Embroidered poem entitled 'Barnett Hill' by L Owers
Production date
1941
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Description
Inset is a piece of flexible material, a textile, embroidered with a short poem, titled, “Barnett Hill”, together with the emblems of the Red Cross, and the Order of St. John organisations. The item is dated the 5th May 1941, and etched with the creator's name—a certain L. Owers, thought to be a recovering soldier, or civilian, after being admitted to the Barnett Hill convalescent hospital in Surrey during WWII.
Throughout WWII, the British Red Cross, coupled with the Order of St. John—forming the Joint War Organisation, provided medical support to hospitals across the country in the form of auxiliary hospitals and convalescent homes. These ranged in size and appearance from village halls and convents to private mansions. Barnett Hill, nestled in the Guildford countryside—and nowadays functioning as a luxury hotel—was no exception.
The original family home was designed and constructed in 1905 by Frank Cook, grandson of the now ubiquitous Thomas Cook, pioneer of modern tourism. Frank Cook passed away in 1940, leaving the home to his wife, Beatrice Cook, who offered to loan the Edwardian mansion to the Red Cross and Order of St. John War Committee. Four years after relocating to the neighbouring village of Wonersh, Mrs. Cook handed over the title deeds to Barnett Hill to Queen Mary in 1944, and the once-family home would eventually experience new life after the war as the Red Cross's own National Training Centre.
It is unclear as to whom the L. Owers refers to according to the embroidery. Records indicate L. A. Owers, a sergeant of the Royal Army Service Corps, served until at least 1946, but these facts leave little for certainty.
I chose this object, however, precisely because of its mysteriousness—to what do we owe the pleasure of the object that outlives its master but the evocation of a life long gone? The patient would have been grateful, I imagine, for all that Barnett Hill had done for him along the road to recovery.
Audio recording by Daryll Hewitt (Volunteer), Birmingham.
Throughout WWII, the British Red Cross, coupled with the Order of St. John—forming the Joint War Organisation, provided medical support to hospitals across the country in the form of auxiliary hospitals and convalescent homes. These ranged in size and appearance from village halls and convents to private mansions. Barnett Hill, nestled in the Guildford countryside—and nowadays functioning as a luxury hotel—was no exception.
The original family home was designed and constructed in 1905 by Frank Cook, grandson of the now ubiquitous Thomas Cook, pioneer of modern tourism. Frank Cook passed away in 1940, leaving the home to his wife, Beatrice Cook, who offered to loan the Edwardian mansion to the Red Cross and Order of St. John War Committee. Four years after relocating to the neighbouring village of Wonersh, Mrs. Cook handed over the title deeds to Barnett Hill to Queen Mary in 1944, and the once-family home would eventually experience new life after the war as the Red Cross's own National Training Centre.
It is unclear as to whom the L. Owers refers to according to the embroidery. Records indicate L. A. Owers, a sergeant of the Royal Army Service Corps, served until at least 1946, but these facts leave little for certainty.
I chose this object, however, precisely because of its mysteriousness—to what do we owe the pleasure of the object that outlives its master but the evocation of a life long gone? The patient would have been grateful, I imagine, for all that Barnett Hill had done for him along the road to recovery.
Audio recording by Daryll Hewitt (Volunteer), Birmingham.
Collection Type
Objects
Media/Materials
Catalogue Number
1663/4/7
Associated Person and Role
Barnett Hill House
Associated Person
Subject auto tags
Object Types
Part of 1 highlight set
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