Grave Matters

A few months ago, on the Graveyard Rabbit Column, History Hare I talked about the plight of some graves in Australia being defiled. I commented that whilst it was not metaphorically speaking, in my back yard, it might be one day.

Well it would appear that that day has come.

Some 205 plots located at one of the biggest cemeteries in the Country, the City of London Cemetery at Manor Park are under threat. The announcement is located HERE and a map of the cemetery is located HERE. The formal notice is located HERE with the details of whom to write to in order to raise an objection.

The Official notice does not provide the names of the occupants or the plot owners. It lists plot numbers only. The Burial Registers are not indexed.  In order to establish if you have an ancestor in one of the plots under threat then a charge of £100 is being made per name per year. If you know the plot details then the charge is £25.

Is it the cynic in me that indicates that the costs are so prohibitive that the Officials will get their way?

It would appear that during the 1950 -1960 period the memorials on these graves were removed and no effort was made to record the details. The scanning project of the Burial Records only managed to cover from 1856 – 1861 before the project was halted.

The situation is tragic and one that is only going to get worse, not just across the Capital but across the whole of the United Kingdom and other parts of the globe.

A few years ago I became aware of a similar plight in my home town. The official notice was displayed and asked for people who had an interest in the cemetery to make contact with the cemetery. I made the 200 mile journey and looked over the grave where my Great Grandparents were buried; my Great Grandfather in 1931 and my Great Grandmother in 1937. The plot was purchased with a 75 year ownership. I contacted the council and the plot was transferred into my ownership. Of course I am now responsible for any repairs that are needed, but I do that quite willingly and more importantly the graves are safe from any recycling.

Many of us do not live where our ancestors did. Perhaps there should be a scheme of “Love Your Cemetery” whereby each individual takes part in a project at their nearest cemetery in the hope that the ancestral graves of their family are preserved at another.

I truly do not know the answer, but we need to find one and quickly.

On line Journal of Graveyard Rabbit

Cemeteries of the Future…….

Taphophilia is defined as a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries[1]. It is sad to say, that not everyone enjoys exploring cemeteries or the ponderings of the lives of those that were interned. It is even sadder to say that not everyone believes that cemeteries are a place where we can pay our respects to the dead and thank them for the contribution their life made, no matter how small or big that contribution was.

Frightening isn’t it?

Even more frightening is the contemplation that cemeteries are being defiled. I do not mean by vandals, or youngsters with no respect or understanding of respect, but by community officials.

It is happening, the world over and ultimately driven by money. What society puts money and profit before respect? That for me is one of my personal values.

Last week, I became aware of the plight of a series of cemeteries in Australia, that are facing decimation, not by vandals, but as I have described by an attempt to save money. These are the graves of, not just the pioneers of Australia, but of the people that shaped Australia into being the nation it is today.  As it stands, Australia is only 225 years old in its colonised format.

A fellow genealogist, Catherine who writes at Seeking Susan ~ Meeting Marie had already experienced a similar issue in South Australia and was delighted when the South Australia Burial and Cremation Bill had passed it’s second reading in the House of Assembly and was due a further debate in early March, ironically on the day I am writing this article. In reality as I type this in England on Tuesday morning the debate as already been heard in Australia.

So at this point all was looking pretty good, the people who sit at the heart of the Australian Government were listening. Then it became apparent that whilst in South Australia they were listening they were not in other parts of Australia.

On the blog That Moment in Time, written by Chris was a posting just last week of the shameless desecration of the Karraketta Cemetery in Western Australia. You can read that heartbreaking post HERE.

So what can we do?

There is a petition lobbying the Labour Party of Western Australia to bring an end to the clearing of the cemeteries in this region. You can sign the petition HERE. This petition can be signed by anyone, anywhere in the world, whether or not you have ancestors in this region. Indeed I have signed it from my home in England. As far as I know I have no family members buried in this particular cemetery.

Remember, this may not be in your particular backyard, or at least not this time.

