Doris Quane is buried in Bodelwyddan Churchyard along with all the Canadian soldiers but she was in fact, a British servicewoman serving with the Queen Mary’s Army Auxilliary Corps.
Doris Annie Sophia Quane was born on 26th April 1898 in Douglas, Isle of Man (Isle of Man, Select Births and Baptisms, 1821-1911 on Ancestry.co.uk). Her parents were Herbert Percival Quane and Francis Elizabeth (nee Keig). Both came from sea-faring families. Herbert’s father Ceaser Quane was a Harbour Master and Elizabeth’s father, Thomas Keig, was a Master Mariner.
Although Doris’ parents were living in Liverpool when they married in 1897, the 1901 Census for England on Ancestry.co.uk shows her place of birth as Liverpool when in fact her birth registration shows Isle of Man. As both sets of parents were still living in the Isle of Man it seems possible that Doris’ mother went back to her parents for the delivery.
The 1901 Census reveals that Francis E. Quane was Head of the household at 6, Liscard Road, Wavertree, Liverpool. Lancashire. She was 30 years of age and listed as married. Her children were, Doris A.S. aged 2 and Idris A. aged 1. Also recorded on the census was Francis’s sister Florence, E. Keig aged 18, a Telephone Operator. Annie Pipes was a 14 year old Domestic Servant.
The 1911 Census show sthat Francis was still head of the household at 56 Stuart Street, Waterloo, Liverpool. She was registered as a married woman. She had been married for 14 years and had given birth to five children. One of them had sadly died. The listed children on the census were Doris 12, Idris 10, Evelyn 7 and Gwendoline 2. There were also two other people living in the household. Johana Windale age 28 was a Domestic Servant and Frances James Yates was, a Boarder and Carpenter.
I have researched the outgoing Liverpool crew lists on Ancestry and have found a Percy Quane on quite a few crew lists on various ships going between Liverpool and New York. Although this is not proof that Doris’ father was a Sailor, there is definitely a possibility given that both families had ties with trades associated with the sea and also that he does not appear on any census returns after the marriage.
UK Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 on Ancestry.co.uk tells us that Doris Quane enlisted into Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps attached to the Reserve Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment. Her regimental number was 10515 and she enlisted in Warrington, she served in the U.K.
The address of her next of kin is shown as Mrs Quane, address, 97, Albion St. New Brighton.
I have not been able to find a Service Record for Doris or Medal Roll.
Doris died in Kinmel Camp Military Hospital on 19th April 1918. The cause of death is not known but at that time the flu epidemic was raging through Kinmel Camp.
Her funeral was held on 23rd April and she was buried in St. Margaret’s Cemetery, Bodelwyddan.
The following information is fromqaranc.co.uk
The history of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps which became the QMAAC and served in frontline hospitals in France during the First World War with members war graves pictures
The Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps was formed on 9 April 1918 with Her Majesty as Commander-in-Chief of the Corps. It was formerly named the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps which was formed in 1917 as a result of Lieutenant General H M Lawson’s report of 16 January 1917. This recommended that the army employ women in France and at home to free up more men, doing non combative work, for frontline duties. Their Chief Controller was Mrs Chalmers Watson and recruiting began in March 1917.
During the Great War years over 57,000 women served, including the 10,000 women employed at Royal Flying Corps air stations and transferred to the Women’s Royal Air Force when they formed in April 1918. They were first sent to the front line on 31 March 1917. This was fourteen cooks and waitresses to the battlefields of France where they cooked in hospitals and camps. Their most senior officer was Helen Gwynne-Vaughan and Florence Leach was the controller of the cooks. As the First World War progressed they served in other countries like Belgium, Greece and Italy.
No rank was held, though they were known as officials (controllers and administrators) and members (workers) and divided into four sections of cookery, mechanical, clerical and miscellaneous and later included an auxiliary corps of the Royal Army Medical Corps to administer to their own personnel. Roles of the WAAC and QMAAC included telephonists, mechanics.
Their uniform was the khaki coloured uniforms of male soldiers. They wore a small cap, jacket and skirt, which was no more than twelve inches from the ground.
Five members of the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps were awarded the Military Medal during the Great War.
Demobilisation began upon Armistice in November 1918 and the QMAAC was no longer formally in existence on the 1 May 1920 although a small unit was attached to the Graves Registrations Commission at St Pol and was disbanded on 27 September 1921.
