Wednesday 8 August 2012

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.



3 comments:

SeaThreePeeO said...

That is very odd. Unless the stone was full to begin with and had to be made larger.

Beneath Thy Feet

Laurie said...

I agree, Nicola. It may be that James was missing in action and wasn't recorded on the headstone until his death was confirmed after that of Dorothy who died in 1942.

Just checked and although the stone says killed on active service. He is buried in that grave - he was an Aircraftsman 2 and possibly died when an airfield was attacked. There seems to be a mystery, here. I will try and track down the local paper for the time!

Laurie said...

And further to my last, I have just found him on a list of RAF casualties where the unit is unknown. He was actually RAFVR. Two other RAFVR airmen died that day. The mystery deepens.

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