Winifred Ethel Elsmore was born on the 11th April 1907 in Wolstanton, Staffordshire, her Mother Sarah Jane Perks was born on the 31st December 1876 at Willenhall, Warwickshire and her Father Francis Elsmore was born on the 14th January 1882, Wolstanton, Staffordshire. Her parents were married on the 16th May 1903 at St Margaret Church, Wolstanton, Staffordshire. 

Winifred Ethel Elsmore had four siblings all born in Wolstanton, Staffordshire, John Redvers born 1903 died 1903, Reginald Bernard Elsmore born 1 September 1905, died 11 February 1978, Gwendoline Annie Elsmore born 8th February 1909, died in Solihull in 1963 and Nancy Elsmore born 10 March 1911, died July 25th 1986 in Wolstanton. 

The 1911 census shows the Elsmore family living at 139 High St, May Bank, Wolstanton, Staffordshire. Francis Elsmore (29) a Horse Keeper Brewers Traveller, Sarah Jane Elsmore (36) Home Duties and their children, Reginald Elsmore (5), Winifred Elsmore (3), Gwendoline Elsmore (2) and Nancy Elsmore (1). 

However it is noted that Winifred's father Francis Elsmore had a significant military career prior to his marriage. On the 10th of November 1897 he enlisted as a boy soldier in the Royal Artillery (Service No. R.A./23911) at the young age of 15 years and 10 months. In 1902 he was deployed to South Africa to fight in the Second Boer War with the 20th Battery, Royal Field Artillery. He was recorded in the UK Census of 1901 at age 19, stationed at the Major Aldershot Military camp (Stanhope and Wellington Lines, Hampshire), likely returning or transitioning between deployments. He was Discharged on the 16th December 1902 having served 5 years and 37 days medically unfit. 

On 23 September 1914 Francis re-enlisted shortly after the outbreak of World War I, at age 32, (Service No. 137341) into the Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery. After the conclusion of war on the 7th April 1920 he was discharged from the Royal Garrison Artillery, having risen through the ranks to the senior non-commissioned position of Quartermaster Sergeant. For his combined service he was entitled to the Queens South Africa Medal with clasps South Africa 1902, Cape Colony and Orange Free State, The 1915 Star, The British War Medal and The Victory Medal. 

Upon his discharge in 1920 Francis was awarded a 20% disability pension due to neurasthenia directly attributed to his wartime service. This was the standard medical diagnostic label of the time for what we modernly recognise as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or severe combat exhaustion. 

The 1921 census shows the Elsmore family living at 21 Chelmsford Road, Wolstanton, Staffordshire. Francis Elsmore (39 Years 6 Months), an Out of Work Disabled Soldier, Formerly Car Conductor NS Tramway. Sarah Jane Elsmore (43 Years 6 Months), Domestic Home, Reginald Bernard Elsmore (15 Years 9 Months) a Packing Clerk, Doulton & Co Burslem Potters. Winifred Ethel Elsmore (14 Years 2 Months), Paintress Colne Oil Carpenters Lead, Doulton & Co Burslem Potters. Gwendoline Annie Elsmore (12 Years 4 Months) Education Whole-Time and Nancy Elsmore (10 Years 3 Month) Education Whole Time.

The 1939 register shows Winifred Ethel Elsmore still living at 21 Chelmsford Road, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire, her marital status being single, her occupation being Pottery Decorating Forewoman. She was also in the Civil Defense Nursing Auxiliary Service. Also living with her was her mother Sarah J Elsmore, reported to be married and her occupation was Unpaid Domestic Duties. Winifred's two sisters Gwendoline Annie Elsmore was single working as an Elementary School Teacher, she went on to marry Dennis Worrall in 1946 and Nancy Elsmore also single was working as a Lithographer Pottery, she went on to marry Harold Ferns in 1940. 

Meanwhile Winifred's brother Reginald. B. Elsmore was found to be living at 60 Inglewood Drive, Newcastle Under Lyme working as Pottery Manufacturer Clerk with his wife Elsie. M. Elsmore née Johnson born 20 April 1906 they had married in 1924, their children Roy Elsmore born 16 August 1924, Eric Elsmore born 23 March 1929 and John Elsmore 19 September 1930 and the last file is redacted, most likely Betty born 1931. 

Winifred's father Francis Elsmore was not present at the family home in 1939, he was found to be living at 18 Brunswick Street, Yeovil, Somerset with Lucy Davis Widowed, born 1 April 1876 occupation being Unpaid Domestic Duties and Gertrude Davis, single [Gertrude Taylor] born 19 June 1924 working as an Apprentice Printing Bookbinder. Francis was classed as a married man and he was unemployed being Incapacitated. The nature of his relationship with these women is unclear and his reason for moving from Wolstanton to Yeovil is also unclear. 

