The Extraordinary Life of Able Seaman Robert Tweddell

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Robert Tweddell was born 7 January 1892 to Robert Tweddle and Isabella Scott in Radcliffe, Northumberland, the fifth of eleven children. The family lived in Radcliffe for some years, but by the 1911 census, they are listed as living at Cement Row, Widdrington. This census shows that Robert was a coal miner (Hewer), and the eldest child still living at home.

[TheTweddell Brothers – Robert is back row, second from left]

NRO 10198-1-1 web

He enrolled with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 10 April 1915, aged 23 years, after having a medical examination at Ashington, and joined ‘Z’ Company on HMS Calliope. He was given the service number 4225. We also know from his service certificate that he worked as a miner for Stobswood Coal Company, and lived at 7 Grangewood Terrace, Stobswood. We can also glean some personal details about Robert: he is described as 5’6”, with a fair complexion, fair hair and blue eyes; his religious denomination was Church of England, and he could swim.

The only documents relating to Robert’s war service that seem to exist are a service record, which was passed through his family, and the enrolment application and report card, which were obtained from the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset.

Rated as an Able Seaman in July 1915, he served with the 1st Reserve Battalion on H.M.S. Victory at Crystal Palace. Robert found the time to return home to Northumberland this year to marry Jane Telfer on 31 July. The marriage took place in St. John the Baptist parish church, Ulgham, and the family story is that Robert was the first man in uniform to marry here, although this cannot be verified.

Robert’s report card only runs from 1917. We know he embarked at Folkestone on 3 January 1917, landing at Calais the same day. Joining Howe Battalion on 26 January, he was transported to the 1st Field Ambulance, Royal Naval Division, for dental caries (or cavities) on 6 April, and did not return to his unit until 5 May.

NRO 10198-3Whilst Robert was away from his unit his wife, Jane, gave birth to their first  child, a son, on 17th April 1917. He was named Robert after his father and  grandfather. [Image of a sweetheart brooch that Robert gave Jane]

The report card then jumps to his service in 1918, starting with his leave to    the UK, commencing on 25 January 1918 – this was probably the first time  he saw his baby son. Robert re-joined the Howe Battalion on 16 February,  but was disciplined two days later, having overstayed his English leave by two days W.O.A.S. (whilst on active service) – he received 14 days of Field Punishment Number 1. This punishment, sometimes known as ‘crucifixion’, would have involved Robert being shackled in irons and secured to a fixed object, perhaps a gun wheel. Officially, men could only be fixed like this for up to 2 hours in 24, and not for more than 3 days in 4, or for more than 21 days in a sentence.

He joined the 7th Entrenching Battalion on 22 February 1918, and was then posted to the Drake Battalion on 14 March. On 21 March, he was admitted to 150 Field Ambulance with tonsillitis, and invalided to England on 27 March. A family story notes that this illness was not tonsillitis; instead he had been gassed in the trenches. Again, we have not been able to prove this.

He was granted his first (and last) good conduct badge on 9 April 1918. His service certificate notes that in January 1919, he was ordered to resume civil employment as a miner, with the Stobswood Coal Company, and was discharged from actual service.

Robert and Jane’s second child, another boy, named James Telfer Tweddell, was born on 25 April 1920.

The last piece of military information we have on Robert comes from his service certificate, which records that, on 1 September 1922, he was eligible to be presented with
the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Robert continued working as Miner for the rest of his life, also being a member of the Mines Rescue NRO 10198-05 webUnit. During World War Two, he served in Stobswood Home Guard, helping to train the men in use of grenades and other weaponry. It is also believed that he was a member of the Stobswood Auxiliary Unit, nicknamed “The Death or Glory Boys”. [Image of Robert wearing his life saving apparatus].

Robert died in 1953, at the age of 61 years, of lung cancer. Using the parish records for Ulgham Church [EP 19] I managed to find Robert’s name in a notebook which lists plot numbers in the graveyard [EP 19/67], which corresponds with the plan of the churchyard extension [EP 19/48] – we have been able to stand at the spot where my great-granda is buried, impossible to do before as a gravestone was never erected.

Northumberland Archives staff have been undertaking research into the contribution that some of their own family members made to the First World War. Robert Tweddell was a relative of Sarah Littlefear, Trainee Archivist.

Conservation Work on the Early Patient Files

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The earlier patient notes from Stannington Sanatorium were bound together in what were known as ‘Discharge Books’.  We had 15 of these large volumes and took the decision to have them unbound and to keep them stored as individual sets of notes instead.  They still remain in their original order but thanks to the work of the conservators at Durham Record Office are now much more accessible and neatly stored in their own custom-made boxes.  The conservators have very kindly given us a step-by-step account of the work they carried out on these records:

 

During their time at the sanatorium each patient had annotated medical notes charting their progress.  These came in a standard format; a bifolio (a sheet of paper folded in half to make two leaves), often with additional sheets or photographs attached. After the patients had been discharged these bifolios were bound together into volumes.    Whilst keeping the notes safe, the bindings were very tight, meaning it was difficult to read text written in the fold or ‘gutter’.  Furthermore, small pieces of paper that were adhered to the notes were often trapped within the gutter, unable to be lifted and thus obscuring text beneath them. (Figure 01)

03 'Trapped' paper obscurring text
Figure 01 – ‘Trapped’ paper obscuring text

 

Whilst normally all care is taken to preserve bindings as part of an object’s historical context, the decision was made that the information that was inaccessible due to the binding structure was more important than the bindings themselves.  As such, I and two Conservators at Durham County Record Office have been dis-binding the volumes.

