Every month we feature two blogs written by volunteers, one describes an object in the Palace and one a plant from the Garden. It is a great way to learn more about the Palace. If you would like to contribute there is no set format so please do send in your ideas.
This December we are grateful to volunteer Moyra Gardener for her research work.
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I’ve found him I cried!
I had finally seen those special words ‘Fulham Palace’ on the Service and Casualty form of a First World War soldier named Keir. I had been searching on-line through the records of the National Archive of Australia held in Canberra. Keir’s photograph, with just the caption Private Keir, Australia Regiment, April 1919, appears in the wonderful book known to us as Nurse Latchmore’s book.
Keir’s Service and Casualty form
The book is full of photos of the men and nursing staff who were at the Palace, known as the Freemason’s No2 Hospital at the end of and after the First World War. The book also contains drawings and poems. The real people behind those photos is the subject of research by the Palace’s Archive Research Group and I was the lucky person to find a complete (39 pages! no less) of the scanned record of Private Keir’s enlistment, service in France, injuries and finally return to Gundaroo, Australia.
Other wonderful research has been done on the nursing staff and some of the British soldiers too. All this can inform our Family Fun Days, work with schools and a possible special exhibition in the future. Our work is not done. Who knows what more we may discover about Private Keir.
Maybe his descendants are out there and would like to visit the hospital where he stayed when in London. Who knows where this will lead us?
Moyra Gardener, archive research and garden volunteer
Thank you to Moyra for this blog. Please send your ideas for object or specimen of the month blogs to rachel.bagnall-bray@fulhampalace.org. If you would like some help, please let me know.