The little-known women who changed hundreds of army lives in Aldershot

Amongst the tens of thousands of service personnel buried in the Aldershot military cemetery are the graves of the soldiers from the First and Second World Wars, the Boer War, the Battle of Rorke’s Drift in the Zulu War, and the Falklands War. Amongst the dead are recipients of the Victoria Cross and World War One flying aces. Alongside these brave service personnel is a civilian, an orphaned widow, a woman who suffered with sickness for most of her life, and yet she was given the honour of being the first civilian to be buried there. Her name is Louisa Daniell.

The name Louisa Daniell might be unfamiliar to you, but to many of the soldiers and officers of the British army her work was as important as the weapons they carried. Her care and compassion for individual soldiers was renowned throughout the land. Her Christian witness and love was enjoyed by all who visited the Miss Daniell’s Soldiers’ Home in Aldershot – a place visited by two British Queens.

The army training camp in Aldershot, in the 19th century, had become an outrage when the press reported on the appalling living conditions. The nearby town supplied the only amusements available to the off-duty soldier: around 100 drinking houses and many brothels. Drunkenness played a major role in most crimes committed by the soldiers, and sexually transmitted infections without antibiotics were a death sentence for many.

The secretary of the Town and Country Mission society asked Louisa Daniell to come to Aldershot. Louisa, with her daughter, Georgiana, had done outstanding mission work in several Warwickshire villages. They had cared for the poor and shared the gospel with the poverty-stricken villagers. However, Louisa felt totally inadequate for the task and didn’t want to go, but she said she would ask Georgiana, expecting that she would say no. To her amazement Georgiana replied, “That is the very thing I would like to do.” With Georgiana’s positive answer and upon reading Revelation 3v8, “I have set before thee an open door”, Louisa felt compelled to visit Aldershot.

She scouted the town and barracks and found the reports to be true. Louisa’s solution to the soldiers’ need was a public house without alcohol, yet she greatly feared a building project. Despite her fears she found some land and asked if she could have it for free, to which the landowner responded by giving it to her.

The first Miss Daniell’s Soldiers’ Home was built in 1863. Downstairs was a refreshment bar serving tea and coffee with inexpensive soup and buns. There was a games room, a reading room, and a library. Upstairs was a large hall which could hold 500 people, where evangelistic meetings were held.

The soldiers entered the Home in their hundreds and thousands. The women created a safe and friendly environment for the beleaguered soldiers, who felt cared for, had a place to unload their burdens, and had women who would listen to them without passing judgement. Most of all, the gospel went out to many men who would otherwise not have heard it. One soldier who used to hate his time in Aldershot said he now dreaded leaving it.

Parents of the soldiers would ask Louisa to get in touch with their sons; this she did and encouraged them to visit the Home. As a result, many heard the gospel and started to follow Jesus. Alongside Bible studies, Louisa cared for the families of the soldiers; she opened sewing classes for the women to provide a trade for them, she arranged children’s clubs, and she provided education.

Notable evangelists came to speak at the Home, such as Lord Radstock and William Haslam (of Cornish Revival renown). Despite opposition from army officers, newspaper reporters and army chaplains, Louisa continued to serve the people with resolve and compassion.

Louisa was often unwell and suffered with breast cancer for the last three years of her life. The soldiers saw her suffering as she worked, and they loved her all the more. In 1871 Louisa died; at her funeral eight soldiers who had come to faith through her work lowered her coffin into the grave.

Georgiana expanded her mother’s work by opening more homes, e.g. in Manchester, Chatham, Colchester, London and Plymouth. After many years of service, Georgiana died in 1894 and was also buried in the military cemetery at Aldershot.

The Soldiers’ Homes continued to be used throughout the 20th century, during peacetime and war, welcoming men and women from all nationalities, and maintaining the original aim of making Christ known. A new building which replaced the Aldershot Soldiers’ Home became Havelock House, the headquarters of the Soldiers and Aviators Scripture Readers Association (SASRA).

Louisa and Georgiana deeply loved their Saviour, prayer, the word of God, and telling others about Christ. They believed this was essential for the moral and spiritual renewal of the British soldier, who at the time was in desperate need.