Dating back to 1867, Arbroath’s Western Cemetery is known for its elegance. It is meticulously planned and landscaped, with the highlight being the striking, albeit somewhat ostentatious, Mortuary Chapel. This chapel was commissioned by Patrick Fraser of nearby Hospitalfield House and completed in 1875.
Near the chapel lies the resting place of Helena Stewart Bennett, marked by a dignified Celtic cross headstone. Helena passed away from influenza and pneumonia on October 18, aged twenty-nine, at the Prisoner of War Hospital in Oswestry, Shropshire. Her headstone is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and remains in excellent condition.
Helena Stewart Bennet was born on November 22 in Arbroath to Andrew Bennet, a solicitor, and Grace (née McCracken). She was the youngest of their eight children.
When the 1891 Census was taken, two-year-old Helena lived with her family at 79 High Street, Arbroath. Tragically, her eldest sibling, her brother John, died on December 30 from complications of bronchitis at just seventeen years old. Helena was later laid to rest alongside him in the Western Cemetery. By 1901, the family had moved to Ardwell, Viewfield Road. Helena attended school and completed her secondary education in Arbroath. Sadly, her father Andrew passed away at sixty on February 10, 1907, from suspected heart failure in Morningside, Edinburgh. He was buried with John.
At the time of the 1911 Census, Helena, then twenty-two, was not in Arbroath. Instead, she was visiting her second-oldest sister, Euphemia, who worked as a schoolmistress in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
Inspired by the outbreak of war or perhaps by her sister Constance, who had qualified as a physician, Helena commenced her nursing training at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. After four years of training, she qualified and joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS). Her decision to join QAIMNS caused significant anxiety for her family. Still, they felt relieved when she was assigned to the Prisoner of War Hospital in Oswestry instead of being sent to France – a sad irony given that she may have avoided catching influenza and ultimately survived. Sadly, just eighteen days after enrolling in QAIMNS, Helena passed away. She was buried alongside her father and brother on October 21.
Helena is commemorated on several memorials, including Arbroath’s War Memorial, the St. Cuthbert’s Church Memorial Chapel in Edinburgh (where she joined the congregation while living there), and the Nurses Memorial in St. Giles’ Cathedral, alongside fellow QAIMNS nurses Jessie McRobbie and Mary Watson. Grace, Helena’s mother, survived her youngest daughter by seventeen years, passing away in January 1936 at the age of eighty-eight. She was buried in the Western Cemetery with her son, husband, and daughter.
Sources: Ancestry, Find a Grave, The Courier, November 11, 2023, Scotland’s People
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