There is a very active Face Book page called Saving Graves - WA which exists to support the petition. It has photographs, current news and press cuttings.  Indeed, the group is very passionate and quite rightly so. Craig Hyde, Media Advisor for Saving Graves WA has written very passionately about the situation and I urge you to read his post HERE

There is also a link to a file detailing all the graves recorded with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that are to be removed. Haven’t those already named on those headstones already paid the ultimate price?

Press Release of Saving Graves WA

Furthermore, it became apparent through the reading that I undertook for this article that “some graves were to be preserved for significant historical or architectural reasons”[2] Disgraceful, that even in death we are not equal.

The genealogy community is a big one and through the advancement of social media we, as a body of genealogists and family historians have a much stronger voice. One that needs to be heard, and indeed should be heard.

Whilst this may seem someone else’s problem it is not. The very moment a community displays this level of disrespect and it remains unchallenged then we as a group of genealogists, historians and family members are sending the signal that it is perfectly OK to show this level of disrespect to the generations that went before us. We must therefore stand together, united as previous generations did at battle and demand that our ancestor’s final resting place remains undisturbed

So, please get involved, support our fellow citizens.

I shall close with a poem, written by Chris of That Moment in Time, as this simply says it all.

GRANDMA'S FOUNDATION

I went to visit Grandma
Her stone it wasn’t there
I thought I made an error
But I did look everywhere
It was then I noticed rubble
Right against the fence
And a dumpster full of rubbish
It really was quite dense.
Then I saw my Grandma’s name
As if she was calling me
“Please help me darling granddaughter
Will you please help me be free
For crushing is the next step
Road base they say they need
  I suspect that that is just a cover up
It all comes down to greed.
The land here’s rather valuable
I heard the workmen say
My lovely stone you saved for
Will be destroyed today.”

© Crissouli - 2013

Saving Graves Western Australia can be supported by

Petition * Facebook * Twitter

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[1] Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taphophilia

[2] Quote from Steve James, Client Relations Consultant for the Western Australia Metropolitan Cemetery Board, Published in the “Subiaco Post on 1^st May 2006.

On line Journal of Graveyard Rabbit

History Hare – Dartmoor Tales

As I write this Devon has been hit by snow. There has been about 6 inches or so in Princetown and because of the wind there have been some drifts.

A historic settlement grew at the heart of Dartmoor because of the famous prison to be built there. The foundation stone was laid in 1806 and was initially built to enable Plymouth to cope with the influx of prisoners captured during the Napoleonic Wars. The population further increased by those Americans captured during the War of 1812. In 1814 the prison closed during a period of peace and it was in 1850 when it reopened as the prison we know today.

Just along the road is the Church of St Michaels. Now a redundant Church in the loving care of the, The Churches Conservation Trust. It has also been granted by English Heritage as a listed building.

Inside the lovely stain glass windows came alive as the sun hit the glass. A true contrast for how the church looks today in snow beaten Devon.

I walked around the church, looking at the memorials, the font and pews and contemplated how many people had stood round the font as a newborn was baptised or sat on the pews, probably at the same spot for many years.

My attention turned to the churchyard.

And then to the uniformed row of stones situated at the back of the churchyard

The church dates from 1812 when permission for its construction was given the Lord Commissioners for the Admiralty. The labour force for this undertaking was those prisoners who had captured during the Napoleonic Wars and later those from the American War. It is the only church in England to have been built by Prisoners of War. 

During this period as can be expected some of the prisoners died and these are a series of headstones that relate to some of them. Data is scanty, apart from 200 years of weathering, and the climate on the moor is challenging, we also have to remember the ability to have collated records during this period and then retained and maintained them.

Here is one of the headstones close up. The inscription reads "E.M. 10.3.14"

I hope you have enjoyed this wee wander around Dartmoor. If you do get chance to stop in the area do, but be prepared for inclement weather regardless of the time of year. However cold, wet and miserable it is now in our 21st Century homes, cast your mind to consider the hardships and endurance of the former convicts of Dartmoor.

