Another Glimpse at an Ascension Island Cemetery

A second selection of photographs of graves in the Georgetown (Dead Men's) Cemetery on Ascension Island. Many of the early gravestones had plaques attached that commemorated the deceased. A lot of them have detached themselves.

Very faded and it looks like this stone is turning to sand.

A remarkably well-preserved piece of slate, despite it being broken

Here, because of the ravages of time,  another name plaque has fallen away

Poor Kate. The two year old accidentally drowned in the Turtle Pond in 1855

Private Witbooi Johannes who died at sea and was buried here. The regiment was raised from the Cape Coloured community of the Union of South African during the First World War. 

The Baskian Swastika Lauburu. For more on the symbols history, click HERE

Simple crosses are popular, too but why these are leaned against a well, I do not know

Decaying Beauty of an Ascension Island Cemetery

I once had a long flight down to Ascension Island in the south Atlantic. I was there on assignment and the week-long event I was reporting, finished early. I was, therefore, marooned there until my flight home. The aircraft came from the Falkland Islands and the weather prevented it taking off for some days.
I have to admit I was rather pleased as it gave me a chance to visit some of the very old cemeteries on Ascension. Loaded down with Kodachrome film, I was able to shoot away to my heart's content.

My first visit was to the Georgetown (Dead Men's) Cemetery. Ascension being a volcanic island meant that the background looks like a lava field. It reminded me of a long abandoned archeological site awaiting discovery. Many of the early graves had eroded very badly - the site is close to the beach and years and years of sand being blown by the wind across the cemetery has left its mark. Note the lumps of volcanic rock used to edge the graves. Here are a few examples of what I saw through my viewfinder.