It’s always nice to see women receiving awards for their efforts.
Here we have Miss Beatrix Batten, Commandant of Abbey Lodge V.A.D. Hospital, Chislehurst awarded the M.B.E
She was born in April 1886 and lived with her parents and sister at Foxdeane in Lower Camden, Chislehurst. Her father was a solicitor. Known as Trixie she graduated from Girton College, Cambridge.
She volunteered with the Red Cross in 1913 and rose to become Area Commandant.
She was awarded the Red Cross War Medal for over 1000 hours of unpaid work during World War 1
In 1938 she received the C.B.E for her continued work with the Red Cross.
She was described a a ‘tall, formidable woman’. She belonged to the Conservative Club and played the double base in the Glyndebourne and later Bromley Symphony orchestra. She might have been seen driving her Morris Minor Estate car with the instrument tied to the roof.
With thanks for the information from Bromley First World War
http://www.bromleyfirstworldwar.org.uk/content/people/beatrix-batten
