Another WWII mystery - Eleanor Bradley Harris

[frogmarch]

A while back, I happened to see a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt on the Internet and recalled that when I was 10, I asked my dad if I was named after her. I said I hoped I was. He told me that no, I was named after another Eleanor, a wonderful Army nurse in India named Eleanor Bradley who'd helped my mother bring me into the world. Later, when I found out I had two moms, I learned that my second mother, Mary, who was also in India then (ARC), was friends with Eleanor Bradley. She called her "Brad."

The *Nurses of CBI (China Burma India) Theater WWII* webpage says Eleanor Bradley later married and became Eleanor Bradley Harris.



ELEANOR MAY BRADLEY HARRIS
159th Station Hospital Karachi, India (Sindh Desert)

My first mother, Kate ("Kitty" ), who died when I was two weeks old, was Anglo-Indian. My dad said I was given my nurse Eleanor's name - and my mother Kitty's eyes.



From time to time, I search the Internet for pre- and post-war information on Eleanor Bradley Harris, but I've had no luck so far.

[braddy]

1. Is she the one mentioned in this book?

https://books.google.com/books?id=AMCEVWhZmmEC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=india+%22Eleanor+Bradley%22&source=bl&ots=6aUlWSmW5n&sig=ACfU3U0sowWYUqsmnIkbJZxz_3Fnjwwh1A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj_3cryj8rlAhVJnp4KHVX7BvIQ6AEwDnoECC4QAQ#v=onepage&q=india%20%22Eleanor%20Bradley%22&f=false

[frogmarch]

2. Yes, she is.

Thanks for the link!

[braddy]

3. Is that you that saw her at 39 seconds in a video?

[frogmarch]

4. I saw her in a You Tube video and

made a post there. So, I think I'm who you mean.

[braddy]

5. I couldn't find the video, I only saw a comment about being named for her.

[frogmarch]

6. Here it is.

&t=64s

It was the 159th Station Hospital when I was born there and was redesignated the 181st General Hospital. (I wanted to keep my YT post short.)

[braddy]

7. Wow, a dead on into the camera, that has to be a moving experience for you, I sometimes look

for video or photos of my dad in WWII stuff related to his ship, it would be moving to find something like you did.

[frogmarch]

11. It was, and I hope

you find pictures and videos of your dad.

I don't recall how I happened onto the video, but when I lost the link to it I had trouble finding the video again until I remembered "home movie" or something like that was in the title. Searches can be tricky, I've found, so I just keep on keepin' on and sometimes I hit the jackpot. I hope you do too!

[CanonRay]

8. I did a search in ancestry.com, and here's what I found

Eleanor May Bradley Harris
b. 11 Jun 1920 Wilmington, DE
Father John Simpson Bradley
Mother Mabel Rebecca Fleetwood
Spouse James Joseph Harris
Died 10 Jun 1996 Muskogee OK

I can't guarantee it's her, but there was a pic on the record that looks like her. Hope this helps!

[frogmarch]

9. It does!

Thank you! I guess I will go ahead now and join Ancestry so I can have a look-see.

Thanks again.

[CanonRay]

10. Let me know if I can help, I have a full subscription.

[frogmarch]

12. Thanks! Would it be

possible for you to get a photo of Eleanor Bradley Harris from Ancestry and post it here?

[CanonRay]

13. I'm not very good at posting photos here,a but I'll give it a shot tomorrow

[frogmarch]

14. Maybe you could send it to me in a private message and

I could post it here. I use imgur.com (it's free, which I like) for hosting images to post on DU. I learned about imgur on DU.

[GeoWilliam750]

16. I just tried to, and the system won't let me.

Trying to figure out how else to do this

[frogmarch]

17. Oh, well. Thank you for

trying. I'll check into joining Ancestry tomorrow. If I can figure out how and all that, I mean. I'm no techie by any stretch of the imagination, but I am a stick-to-it type of person. Thanks again!

[CanonRay]

20. Just like that, magic. Here's the Obit

[frogmarch]

21. Is Nellie sometimes short for

Eleanor? If she was known as Nellie to her family, maybe the B stands for Bradley, her surname before she married Harris.

Thank you.

[mercuryblues]

24. It most likely does stand for Bradly

I remember my Mom telling me when I asked her why she used the initial D, when her middle name started with an A. She told me because when some women get married, they drop their middle name and replace it with their maiden name.

I secretly though it was because she hated her middle name. But over the years I have seen women do that. So my Mom wasn't ribbing me.

[CanonRay]

19. Here's the link to the photo, but it won't display

[frogmarch]

22. Wow, what a lovely picture!

Thank you!

To me, she doesn't look a lot like the other pictures I've seen of Eleanor Bradley Harris, but I've only seen a few.

Here's a screenshot from a You Tube video she's in:

[GeoWilliam750]

15. Here is a bit more

This is her grave in Muskogee, Oklahoma

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84315403/eleanor-may-harris

There is a lot more on her on Ancestry, including a nice picture of her in what appears to be an Indian sari in 1943.

Her obituary in of June 1996:

Harris - Nellie B., on June 10 1996, of Newark, beloved mother of..... Then personal information.

A fairly detailed family history is up on Ancestry, which also provides a way to contact the people who put it up there.

[frogmarch]

18. I'll sign up at Ancestry if I can.

I tried to some time ago and did something wrong and it didn't take. Maybe I'm smarter now. Or not.

Thanks for the information!

[mmharris]

23. Eleanor May Bradley Harris was my grandmother

Hi - I was just searching the internet randomly for info about my grandmother and came across your post! This is VERY EXCITING!! Please feel free to message me at [e-mail] with any questions. I will try to scan some pictures for you.

[frogmarch]

25. Wow!

This IS very exciting!

Will do, and thank you!

[JohnSPruett]

26. Hi ❤

I just returned from the Harris Family re-union. Elor as she was called by some and Brad by others is my one of my favorite aunts and I'm sitting next to her sister Sandy right now who is my Mom ❤

You can email me on [e-mail]

Or call me or my Mom on 540 594 1701 or 843 446 9361

Or find either of us on Facebook John S Pruett or Sandra B Springs



John

[FSogol]

27. I would recommend not putting personal info on the net. It can be seen by too many people.

Try to instant message or send a email to the person you are trying to contact. Edit your message to remove the phone #s.

[JohnSPruett]

28. Thanks

Yes, I thought about it yet wanted to help make it easy to find me.

[frogmarch]

29. Hi back,

and thank you.