Photographs taken by Julie @ Anglers Rest 1st April 2012

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…..A long way from home

I always think it is sad to come across a gravestone of someone who passed away many miles from home. I don’t mean those who are born in one Country and live and pass away in another, I mean those to whom death occurs and is unexpected and occurs away from home.

The point of headstones is that there is a marker to indicate that behind the name and perhaps a set of dates a person existed. It is a visual spot whereby loved ones can pay their respects and mourn.

I live in the coastal town of Teignmouth on the South Devon coast of England. I have no specific reason to visit the cemetery and no one that I know is buried there. After a few years we paid a visit to the cemetery and simply wandered around. Looking at the headstones that were erected with love and now simply a testament that someone had cared enough to place a stone, but perhaps there is no one left to visit and lay flowers.

One headstone was dedicated to a Russian mariner. Teignmouth has a working port and ships regularly dock here, both now and in the past, loading and unloading their cargo. Knowing this fact I was not surprised to see such a headstone, commemorating the passing of an individual who died many miles from home. On the few occasions I have seen the grave there are no flowers left and it suddenly occurs to me that this individual passed away 100 years ago. Perhaps there are no family left who remembers this man, perhaps his name is simply a question mark in someone’s ancestry – his existence is known, but the details surrounding his death and burial place is not.

In October 2011 my husband and I visited the Island of Jersey which lies in the seas of the British Isles and yet rather confusingly is governed completely independently of the United Kingdom. The Island lies 14 miles off the coast of France. I was looking at a map as we planned the following day’s activities. In the smallest of print I spotted the following words “W.W.2 War Graves”. The next day we headed off to our planned destination by way of a detour to the park which hosted the graves mentioned.

The board of interest indicated that the grounds were given to the people of Jersey in memory of a local land owner whose son had perished in the First World War. We then followed the path to the War Graves.

There, we felt overwhelmed. In front of us lay two groups of graves. The graves represent Servicemen who died during the Second World War. Some individuals were named, others were not. These were men whose bodies were recovered during the War and were buried within the confines of the park with the respect they deserved. They were cared for in death by the population of an Island that was inhabited from 1940 by the German Army. Yet, despite those tough times, the local population wanted those individuals to be remembered. 

As we walked along the rows of headstones, reading the names the grounds man was mowing the prestige lawn. The pattern created by the mower in uniformed strips. I stopped to talk to him and asked him about the headstones. He said rather sadly, very few people come here to see them. When I asked why, he said very simply “people forget they are here and time passes by…..”

He is right, time does pass by, but we should never forget this sacrifice. The majority of these men died many miles from home and now lie in a foreign land, some from within the UK and serving in the British Armed Services, others from the United States. Only one Grave represents Islander and that is the Grave of Maurice Jay Gould who had been born in England in 1924. His birthplace meant that he was deported from the Island at the start of the Occupation. He died in Germany aged just 19 in 1943. His body was returned to the Island in 1997 and buried in this special place.

On line Journal of Grave yard Rabbit

Guest Post at International Graveyard Rabbit

I have been invited to be an international guest poster at the on line journal of Graveyard Rabbits.

You can read my guest post HERE

Graveyard Rabbits

I am very proud to have been approached to be the seventy fourth in a series, which features members of the Graveyard Rabbit Association.

As a child I had routinely visited my Great Aunts, the sisters of my Grandfather. I would sit and play all the while listening to the conversations as they talked and reminisced about times past. It was those early conversations that sparked my love of genealogy and history.

I was in my early twenties and still visited my Aunts on a regular basis. By this time they were elderly and presumably looked forward to visits from younger members of the family. I started asking questions of my Aunts and jotting down the answers and suddenly realized that I wanted to plug the gaps in their knowledge and learn more about the family that I was part of.

My maternal family is from Surrey England. Indeed it is the County where I was born. As I started to research it was evident that for about 300 years my maternal family had moved no more than a 40 mile radius across the Counties of Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. It was only after both my Grandparents had deceased that I established that they themselves were 6th cousins. I wonder what they would have made of that?

