Lincolnshire’s contribution to the First World War can be typified in the romantic story of Daisy Lavender; a munitionette who helped build the first aircraft of the Royal Air Force in 1918.
Daisy Lavender was born on 21 March 1893 in Kingston upon Thames to parents Annie and George. George was a hay binder and Annie a midwife.
Daisy went into service at 79 Eaton Place, Knightsbridge, before the First World War broke out; one of the few jobs it was considered appropriate for women to do at the time. During this time Daisy began “walking out” with best friend Florrie Cracknell’s brother, Walter. ‘Wallie’ would send them all postcards written in “code” (back to front writing) to let them know where he was.
Daisy Lavender’s sister Violet, known as Cissie, used to collect these postcards. They were sent instead of birthday and Christmas cards, and because her birthday was 3 days after Daisy (24 March 1895) they used to compete to see who received the most cards.
Postcards were used on a daily basis as a form of communication. In London there were up to 7 deliveries per day, so they were in effect like the instant messages of today! Daisy could send a postcard to her sister in the morning, arranging to meet for tea that afternoon.
Wartime Romance
As the First World War broke out, Daisy Lavender was inspired to help the war effort by the many young men that had been lost that had been her friends. In August 1916 Daisy gave up her job at Eaton Place and became a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse (VAD), caring for badly injured young men who were far from home.
In 1917, Daisy moved back to England to work at Malden Red Cross Hospital in South West London, helping look after wounded soldiers returning from France. One of these soldiers was Ernest Rainsforth who had suffered a “Blighty wound” during the march to the Hindenberg line in March 1917 - his left bicep was blown off and he received a shrapnel wound to his left knee. Daisy helped nurse Ernest back to health and, during this time, they fell in love.
The pair had a quick courtship and engagement, so Daisy travelled to Lincolnshire with him to meet his family – Ernest had previously been employed at Marshall, Sons & Co. in Gainsborough, an agricultural machinery manufacturer. However, Daisy never returned from Gainsborough and, on 16 March 1918, she and Ernest were married at St John’s Church.
Becoming a Munitionette
Daisy wasn’t content to sit on her laurels and soon signed up at Marshall’s to become a “Munitionette”, building aircraft in the new works built for purpose on Lea Road. Daisy Lavender helped the company build 150 Bristol F2B two-seat biplane fighters, which were dismantled on completion and towed to West Common in Lincoln to be flown to the war effort.
After the war ended, Daisy, along with most other women who had been working during the First World War to keep the country afloat, were told that they were no longer needed when the men returned.
Daisy and Ernest went on to have 3 children: Violet (b. 1923 d. 1928), Gladys (b. 1929 d. 2000), and Doreen (b. 1931 d. 2004). The family lived in Gainsborough for the rest of their lives, with Ernest dying at 94 years of age in 1975 and Daisy at 88 years of age in 1982. Daisy was buried at Gainsborough along with the love of her life, Ernest.
The works of Marshall, Sons & Co. were refurbished in 2006 to create a shopping centre, named Marshall’s Yard. An old steam crane from the works provides the entrance and information boards across the centre celebrate the history of this once internationally renowned hub of world class engineering.
Words by Sue Miller from Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire.