Page 127 - Redditch People

Redditch People

Eileen Pruden

Holder of the WRVS Long Service Medal and
the British Empire Medal

Eileen Pruden was born in Redditch in 1906, the
eldest child of Walter Terry. For most of her life she
worked tirelessly as a volunteer for several charities
including the League of Friends for the Smallwood
Hospital; the Warren Trust that ran Smallwood
Almshouses and the WRVS Darby and Joan Club. She
was also a patron of the Red Cross, and worked with
the Girl Guides.

1906 - 1984

The British Empire medal like that
awarded to Eileen Pruden

(Source: Wikipedia))

Life and Times of Eileen Pruden

Eileen Pruden was born in Redditch in 1906, the eldest child of Walter Terry, son of
Herbert the founder of the famous Terry Spring Factory. She had three siblings,
Seymour, Geoffrey and Maurice and they were brought up in the Bates Hill Church where
their father was a lay preacher.

Eileen’s husband John, was also born in Redditch (the family ran Hollington’s, the store
in Evesham Street) but sadly he was killed during the Second World War, leaving his
widow with a daughter and a son just a few months old. She never re-married.

For the rest of her life Eileen worked tirelessly as a volunteer for several charities. She
was very much involved with the League of Friends for the Smallwood Hospital; with the
Warren Trust that ran Smallwood Almshouses; was a founder of the WRVS Darby and
Joan Club; a patron of the Red Cross, and worked with the Girl Guides. However her
main work was with the WRVS. She was regularly seen around the area in her uniform
delivering meals on wheels, visiting the elderly and the sick, running errands and
providing comfort to those in need. She ran the Darby and Joan Club which met weekly
in the Congregational Chapel schoolroom. What little spare time she had enabled her to
pursue other interests in the Music Society and the Bordesley Society, among others.

Eileen was a very modest lady, extremely well-known and respected. She was among
the longest and certainly the hardest-working volunteers in the Town and for her efforts
she was awarded the WRVS Long Service Medal and also the British Empire Medal, which
were both thoroughly deserved.

After a lifetime of dedication to the service of others, one day in July 1984 Eileen returned
home from her work at the WRVS headquarters at Park House and, sadly passed away
from a heart attack. She was 78.

© RLHS 2015 Page: 127