Grant Approved for Plaque for Ada Coates
To mark International Women' Day we are delighted to announce:
At its meeting on 1 March the Council gave careful consideration to an application from Horley Local History Society for a grant towards a commemorative plaque for Ada Coates telegraphist. Horley Town Council are pleased to make an award of £250 towards the costs. The commemorative plaque will be placed on the wall of 'Very Bettie' which is on the corner of Yattendon Road. Ada received the first telegraph in Britain announcing the relief of Mafeking in the Boer war.
Who was Ada?
Ada Coates was born in Horley on 26th August 1880. She grew up in Horley living in Lee Street and Hookwood. She became a telegraphist and was employed at the town’s main Post Office which from 1887until1906 was situated in a shop at the very top of Horley High Street near its junction with Yattendon Road. (The shop is now occupied by ‘Very Bettie’, a ladies beauty parlour)
The Relief of Mafeking in the Boer War
The Boer War took place between the British Empire and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.
The Boers, also known as Afrikaners, were the descendants of the original Dutch settlers of southern Africa. Britain took possession of the Dutch Cape colony in 1806 during the Napoleonic wars, sparking resistance from the independence-minded Boers, who resented the Anglicization of South Africa and Britain’s anti-slavery policies. In 1833, the Boers began an exodus into African tribal territory, where they founded the republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The two new republics lived peaceably with their British neighbours until 1867, when the discovery of diamonds and gold in the region made conflict between the Boer states and Britain inevitable.
Minor fighting with Britain began in the 1890s, and by the late 1890s full-scale war ensued. By October 1899 the Boers had laid siege to Ladysmith and Mafeking. Ladysmith was relieved after a siege of 118 days. The 1200 troops at Mafeking were under the command of Colonel Robert Baden-Powell (later to found the Boy Scouts movement) and they faced around 6000 Boers. The town was under siege for 217 days and was finally relieved on 17 May 1900.
The news of the Relief of Mafeking was telegraphed to England and it was Ada Coates who first received the historic message and flashed it onwards around the country prompting riotous celebrations throughout Britain.
Ada Coates never married. She died in her home, Bucks Head, Lumley Road, Horley on 25 March 1961.
Horley Town Council Grants
Grants of up to £3000 can be awarded to local organisations for a variety of purposes.
In considering applications for financial assistance, the Council will take into account the purpose for which the grant is required, the organisation’s accounts, how the grant will benefit the residents of Horley, other bodies to which applications for financial assistance have been made, the contribution being made (whether financial or in kind) and any other supporting information.
For more information and to download the application form click here
(We can email a Word version of the application form, just email town.clerk@horleytown.com to request it) For details of our data processing and privacy policy please click here
Other grants are available from the Horley Edmonds Fund
