During World War I, the Manor House was given over to the service and care of wounded soldiers. Ann Gatenby Gjers of Busby Hall, was the wife of Lawrence Gjers, JP for Middlesbrough and the North Riding of Yorkshire, Colonel and Commandant of the North Riding National Reserve. Her father Issac Fidler was an alderman in Middlesbrough and had laid the foundation stone of Middlesbrough's new town hall on 24th October 1883 when he was Mayor.
He was also Vice President of the North Riding branch of the British Red Cross Society and Commandant of the Red Cross Hospital, set up at the Manor House in Stokesley. Ann Gatenby Gjers worked alongside her daughter Olga. She later was awarded the OBE.
Her son Lawrence was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme.