The day I spotted my Great Grandmother on the England Census for 1881 was truly amazing. This was the Great Grandmother that I had visited and sat with aged about 3 years old. Quite remarkable and I knew then, I simply had to know and read all I could about the ancestors and family members that I had helped me to be come the person that I am today.

I like cemeteries and memorials, they are the link from the present to the past and deserve to be treasured in whatever form that takes. I am always saddened when I see a grave, neglected because time has passed and now there is no one to care for the grave and as time passes it will become unreadable and perhaps unloved.

This is the case for one set of my Maternal Great Grandparents.They are buried in a Cemetery in Guildford Surrey. My Great Grandfather buried in 1931 and my Great Grandmother in 1937. About ten years ago I was emailed by a fellow genealogist, we share several surnames the same, but can not find any connection. Anyway, had I seen the notice about The Mount Cemetery? I replied that I had not and in due course a photo of the sign was emailed across to me. On my next visit to Surrey a few weeks later I went to the Cemetery, located the plot and photographed the grave. The plot had been purchased by my Great Grandmother on a lease for 75 years. That had been what the notice was about. I pondered and upon my return home I contacted the cemetery office and laid claim to the grave and asked that the grave now be placed in my ownership. In doing so, the plot can not be disturbed without my consent and I am responsible for any repairs necessary.

On the same visit, I attend the grave of my other set of Maternal Great Grandparents. The grave was purchased in 1943 when my Great Grandfather was interned and then in 1971 by Great Grandmother passed away. At the time, one of my Great Aunts visited the grave weekly and created a little garden on the plot. There was no headstone. Since then my Great Aunt has passed away and although there are family members who care, and remember my Great Grandparents they are removed from thinking about the grave. I wandered around the cemetery looking for the plot, tricky with no headstone, just by vague remembering. Eventually I phoned my Mum who likewise could not really recall the plot anymore than I could, but asked had the little block of wood with a number on, made by my cousin been removed. I remembered the little block with the number on it. But could I see it, yes, but the grave didn't look the same. I enlisted the help of the Cemeteries department who confirmed with me the grave number and directed me to the plot. The plot was not where the block of wood was. It was the row in front. I had a horrid sinking feeling had we been visiting the wrong grave all these years? When I got home I had a chat with my Mum and we established that while my Great Grandmother and Aunt had been alive we had been visiting the correct plot. However, once my Aunt had been too infirm to visit it was the task of the next generation to visit and tender the grave. Mum recalls being directed to the plot by another of her cousins a lovely man, who had the family tendency to be slightly vague and I suspect that this was the root of the problem. So with some amusement and sadness the wrong grave has been tended for more the 30 years. Ironic that the very grave in front should not have a headstone either. The question for me is what is worse to be loved and remembered with no headstone so that errors like that one happen or to have a headstone that no one visits?

Over the last 20 years I have taken lots of photos of churches, memorials and graves, simply because it was a lovely church, or a family grave or maybe just because the surname was one of my family surnames and perhaps might fit into the genealogical puzzle. By taking the photos it is recorded in time, as it deserves to be. I spotted a link to Graveyard Rabbits on someone's blog and was intrigued. Over the festive period I had chance to have a further read of the website and thought it was a fantastic way of utilizing the digital photos that I had currently on Flickr. So I decided to enlist the help of my husband. I showed him the website and asked him to help me think of a nice suitable name. He did and Grave Encounters was created. The plan is now to go through the piles of developed photos and upload them to the blog site, a rather large task for 2011.

What better way than to spend a lovely sunny day, not too much sun or it will affect the photos! and wander around your local cemetery. Take photographs and upload them to an online blog and become a Graveyard Rabbit. I recommend it! I have not had any formal photographic training, I have a camera that is nice - the point and shoot variety, but I have been known to use my iphone for taking photos if I have seen something that I want to record. Work at your own pace and record for future genealogists what maybe lost over time. Why not stop by Grave Encounters and see how we are progressing.