19591 Philip Lewis Rolfe - Royal Army Medical Corps

 Philip Lewis (Phil) was born on 25 November 1890 in Wickham, Berks and started at Welford and Wickham Primary School on the 8th March 1894, leaving in the October of 1902. 

On the 1st October 1904 as a 14 year old schoolboy Phillip joined the RAMC militia signing up for 6 years. On 10th March 1905 Phillip enlisted in the RAMC Corps where he rose to the rank of sergeant by February 1918.  The RAMC Journal has the following entry:

Promotions. 
The following promotions to complete War Establishment will take effect 

from the dates specified :— 

To be Serjeants. 
Dated February 25, 1918.-19591 Cpl. P. L. Rolfe.

(September, 1918. Vol.XXXL 3 Journal Royal Army Medical Corps) 

In 1935 Phil married Harriet Hansen in Portsmouth. I have not been able to find anything about Harriet as yet.

At the end of September 1939 a national register was taken in Britain to help coordinate the war effort. Phil is registered at the Hants Female Orphanage, Kings Park Road, Southampton and his occupation is shown as male nurse. I really am not sure whether the orphanage was being used for some other purpose but the only 5 residents were Phillip a male nurse, a sanitary inspector for Southampton, a hall porter, a canteen steward and a commercial traveller, all male. The establishment does not sound as if it is still in use as a female orphanage! All five men are ARP Medical Services so I imagine that they are posted at the orphanage on ARP night duty.

By 1947 Phil appears on the Royal College Of Nursing register as an assistant nurse, he has moved to Bath by then as his address is shown as 9 London Place, Walcot, Bath.

Philip Lewis died in Bath on the 2nd of September 1972 and was cremated on the 7th of that month. Unfortunately no photographs of Phil have been found as yet.

The Family

As I'm more interested, at the moment, with finding out what happened to my grandfather's brothers and sisters than with going back further and further in time I'll start with a run-down of the family.


Henry Rolfe was born in Shalbourne, Berkshire and married Sarah Bailey on 22 January 1876 in the church of St Lawrence, Hungerford.
They had at least eight children:

1. Alfred b. 1876
2. Agnes May b. 1877
3. *Edith Florence (Flossie) b. 6 Jan 1880
4. *Henry Stephen (Harry) b. 1881
5. *William James b. 12 June 1885
6. Julia b. 1888
7. Philip Lewis (Phil) b. 1891
8. Mabel Alice b. 1899

*Those with an asterisk next to their name I know have descendants alive today. 

Sarah Rolfe, nee Bailey, mother of Alfred, Agnes, Flossie, Harry, William, Julia, Phil and Mabel.

The Rolfe family on the 1891 census are living in four rooms in a house in Wickham village in Berkshire:

Henry Rolfe	Head	35	Sawyer of Timber	Berks Wickham
Sarah	Wife	34		Hungerford
Alfred	Son	14	Sawyer of Timber	Hungerford
Agnes	Dau	13	Kitchen Maid	Wickham
Florence	Dau	11	Scholar	Wickham
Henry	Son	9	Scholar	Wickham
William	Son	5	Scholar	Wickham
Julia	Dau	2	Scholar (stet)	Wickham
Philip	Son	4mo		Wickham

Only Mabel who wasn't born until 1899 is missing from the 1891 census.

I think by 1911 the family had moved to Farnborough in Hampshire but won't know for certain until I can look at the census details.

Now it just remains to be seen if I can find out what happened to them all, where they lived, what they did, if they had any children and are there any unknown relatives somewhere waiting to be discovered? 
At the moment I'm working on the theory that after Henry's death Sarah married a Thomas Shersby in 1926. I know she married again (but I haven't been given a name) and died after a fall down the stairs at her son Alf's home in 1939 in Southsea, Portsmouth.