The kiss before dying: Nurse's poignant farewell to First World War soldier gassed in the trenches
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•Edith Appleton kissed Private Kerr once for his mother, once from herself
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•Moving extracts from her diaries reveal she grieved for her 'poor little boy'
By James Tozer
PUBLISHED: 23:05, 11 March 2013 | UPDATED: 00:20, 12 March 2013
Nurse Edith Appleton granted Private Charles Kerr his last wish of a kiss, before he died at the age of 21
Dying after being gassed in the trenches of the Western Front, young Private Charles Kerr’s last wish was a kiss from his nurse.
Touchingly, Sister Edith Appleton obliged with two – a kiss from her, and one on behalf of his mother back home in Britain.
Later that day Private Kerr, aged just 21, breathed his last, with Sister Appleton – then aged 38 – recording his poignant death in her harrowing but moving diaries, which have now been published as a book.
As a result, relatives of Private Kerr have been able to meet the descendants of Sister Appleton and finally give recognition to her extraordinary act of compassion 97 years ago today.
Previously a clerk at a cotton warehouse, Private Kerr joined the 2nd Manchester Pals and was sent to northern France in November 1915.
But four months later he was suffering from pneumonia after apparently being gassed in the trenches and moved to a field hospital near Le Havre.
There he was cared for by Sister Appleton, known as Edie, a nurse from Deal in Kent, who signed up for military service soon after the war broke out.
In her diaries, she wrote of how ‘my poor little boy Kerr’ had spent 15 days ‘extremely and dangerously ill’ before it finally became clear he wouldn’t recover.
Her notes described March 12, 1916 as ‘a difficult day to be “Sister”’, with Private Kerr whispering messages for his fiancee and begging: ‘When I’m gone, will you kiss me?’ Despite the many injured soldiers beseeching her attention, she recorded: ‘I did kiss the boy – first for his mother and then for myself – which pleased him.’
After he died, she ensured he was ‘decently put in the mortuary’, subsequently returning to plant primroses at his grave.
The exchange between Sister Edith Appleton and Private Charles Kerr was revealed in her war diaries she kept
Charles Kerr is pictured with the 17th Service Battalion Manchester Regiment but relatives don't know which one is him
More than 90 years later, her great-nephew Dick Robinson had the diaries edited and published as War Diaries – A Nurse At The Front, before setting out to contact relatives of her patients.
Among them was Private Kerr’s great-great-niece Nicola Mortimer who found the diary entry online while researching her family’s history.
The pair met at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester where Mr Robinson was giving a talk about the book.
Mrs Mortimer, 42, a mother of two from Bury, said reading about the care Private Kerr received had been an intensely moving experience.
‘Sister Edith seems like an angel to me,’ she said. ‘She never left his side and she even wrote to his mother.’
The only photograph she has is of Private Kerr’s platoon, and she does not know which is him. ‘It was a godsend to find that Charles was named in the book,’ she added. ‘Until then, I never knew he had a fiancee waiting for him back home.’
Self portrait: Edith Appleton's diaries were often humorous and an illustration shows her uniform being blown up revealing stripy pyjamas underneath
Mr Robinson has met two other relatives of those Sister Appleton cared for or worked with. He has listed all their names on – www.edithappleton.org.uk – in the hope of tracking more down. ‘Meeting relatives of soldiers like Charles is the most rewarding aspect of having brought Edie’s diaries to life,’ he said.
Sister Appleton was awarded a military OBE for her work with the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve. She died in 1958.
Private Kerr’s body still lies in Etretat cemetery, in northern France.
The Imperial War Museum North is hosting an exhibition called Saving Lives about battlefield medicine and care, which runs until September.
Reunited by history: Dick Robinson (the great nephew of Edith Appleton) and wife Lisa and Nicola Mortimer and Marilyn Wilcox (descendants of Charles Kerr) met at the Imperial War Museum North, Salford
'WE NEVER LEFT HIM NIGHT OR DAY': EXTRACTS FROM EDITH'S DIARY
March 6, 1916: Busy day – poor Kerr (pneumonia etc, etc). I am afraid will not weather the storm...
March 8: I am writing to his mother and telling her so, she is evidently a refined old lady – writes back to say she is ‘so glad to hear Charlie is with us – the rest and good food will do him good’.
Have my letters not reached her? Or won’t she understand that the boy is dying.
March 10: The day was very busy and poor Kerr worse – I am sure that boy has been gassed & will die. Shouldn’t be surprised to find his cot empty when I go on duty. Poor mother – how will she take it?
March 12: Too much sadness to write about, besides being dead beat.
March 13: My poor little boy Kerr died yesterday.
He had been in 15 days suffering from gas, pneumonia, bronchitis and has been extremely and dangerously ill all the time, but only the day before yesterday he realised that he was not going to get well.
I am glad to say we never left him night or day and he was fond of us all. Yesterday was a difficult day to be ‘Sister’. He kept whispering all sorts of messages for home and his fiancee.
Then he would call ‘Sister’ and when I bent down to hear – ‘I do love you. When I’m gone, will you kiss me?’.
All the time heads would be popping in ‘Sister this and Sister that’. But in spite of all, I did kiss the boy – first for his mother and then for myself – which pleased him.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
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