Sergeant Alfred Ernest Bingley Oxley SBStJ St. John Ambulance & Air Raid Precaution
Serving Brother of the Venerable Order of the hospital of St.John of Jerusalem.
Defence Medal. Service Medal of the Order of St. John & 2 bars.
The Man Alfred Ernest Bingley Oxley was born between October and December 1873 in Hartwith, Yorkshire West Riding, son of Alfred Hardcastle, a Gardener and Sophia. He was one of six children, Lillie Sophia born 1876, Lucy 1878, Charles Fox 1881, Hubert S.A 1883 and John Rae 1887. In 1881 the family were living at York Road, Elvington, but Alfred does not appear on the census although he would have been aged seven or eight at the time. By 1891 Alfred, aged 18 was living with his parents at 52 Kirk Deighton in the village of Kirk Deighton, Wetherby and between July and September 1900 aged 26 married Mary Colligan in Derby. By the 1901 census Alfred & Mary were living at 5 Ingleby Lee in Sunderland, Durham and he worked as a Domestic Gardener. In 1902 they had one daughter Winnifred Sophia Oxley and in 1911 were living at 5 Ennerdale, Sunderland. Little is known about Alfred’s later life except that he joined the Whitby Divison St. John Ambulance in about 1914 and became a long serving and dedicated member being promoted to Sergeant and awarded his Service Medal of the Order of St. John in 1930. On 27th – 29th April 1936 he attended a course on Air Raid Precautions and First Aid for Air Raid Casualties in Whitby, subsequently becoming an ARP instructor. He was promoted to Ambulance Officer on 6th June 1938. Alfred served with the Civil Defence ARP & St. John during the War, living at 3 Scaresby Terrace and on 6th January 1945 was admitted to the Order of St. John as a Serving Brother and was awarded the Order by HM the King in 1947, appearing in the London Gazette on 9th January 1948. He was also awarded the Defence Medal for his war time service in the ARP. He became the Divisional Store-keeper and was highly regarded for his first aid knowledge and expertise over so many years. In December 1946 Alfred resigned form Whitby Division St. John after 32 years service and aged 73. During 1947 Alfred he was taken ill and ‘laid up’ for a while. He died ten years later between April and June 1956 in Whitby, Yorkshire.
This group of medals is one I have only been able to find a minimal amount of detail on. They are in effect 'work in progress' as one day something additional may well be uncovered. Please feel free to contact me should you know of, or have any information on this man.
This group of medals is one I have only been able to find a minimal amount of detail on. They are in effect 'work in progress' as one day something additional may well be uncovered. Please feel free to contact me should you know of, or have any information on this man.
The Story The medals awarded to Alfred Ernest Bingley Oxley were given to me some years ago by an old friend Hugh Oxley, now himself passed on. They had been awarded to a relative of his, possibly Uncle. Not a lot of research was done until ancestry.com became available, which together with the paperwork and artefacts contained within the lot, enabled a brief biography to be put together
Medal Details:
- Serving Brother of the Order of St John: Unnamed as awarded.
- Defence Medal: Unnamed as issued
- St John Service Medal: 9698 SGT A.E.B.OXLEY WHITBY DIV No6 DIS SJAB 1930
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This page last updated 2 May 14