. a week towards their maintenance.

10. ↑ 1921 Census of England and Wales
    19 Jun 1921.

    Address: The Southern Hospital, Darenth, Kent
    [Many staff, including:]
    Alice Meekins, servant, 19y 2m [1902], female, single, b. Woolwich, London, Ward Maid, M[etropolitan] A[sylums] B[oard] Southern Hospital