Thursday, 4 October 2018
Two Young Girls
Two young girls. The monumental mason came close to failing on Line 4 of the Poem. Fleetwood Cemetery, Lancashire
Drowned at Sea
Weep Not! William Baxter drowned at sea in the Gale of December 22, 1894 aged 53 years – Fleetwood Cemetery:
The Grave of a Hero
Towards the end of my visit to Weaste Cemetery in Salford, I tried to find the grave of one of four survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade buried in the cemetery. I couldn’t find it but stumbled across this intriguing headstone which reads: In Loving Memory of George William, the beloved husband of Susannah Fernley, who after saving 22 lives from drowning, died through the effects of his last attempt. November 30, 1904, aged 47 years.
According to a cemetery leaflet, George was a local hero who saved the lives of 22 drowning persons in Manchester and other parts of the world. He had distinguished himself at an early age rescuing horses that had stumbled into the Rochdale Canal. His first rescue was in 1880 when he saved the life of a man who fell into the canal. On three occasions in 1884, he rescued a boy from the canal. Unfortunately, the day after the third rescue, the boy was burned to death!
In 1886, he emigrated to Queensland, Australia, hoping to make his fortune in the goldfields, In the three years he was there, he performed more heroic feats. After bringing his wife to Australia, he rescued a man from the Brisbane River and then while returning to England, he rescued another in the Bay of Colombo, Ceylon. Back in England, he rescued more people and received the Salford Hundred Humane Society’s medal. During his last rescue in 1902, he suffered severe internal injuries and never really recovered, dying two years later:
CORPORAL JAMES OATES 1917
Cpl James Oates 2nd/5th Lancashire Fusiliers. Killed in action June 7, 1917 aged 25 – Bury Cemetery [He was interred at Vlamertighe Cemetery, Belgium]. A verse at the base of the memorial reads:
“He did his best, like all the rest
As did his comrades, too;
He answered the call at his country’s request
And died like a soldier true.”
Killed at Sea
George Lindley was lost at sea from the Full Rigger, Royal Albert which sank off Trevose Head, Cornwall on January 16, 1866. It was carrying tea, cloth, castor oil, shellac, rubber and firearms. Bound for Liverpool from Calcutta, her loss was one of several from overloading that led to the introduction of the ‘Plimsoll Line’. All 34 crew were lost. [Wakefield Cemetery, West Yorkshire]
Killed By His Horse
Killed by own horse Owen Davies died October 22, 1902 and was buried October 25 at St David, Haigh & Aspull, Lancashire:
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