OMBERSLEY WW1 REMEMBERED RESEARCH COLLECTION FORM Items marked with * represent the basic level of information we aim to find for each 'Blue Plaque'

Ombersley Court The 5th Lord Sandys, Michael Edwin Marcus Sandys Sandys, of Ombersley Court was a major landowner in the parish in 1914. He had inherited the title from his older brother in 1904, having already established himself as a stockbroker. He and Lady Marjorie Sandys had no children of their own. Nonetheless, their household was large: in 1911, the couple were living at Ombersley Court with thirteen servants. Sandys and his wife divided their time between the Court and their home. During the war, Lady Sandys organised first aid and cookery classes for local women and school girls. She also supported a county movement to promote women's volunteer work on the land in 1916. Lord Sandys' wartime contribution has been hard to establish. Unlike his older brother and other leading members of the aristocracy, he had no military experience, and does not appear to have taken part in local military recruitment campaigns. From 1917, the County Council's War Agricultural Committee instructed him to improve his food production and eventually requisitioned 106 acres at Powers Farm to achieve this. In 1919, he was fined by the County Food Control Board for selling milk at too high a price. In November 1918, Lord Sandys put a large proportion of the agricultural estate up for auction. It was the first of many such land sales by county aristocracy following the sudden rise in inflation and the steep downturn in the value of farmland following the war.

RESEARCHER NAME(S) Jenni Waugh

*House name or number In 2017 Ombersley Court In 1914 Ombersley Court

*Road Holt Fleet Rd, Ombersley WR9 0HH

*What purpose did it serve during WW1? Country residence of Lord and Lady Sandys

* Photographs from Around Droitwich in Pictures collected by John Brettell (1989)

* 24 January 1914, Berrows Journal Graphic Supplement

*RESIDENTS OF HOUSE ACCORDING TO 1911 CENSUS

Name Status in Age Marital Occupation Employer, worker or Birthplace household status working on own account?

Sandys Head 55 Married London [Michael EM Sandys Sandys, 5th Lord Sandys]

Marjorie P Sandys Wife 44 Married London

Edgar W Jewhurst Secretary 35 Secretary Hackney

Sarah Ann Lewis Nurse 37 Hospital nurse Sheffield

Maud Northmore Servant 28 Cook (domestic) Dartmouth

Beatrice Graham Servant 27 Ladies maid Tottenham

Rose Evans Servant 26 House maid (domestic) Rhayadr

Flora Brown Servant 25 Kitchen maid (domestic) Peterborough

Ethel Rowley Servant 21 House maid (domestic) Castle Bromwich

Maud Goodwin Servant 18 House maid (domestic) Stoke on Trent

Henrietta Jackson Servant 18 Scullery maid (domestic) Clifton on Teme

George Marshall Servant 34 Butler Lyndhurst, Hants

William Felton Servant 25 Footman Newport, Shrops

Edward Rudd Servant 23 Footman Bury St Edmunds

Henry Beckett Servant 32 Chauffeur (domestic) Hindon, Wilts

No of rooms in the dwelling (including kitchen, but not counting scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom, warehouse, office or shop: Not stated

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE OF PROPERTY/ RESIDENCE:

ELECTORAL REGISTERS 1914 1915 1918

Lord Sandys No No YES - in local government Peers of the Realm are not eligible to vote in parliamentary elections. elections only

Lady Marjorie Sandys YES

ANY OTHER evidence about the property

Photo extract from 1911 census summary book, indicating other members of Sandys' staff living in or near Ombersley Court

Lord Sandys during WW1 Michael Edwin Marcus Sandys Sandys, 5th Lord Sandys (from 1904), b. 31 December 1855, d. 4 August 1948 From The Peerage Michael Edwin Marcus Sandys Sandys was born on 31 December 1855. He was the son of Arthur Marcus Cecil Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys and Louisa Blake. He married Marjorie Clare Pentreath Morgan, daughter of John Morgan, in 1886. He died on 4 August 1948 at age 92, without issue. Baron of Ombersley. He was Justice of the Peace (J.P.) Worcs. Member of the London Stock Exchange. 5th Lord Sandys. Marjorie Clare Pentreath Morgan, d. 8 October 1929 Marjorie Clare Pentreath Morgan was the daughter of John Morgan. She married Michael Edwin Marcus Sandys Sandys, son of Arthur Marcus Cecil Sandys,3rd Baron Sandys and Louisa Blake, in 1886. She died on 8 October 1929. She lived Brighton and Wales. Her married name became Sandys.

WHAT DID THE FAMILY DO IN WW1?

WAR SERVICE: Arthur FitzGerald Sandys Hill, 6th Lord Sandys, Baron of Ombersley (from 1948), b. 4 December 1876, d. 24 November 1961 Arthur FitzGerald Sandys Hill, 6th Lord Sandys, Baron of Ombersley was born on 4 December 1876. He was the son of Captain Arthur Blundell George Sandys Hill and Helen Emily Trench. He married Cynthia Mary Trench-Gascoigne, daughter of Colonel Frederick Richard Thomas Trench- Gascoigne and Laura Gwendolen Douglas Galton, on 10 April 1924. The couple had 3 children, Patricia, Cynthia and Richard (7th Lord Sandys). He died on 24 November 1961 at age 84, as a result of a car accident. He was educated at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire. He fought in the Tibet Expedition in 1904. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Engineers. He fought in the First World War. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) for Worcestershire in 1941. He succeeded as the 6th Lord Sandys, Baron of Ombersley, co. Worcester [U.K., 1802] on 4 August 1948.