Francis Elsmore died aged 65 on the 25th September 1947 in Bristol Royal Infirmary address of 18 Brunswick Terrace, Yeovil, Somerset. Occupation Labourer (Aircraft company). Cause of death Cerebral Thrombosis and Partial Gastrectomy & Cholecystostomy.

Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Winifred Elsmore was an active and dedicated member of her local community, serving as a Sunday School teacher and working closely with the Girl Guides attached to St. Andrew's Church, Wolstanton. At age 23, Winifred portrayed the iconic Doulton figure "A Victorian Lady" in the celebrated Wedgwood Bicentenary Pageant. Held from 19 to 24 May 1930, this impressive six-day festival commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795). Staged in Hanley Park, Stoke-on-Trent, the pageant was deemed the largest live event ever performed in the region's history. The production featured over 5,000 live performers, a 100-piece orchestra, and a 500-person chorus. The theatrical performance consisted of a prologue and eight distinct historical episodes tracking local history from early British and Roman times up to the 20th century, culminating in the life and legacy of Josiah Wedgwood. Princess Mary even visited the festival on its second day, receiving a tremendous public welcome.

Winifred was employed as a Supervisor in the decorating department of Messrs Doulton and Co. Ltd. in Burslem when in 1939  at the outbreak of war she volunteered for the Home Front, joining the Civil Defence Role Nursing Auxiliary. 

In 1942, she joined the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI), an organisation established by the British government to run recreational establishments for the Armed Forces. She was appointed manager of a NAAFI facility in Blackpool, successfully running operations there until 1944. During World War II, the British Armed Forces requisitioned Blackpool as a premier international training base. Its location on the Irish Sea shielded it from heavy bombing, while its empty holiday lodging offered ready-made quarters. Key aspects of the town's 1939–1945 wartime role include: RAF Instruction: Around 800,000 airmen completed their basic induction training in the town. Local Housing: Servicemen stayed in resident-run boarding houses instead of standard army camps. Converted Sites: Military drills took place on the beaches, and Blackpool Tower became a radio signaling station. Squires Gate Base: The airfield housed technical training schools and fighter units defending Liverpool's ports. Bomber Assembly: Vickers-Armstrong workers, including WAAF members, built over 2,500 Wellington aircraft at the site. Foreign Troops: The area hosted the Polish Air Force headquarters and thousands of US personnel at nearby Warton.

On 24 December 1942, the British Army officially integrated female NAAFI workers into its newly created ATS/EFI division. This transition shifted their status from civilian employees to active service members of the women's army branch, making them eligible for foreign deployment. The military recruited women from ages 19 to 43 for these roles, requiring them to complete standard army training before being sent abroad.

In 1944, Winifred stepped into direct military service by joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women's branch of the British Army. She was deployed to Italy, where she was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Here she was attached to the NAAFI to manage a military canteen in Naples, supporting Allied troops in the Mediterranean theatre. Once Naples was liberated on 1 October 1943, it quickly became the primary logistics base for the Italian campaign. By 1944, the NAAFI had scaled up its operations in the city to support thousands of British and Commonwealth troops.

Following the conclusion of the war, Winifred returned home to the United Kingdom in 1946 and upon the completion of her home leave in 1946, Winifred was posted to Malaya, within just a few weeks of her arrival, she was appointed to the senior rank of Company Sergeant-Major.

During the final year of the Second World War, a female Company Sergeant-Major (CSM) served as the highest-ranking non-commissioned leader within an Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) unit. Holding the rank of Warrant Officer Class II, this leader operated as the primary liaison between superior officers and the enlisted personnel. Her comprehensive duties required managing the discipline, turnout, and overall welfare of up to 200 women, which included organizing food rations and barracks accommodation. Operationally, the CSM directed daily roll calls, drill maneuvers, and uniform inspections while communicating the commanding officer’s daily directives regarding guard duties and work rotations. She additionally mentored junior Serjeants and Corporals in administrative and leadership skills. By 1945, her oversight expanded to highly technical combat-support divisions, such as searchlight groups, heavy vehicle mechanics, and anti-aircraft radar operations. To ensure smooth logistics, she collaborated with the Company Quartermaster Serjeant to distribute clothing replacements and specialized equipment, while maintaining meticulous paper records for sick leave, medical reports, and camp maintenance schedules.

Tragically, her promising career and life of service were cut short. Shortly after her promotion, she was killed in a motor accident in Kuala Lumpur on the 13th July 1947. 

Her headstone reads LOVE'S GREATEST GIFT, REMEMBRANCE.