 

Dis-binding begins with removing the boards and mechanically stripping as much leather from the spine as possible.  The leather was adhered directly to the text-block paper with a thick animal glue.  To remove the glue a poultice of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose was applied which gradually softens the animal glue without wetting the paper beneath.  When the glue was sufficiently softened we gently scraped it away, exposing the sewing and paper beneath.  (Figure 02)

05 Application of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose
Figure 02 – Application of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose

 

We were then able to cut the sewing and separate one bifolio at a time from the rest of the text-block.  In doing so we were able to see the stab sewing the bookbinders had used, which was the reason it was impossible to open the book properly to access the text in the gutter.  When each bifolio was detached, we removed any remaining animal glue from the fold. (Figures 03 & 04)                                                                                    

06 Stab sewing
Figure 03 – Stab sewing
07 Removal of glue from fold
Figure 04 – Removal of glue from fold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                  

Patients who had spent many years in the sanatorium had additional sheets added to their notes.  These were attached to their bifolios with a linen tape.  Over time the adhesive of the tape has failed, becoming dry and grainy.  Whilst this meant the tape carrier was very easy to remove, the adhesive remained on the paper and had to be manually scraped off each sheet. (Figures 05-07) 

Figure 5
Figure 05 – ‘Before’ linen tape
Figure 6
Figure 06 – Removal of adhesive from tape
Figure 7
Figure 07 – ‘After’ tape removal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst most of the paper is still in very good condition, the bifolios with many additional sheets were found to have split in the binding process as the paper could not stretch over the bulk of the inserts.  Furthermore, the inserts often protruded further than the rest of the text-block and so had suffered damage along the edges.  Some damaged bifolios had been ‘repaired’ with tape or paper, and often these repairs were failing.  When collections are being digitised, it means the originals will be rarely accessed.  As such conservators carry out minimal intervention, or repairs for ‘once-only’ handling.  This means we only repair a tear or damage if text is obscured or if we think a tear might be caught and worsened in the digitisation process.  We carried out these repairs with a thin but strong Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. (Figures 08 & 09)

12 'After' paper repair
Figure 09 – ‘After’ paper repair

 

11 'Before' repair - with an old repair piece
Figure 08 – ‘Before’ repair – with an old repair piece

 

 

 There were also a number of photographs within the medical notes, adhered with a similar linen tape.  The adhesive was gently removed to prevent scratching the emulsion layer.  Four-flap folders were made out of SilverSafe paper; an unbuffered paper specifically for storing photographs to prevent acidic decay and abrasion. (Figures 10-12)

15 Removal of tape I
Figure 10 – Removal of tape I
16 Removal of tape II
Figure 11 – Removal of tape II
17 'After' page with photographs
Figure 12 – ‘After’ page with photographs

  

 

 

 

 

Bespoke clamshell boxes were made from acid-free archival card to house each volume, which are then ready to be digitised. (Figure 13)

19 Archival clamshell box
Figure 13 – Archival clamshell box

 

Jenny Halling Barnard, Lisa Handke, and Zoe Ross – Conservators at Durham County Record Office

Matron’s Medical Report Book – Part 1

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The Matron’s Medical Report Book is the earliest surviving record we have from Stannington Sanatorium, which contains monthly updates on patient progress and general administration.  The first entry from the Report Book, below, dates from 1908 and lists some of the earliest patients with details of their ages, addresses and condition whilst in the Sanatorium.    

 

April 11th 1908

“There are now six patients here.  Five have been here for nearly four weeks (since March 18th) & one for three weeks.  They are:-

1. Maggie Smith, aged 17.  Address 73 Leopold St (sent from the Gateshead Workhouse)

2. John Edward Kenney, aged 15 ¾; Address 72 William St, Hebburn Quay (working at Hebburn Colliery)

3. James Robson, aged 13. Address 16 Bottle Bank, South Shields

4. Thomas Hill, aged 12 ½. Address 76 Belvedere St, Heaton

5. John Nicholson, aged 10.  Address 10 Hyiamais Court, Gateshead

6. Thomas Burns, aged 16 ¾. Admitted March 21st. Address 40 Stanley St, Jarrow

 

The general condition of all the patients has considerably improved.  They have all gained in weight during the last 18 days: Maggie Smith 5 ¼ lb, John Kennedy 4lb, James Robson 2 ¾ lb, T. Hill 3lb, J. Nicholson 3 ¾ lb, T. Burns 3 ¼ lb (all given to the nearest ¼ lb).  Only one patient, Maggie Smith, has any marked degree of fever.  There is a slight improvement in her temperature.  One patient, J. Hill, does not cough at all.  All the others are coughing less and bringing up less sputum.

Examination of the sputum for tubercle bacilli has not yet been possible.

The local condition in three patients, T. Burns, T. Hill & J. Nicholson is quite satisfactory, shewing improvement. In two patients, Maggie Smith & J. Robson it has remained about the same.

In one, J. Kennedy, there has been some extension of the diseased area, but improvement again during the last four days after strict rest.”

[HOSP/STAN/2/1/1]

 

The close association of tuberculosis with poor living conditions is further highlighted here by the first two patients who have come from Gateshead Workhouse and Hebburn Colliery respectively.  At this stage there were only 6 patients but the sanatorium had opened not long before this with provision for 40 children and soon saw the beds fill up.  In the following years the sanatorium’s capacity began to expand rapidly with an extension providing an additional 50 beds opening in 1911 and several new wards opening in the 1920s so that by 1926 there were 312 beds available.

HOSP-STAN-9-1-1 aerial view

Aerial view of the sanatorium c.1936

[HOSP/STAN/9/1/1]

We will post some more entries from the Matron’s Report Book in future blog posts to track the progress of the early days of the Sanatorium.

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