Death of Lord Sandys' heir presumptive, September 1914

Birmingham Women on the land. Daily Post - 31 Conference at Worcester, 30 October 1916 October 1916 An important conference was held Worcester, yesterday, of ladies and others interested in women’s work on the land in Worcestershire. Viscountess Deerhurst1 presided, supported by Earl and Countess Coventry2, the Countess of Plymouth3, Viscount Cobham4, Lady Hindlip5, Lady Sandys6, Lady Barbara Dudley Smith7, Lady Isabel Margesson8, Lady Georgina Vernon9, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, M.P10, the Mayor of Worcester11, and others. Mrs. Watt12, of the Agricultural Organisation Society, gave an address upon women’s institutes in the villages. Mr. Humphries described the growing of herbs in the county, with special reference to the successful attempts made in this direction at Littleton13, and mentioned that Lord Plymouth and Lady had set apart land on their estate at Tardebigge and Hindlip for the growing of herbs. Miss Day, Board of Agriculture organiser, described the co-operative system in operation at Upton on-Severn collecting garden produce from the small holders and cottagers. Speeches were also delivered on various aspects of agricultural work by Lady Hindlip, Mr. G. F. Hooper14, Lady Isabel Margesson, Miss Talbot15, principal lady organiser of the Board of Agriculture, and representative farmers.

Berrow’s Ombersley : War time cookery Worcestershire A meeting was held on Wednesday afternoon, in the kitchen of Ombersley Court, kindly lent by Lady Sandys, when the Hon. Mrs Henry Scott Journal, 5 May gave a practical lecture on war time cookery to a large audience, with practical illustrations in cooking made without using sugar, flour or bread. 1917 The lecture and experiments were very interesting, and the Lecturer was warmly thanked at the close of the meeting when a collection was taken to defray expenses. Lady Sandys kindly provided tea.

1 Virginia, Viscountess Deerhurst, daughter in law of Earl Coventry, resident at Pirton Court, near Croome Court 2 9th Earl of Coventry, and his wife, the Countess, resident at Croome Court 3 Alberta Windsor-Clive, Countess of Plymouth, resident at Hewell Grange, Tardebigge, Worcestershire (and Oakley Park, Ludlow, Shrops; St Fagan's in Cardiff; and Grosvenor Square, London) 4 Sir John Cavendish Lyttelton, 9th Viscount Cobham, British peer and conservative politician, resident at Hagley Park, Worcestershire 5 Baroness Allsopp of Hindlip Hall, 3 miles north of Worcester 6 The Sandys family of Ombersley Court owned extensive property in Ombersley 7 Lady Barbara Elizabeth Coventry, of Croome Court, married Gerald Dudley Smith in 1894. The family lived in west Worcestershire. 8 Lady Margesson lived at Barnt Green In Worcestershire 9 Lady Georgina Vernon lived at Hanbury Hall, outside Droitwich, 10 Stanley Baldwin, Lower Park House, Lower Park, Bewdley, was the Conservative MP for Bewdley, Worcestershire 11 Alderman Arthur Carlton, C.B.E, Mayor of Worcester 1916-1919 12 Madge Watt, founder of the WI movement in Britain (wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Robertson_Watt) 13 The Littletons, North, Middle and South, are located midway between and Bidford on Avon. 14 Geoffrey Fielder Hooper, fruit grower, of 15 later Dame Meriel Talbot, appointed the first woman inspector with the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries and in 1917, director of the Women's Branch of the Board, in charge of the recruitment and co-ordination of the Women's Land Army (wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriel_Talbot) 1918 Worcestershire Food Production Exec take over land belonging to Lord Sandys in order to improve cultivation.

For more detail about the discussions concerning Powers Farm and possession of Lord Sandys' land, see Pat Niner's notes on the Worcs Agricultural Committee.

Advertisement of Ombersley Court Estate sale, October 1918

WW1 TRIBUNAL for estate staff

NAME Rhodes, William Alfred Address Uphampton

Appeal number 16 and 43 Case numbers 16, 45, 112, 180, 192

Age on appeal 40 Marital status Married

Occupation Estate carpenter and wheelwright + market gardener Children 2

Medical [no information]

Hearing date 18/03/1916 03/06/1916 14/10/1916 18/05/1918 31/08/1918

Origin of case Employer/ personal appeal Military recommendation Advisory Committee Employer/ personal appeal Don't Know recommendation

Decision To 30/4 To 30/9 Conditional To 31/ 8 conditional 6 months conditional

Details Estate carpenter employed No details No further details Conditional on working 20 Conditional on working 20 by a peer of the realm hours a week for hours a week for appealed for exemption, neighbours. Excused drill neighbours. Excused drill the reason being that the because of distance because of distance estate would suffer; applicant also cultivated 5 acres of land on his own account and it would be a hardship for him to give it up.