05/08/2022
The indomitable Camberley Kate, aka Kate Ward, and her stray dogs in England in 1962.
Camberley Kate was born in Middlesbrough on June 13, 1895. Orphaned before the age of ten, she was brought up by an aunt in a strict religious atmosphere. As a young girl she went into the ministry and eventually found her way to Camberley. In later years, she once claimed to have been a chef in the RMC at the time of the Battle of the Somme, although she would have been only 21 years old.
She also mentioned that she knew what it was like to be homeless.
In 1943, Kate bought a cottage in Yorktown and soon took in her first stray, a dog that was about to be euthanized for lameness.
Over time, the number of dogs in her home grew - some tied to her door, others left in carrier bags, still others brought to her by police or other authorities. By the end of her life, she estimated that she had cared for more than 600 dogs.
Kate and her olive green handcart painted "STRAY DOGS" were a familiar sight in the area as she pushed it from Yorktown to Camberley every day.
She died on August 4, 1979.
