SARAH JANE COLLETT CHAMBERLAIN

1892-1918

Sarah Chamberlain’s home during her childhood

Photograph from Collett collection

Sarah, known as Sally, was born in Radcliffe in 1892.

Her parents were Henry, a maltster, and Jane formerly Collett, a butcher. She had two brothers Henry, born 1886, and George 1893.

In 1901 they lived in a house on the corner of Station Terrace and Main Road, adjacent to what was, at that time, the Black Lion public house. A shop was built on to the front of the house and Sarah’s mother, Jane, daughter of a Nottingham butcher, ran a pork and beef butchers.

By the time of the 1911 census the family had moved to the White Cottage on Bingham Road where Jane lived until her death in 1947. Sarah is described as a student.

In November 1914 her father Henry died. In July of that year her brother Henry had married Fannie Hallam, an American citizen, who lived with her mother Wilmina Bell, also a maltster, at Englewood House on Shelford Road. Henry served in WW1 but very little is known of his military service beyond the information on the Absent Voters List for Radcliffe where he is listed as Private 467375, No.407 Agricultural Labour Corps. Her younger brother George was a joiner’s apprentice, later becoming an funeral director and undertaker on Eastwood Road. He served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and had attested in November 1915.

George gave a talk on 17th October 1960 to the United Men’s Fellowship about his memories of Radcliffe over 60 years.  It was reproduced in a booklet and he speaks of his sister.

“During the war Radcliffe suffered greatly by the loss of some of our finest promising young men. In a number of homes where the sons returned safely, their families suffered the loss of a daughter whose death occurred during the ‘flu epidemic’. My sister, Sally, a certificated teacher, aged 27 years, died on the day before the Armistice – she had bid me ‘Good-bye’ only a fortnight before, on the Sunday night train on Radcliffe station on my returning to France.”

It is not yet known where she was teaching but it was not Radcliffe School.

She died on November 10th 1918 and her funeral took place on 13th November.

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