Remembered with Honour at KUALA LUMPUR (CHERAS ROAD) CIVIL CEMETERY grave 897. 

Winifred Ethel Elsmore was entitled to:  The Italy Star because she served on operational military duty in Italy starting in 1944.  The 1939–1945 Star, because This was the standard campaign medal awarded for completing the required operational service overseas during World War II. The Defence Medal, because Winifred volunteered early in the war, serving on the Home Front in the Civil Defence Nursing Auxiliary starting in 1939, and later managing a NAAFI facility in Blackpool until 1944. The War Medal 1939–1945, This was awarded to all full-time personnel of the Armed Forces who served at least 28 days anywhere during World War II, a requirement she easily met through her years of service in both the UK and Italy.

The Sentinel Newspaper reported July 1947. 

MEMORIAL SERVICES

ELSMORE.-The Memorial Service for the late Winifred Ethel Elsmore, of 21. Chelmsford Road, Wolstanton, who died in Malaya on July 13th. will be held at St. Andrew's, Porthill, on Sunday, July 27th. at 6.30. where all who wish to attend are invited to meet. 

1948 Probate: ELSMORE Winifred Ethel of 21 Chelmsford-Road Wolstanton, Staffordshire, spinster died 13 July 1947 in Malaya Probate London 25 February to Sarah Jane Elsmore married woman. Effects £886 15s. 4d.

Winifred's mother Sarah Jane Elsmore died in 1949. 

The Sentinel Newspaper in November 2013 published an article written by Richard Ault.

A lost war memorial contained the names of dozens of male pottery workers killed in conflict and just one lady who died while serving her country.

The name of Winifred Ethel Elsmore always stood out on the war memorial to former employees at Royal Doulton's once-thriving Burslem factory. She was the only female among a host of men killed in conflict and featured on the Nile Street tribute. Now one of Winifred's relatives has shed more light on the life of the woman she knew as 'Aunty Winnie'.

Anne Fearns, aged 70, of Wolstanton, has fond memories of her auntie even though she was just four years old when Winifred died in 1947. Mrs Fearns said: She loved all her nieces and nephews and my mum and Auntie Winnie were very close. She was my god-mother. Every Remembrance weekend we would take flowers to the war memorial at Royal Doulton for her.

" Winnie loved the Army life" Mrs Fearns, who herself worked for Royal Doulton for 42 years, said: "She was killed in a road accident, she broke her neck. We don't know how it happened. "She was buried at Kuala Lumpur war cemetery  There were some photographs of her funeral which were sent back to the family. Not long ago a family friend went out to Malaya and managed to find her grave and took some photographs for me. It is a beautiful cemetery.

"I have lots of photographs which she took in Malaya. I think she loved it in the Army. She rode horses, she skied, it looks like she had a great time. Mrs Fearns is one of many former Royal Doulton employees who want to know what happened to the memorial after the factory closed.

Former Doulton worker Allen Jones, aged 55, of Madeley, who worked for the pottery giant for 22 years, said: "Winifred Elsmore was always a name which stood out on the memorial. I used to wonder about her and think, 'how unusual. You do not see many female names on a war memorial."

Sources 

• FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
• Parents Marriage Place: Wolstanton, Staffordshire, England; Date Range: 1849 - 1903; Film Number: 1517618
• Principal Probate Registry; London, England; Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England
• Census 1911 The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
• Census 1921 The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; 1921 Census Returns; Reference: RG 15/12571, ED 6, Sch 92; Book: 12571
• Register 1939 The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/5408A
• https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19470715/123/0006
• https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19470723/050/0002
• https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/937869/winifred-ethel-elsmore/
• https://asiawargraves.com/women-war/
• The National Archives; Kew, London, England; Royal Hospital Chelsea: Soldiers Service Documents; Reference Number: Wo 97
• South Africa-Second Boer War. National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; War Office Campaign Medal and Award Rolls 1793-1949 (WO 100); Class: WO 100; Piece: 
• Western Front Association; London, England; WWI Pension Record Cards and Ledgers; Reference: 400/06me 
• The National Archives; London, England, UK; War Office: Soldiers' Documents, First World War Wo363
• Forces War Records, UK, Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioner Service Records, 1760-1925 (https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/972/uk-royal-hospital-chelsea-pensioner-service-records-1760-1925 : accessed 19 Jun 2026), database and images, https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/972/uk-royal-hospital-chelsea-pensioner-service-records-1760-1925 
• https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/feature/naafi 
• Sentinel Newspaper November 13. 2013. 
• https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=8ntq5Bnd7y0JwT7PKzZbPg&scan=1 
• Principal Probate Registry; London, England; Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England 
• WO 423/1546361 https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C20393969/