Cook Rosemary - The Nightingale Shore Murder: Death of a World War I Heroine

For this second edition, I am especially grateful to Jeremy Stone for his continuing pursuit of information on this story about his distant relative, Florence Shore. Many thanks also to Raymond Davies, who solved the mystery of Annie Shore, Florences step-mother, and shared the information with Jeremy and I. I am also grateful to the Dringhouses Local History Group, and the Bishopthorpe Local History Group, for additional information about Middlethorpe Hall and the Wilkinson family.

Even more archivists and researchers helped with this edition, and I would like to thank the following:

Jane Bass, Archive Assistant, Essex Local Archives

David Capus, Review Manager, Metropolitan Police Service

Holly Carter-Chappell, Collections Assistant, Florence Nightingale Museum

Lydia Dean, Archives Assistant, the Borthwick Institute, York

Dr Tommy Dickinson, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, University of Chester

Colin Gale, Bethlam Royal Hospital

Karim Hussain, The National Archives

Helen Ostell, Neighbourhood Delivery Officer, Greater Manchester County Record Office

Dr Sue Proctor, Diocesan Secretary, Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

Tom Richardson, Archive Assistant, North Yorkshire County Records Office

Nigel Taylor, The National Archives

Christopher White, Visitor Services Assistant, the National Railway Museum

Special thanks go to descendants of the Hobkirk family for generously sharing their information, pictures and family letters, which contributed so richly to this book.

In particular I am very grateful to Jeremy Stone, great-grandson of Clarence Hobkirk, who sought me out to offer assistance, and who has used his expertise as a former Detective Chief Inspector in the Royal Hong Kong police to comment on the investigation into Florence Shores murder. Also many thanks to Julia Lisle, who scanned family pictures and letters for me, and sent them through from Australia.

I must also thank Reid Paskiewicz and Erika Nelson from the United States, for sharing a copy of Patrick Paskiewiczs unpublished book about Florence Shore with me, following Patricks death.

Thank you to my partner Alison and my daughter Kate for reading the early draft, proof-reading, re-organising and improving. Any remaining blips are my own.

The research for this book was greatly assisted by a Monica Baly Bursary granted by the Royal College of Nursing in 2010, for which I am very grateful.

I have received very valuable help and assistance from numerous archivists, researchers and others at record offices and archives around the country. I would to thank the following for their efforts and their interest in my research:

Dhimati Acharya, Information Librarian, East Sussex County Council, Bexhill Library

Kevin Austen, Editor, Merstham Town website

Matthew Bradby, Marketing and Communications Manager, The Queens Nursing Institute, who first found the story of the nurse murdered on a train

Helen Minocki Brooks, House Manager, and Sue Baxter, Archivist, Claydon House Trust

Laura Brouard, Assistant Archivist, Lothian Health Services Archive, Edinburgh University Library

Lionel A Chatard, Director & General Manager, Middlethorpe Hall and Spa

Daniel Collins, Senior Library Assistant, Local Studies and Information, East Sussex County Council Library and Information Service

Dr Sam Coulter-Smith, The Master, The Rotunda Hospital

John Crawford, Michael McGrady, Val McLaren, The National Archives, Kew, London

Rosalind Hill, Mark Allen Group

Meurig Jones, ABWMV Research Services, Casus Belli

Sheila Jones and John Wood, Local Studies Department, City Library and Arts Centre, Sunderland

Shona Milton, History Centre Officer, Brighton History Centre, Brighton

Ursula Mitchel, Digital Asset Management/Archive Officer, Queens University, Belfast

Dr Jonathan Oates, Archivist, Ealing Council, London

Emily Oldfield, Information Assistant, British Red Cross Museum and Archives, London

Jack Spencer, Registrar, Westminster Registry Office, London

Caroline Stockdale, Reading and Learning Advisor, and Joy Cann, Archivist, York Explore

Fiona Watson, Archivist, Northern Health Services Archives

Anne Wheeldon, Archivist Public Service, Heritage Services, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

I would also like to thank the Hastings and St Leonards Observer for permission to reproduce the photographs of the train guards and the train compartment that was the scene of the attack, in publicity for this book.