Roll of Honour

Here, an enterprising photographer has created a photomontage of Royal Navy ships that were lost in the early months of the First World War. So many sailors lost their lives, it must have been a best seller!

A Family of Cowards

Marjory Whewell Coward died on November 11, 1888 - aged five weeks - and is buried in Balderstone churchyard in Lancashire.  Her parents and borther are buried with her. It is a very ornate memorial - note the ferns on each of the rocks that support the cross and the fine detail on the cross, itself. Majory's brother, Arthur, died in Birmingham in 1950 but his body was brought back for burial in Balderstone.

Arthur had an interesting career. His son, Ron wrote, in 1999, that he had learned more about his father "Arthur Langdale COWARD born 14 March 1885 in Blackburn Lancs who went to Blackburn Grammar School and Manchester Technical College(?) and served an engineering apprenticeship at the Dick Kerr works in Preston. He had a mangled finger top joint due to some industrial accident. He worked on the electric's for flying boats on the Tyne at South Shields in WW1 before joining Highfield and Roger Smith consulting electrical engineers in London; subsequently building Upper Boat power station near Cardiff and later the consultant responsible from 1929 for the grid scheme in the whole of the Midlands".

Sorrow recorded on Stone

I saw this Gravestone in Preston Cemetery and found myself thinking about the sorrow that must have been felt by the Greenwood family. So many young ones spent but a short time on earth!

Ivy Grace Memorial

Ivy Grace Brown is buried in St Tudno's Churchyard, Llandudno, Wales. The only child of Charles and Daphne Brown, she was born in Bombay 1886 and died in 1907. The stone records:

"Who plucked this flower?       The Master
The Gardener held his peace"

"Weep not for death the fount of tears in sealed,
who knows how bright the inward light to those closed eyes revealed.
who knows what holy love may fill the heart that seems so cold and still"

Funeral Ephemera

George Thomson was interred in Liverpool's Toxteth Cemetery in 1931. Here is the receipt for the funeral and interment expenses as issued by WJ Rimmer Ltd. On the reverse of the second receipt (image 2) is a record of four dates and names. I wonder if they had all been buried in the same plot. During a recent Lancashire cemetery open day, I discovered that some of the original graves were some 24 feet deep and some of the more well off locals would allow others to be buried in their family plot, if there was room . . .

Kensal Green - Grieving Figure

This striking depiction of a grieving figure stands in Kensal Green Cemetery

Kensal Green Cemetery 2

A further glimpse of memorials in London's Kensal Green Cemetery.

Kensal Green Cemetery

Three more views of Kensal Green cemetery. It is such a fantastic subject.

Kensal Green Statuary

These memorials in Kensal Green cemetery have been smothered  by Ivy and tree growth. One is in the first stage of reclamation. The others await reclamation.

Cutting Edge!

Post Number 200

Now, this - I feel - is quite unusual. You have a relative who died during the Second World War and you want their details recording on the family headstone. Easy, you just ask the stone mason to cut the stone in half and put an extra piece between the two. Sadly, it isn't cut to size and it shows!

Aircraftsman 2nd Class James Swarbrick RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). He was the son of Mr and Mrs Ernest Swarbrick of Preston.

Avoided the Demon Drink!

Sacred to the Memory of Mary Graham who died February 4, 1868 in the 90th Year of her Age.

Could she have died because she refused medicine? Her gravestone records:

She was a devoted friend to the Temperance cause and a Teetotaler 33 years. She refused to take either Medicine or Intoxicating Liquors up to her death.

Young Victims of Poisoning

Here is the striking memorial to James and Henry Hall who are buried in Preston Cemetery. They were the children of a Doctor Hall. One day, in 1856, the children entered the surgery and started playing. You guessed it. They couldn't resist trying the medicines and poisoned themselves. James (3) died on 29 January, while Henry (11) died the next day. this touching memorial was erected in their memory. It depicts two children sleeping peacefully together.

Sad record of one family's Loss

I saw this, today, at Preston Cemetery in Lancashire. It records the names of the sons and daughters of George and Elizabeth Miller who died and were interred in St Paul's Church Yard, Preston. There are 12 names recorded on the obelisk. Just how much sorrow there was in this family, I could not imagine!

A Striking Lancashire Angel

On the way to collect some logs, today, I had ten minutes to spare and called at a small country churchyard - St Leonard's in Balderstone, Lancashired. I had been told by someone, who passed it a week ago, that it might be interesting. Interesting? No, it was amazing! There were many unusual and striking memorials and I quickly moved through the graves to capture some examples on my iPhone4 before the fast approaching thunderstorm reached the village. I am becoming an increasingly enthusiatic fan of iPhoneograpy. It beats carrying around a heavy bag of camera equipment.

Here is the very large headstone that marks the grave of Mercia Heyworth who died on 1 May 1896.

Rock Creek Cemetery

  The cemetery is in Washington DC. More on the cemetery can be found HERE