Commonwealth War Graves

Things are getting easier for us now and from the sound of things places of worship will be open for use again from July though at the moment you can visit for personal prayer. I did not visit anywhere this week and the last photo I posted last week of a Commonwealth War Grave gave me an idea for another post. Most churchyards you visit in the UK you will come across a Commonwealth War Grave. If I see one in I will always take a photo of it as I believe they should never be forgotten. Sometimes you will find one or two in a churchyard in others many more. I will show a few of the ones I have come across and some of the War Cemeteries I have visited.

At St Mary's Church Cholsey Just inside the gate by the wall you will find this memorial which lists the names of men who are buried in the churchyard. This means they have no headstone and I have no doubt most died of of the influenza outbreak after the First World War they might also have suffered from Shell Shock and been in Fair mile Hospital and are buried in the cemetery where there are very few headstones marking them and the marker crosses have long since gone. 

The war grave on the left lists two names. One A Abdey who died on the 4th August 1914 not long after the war started. He never saw action because he was taken ill while at the base and died of cancer.  The following year his brother was killed. The grave on the left I have no doubt was a relation of there's  but if you read down you will see the family name has died out

Next I will take yo a few miles away to the Village of Harwell where  you will find this Commonwealth War Cemetery. Most of the men here died while in service with the RAF at Harwell though you will find a few from other services there as well and not far from the entrace is the headstone of a Woman who served in the Womens Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) she may well have been a local

North Hinksey Cemetery which is in Botley Oxford is another Commonwealth  War Cemetery I came across, I used to see it on my way home from work and went for a visit one day and was astounded at how big it was and the number of personnel buried there. In one corner you can find the graves of who I presume were German Prisoners of War. I never really did this place justice in my post so will be returning there again.

There are War Graves in the Other Oxford Cemeteries but none like Botley

 I thought Botley was big until I visited Brookwood which is Huge

This is a stitch photo of one part of the Canadian cemetery , you can visit the graves of those who died in Both Wars from most countries who took part even the Germans who died and there are sections for the different services. You can also see the cemetery of the Chelsea pensioners. I have yet to visit some of the other large War Cemeteries.

 Reading has a couple of large cemeteries this one in Caversham has a Commonwealth War Cemetery in it, but throughout the cemetery you will find war graves, I have taken photo's of some but there are a lot and I would go back if some one wanted a photo of a relative

This one stood out though it is not in the War Cemetery area You had to feel for the Family because it looks like he was captured at the beginning of the war, survived being a POW for five years only to be killed in an Air Crash on the way home.

This is another grave in the cemetery which I found a little odd as his wife who was killed in the same accident as him, I did wonder how they died.

 The Other War cemetery is at Cemetery Junction, if you walk around the old cemetery which is no longer is use you will come across over 100 Headstones around the Cemetery belonging to service men who died. The cross of Victory is over one end with a wall or remembrance. A small cemetery in Norcote Road In Tilehurst you can see a number of War Graves which are largely forgotten.

 Magdalen Hill- Cemetery Winchester is where you can find another War Cemetery with a Cross of Sacrifice

You will find a second smaller one to the Men from the Newfoundland Regiment who died.

Abingdon Cemetery in Oxfordshire you can see a lot of commonwealth war graves. Some are bunched together others scattered around. These are from World War Two and no doubt from the old RAF base just outside the town

In the other part of the cemetery across the road where you find many graves from Recent times the graves here contain the men who died in the Stutton Wick Air Crash
which was i a village a few miles away. I also came across men who died in another air crash near
  St Lawrence Toot Baldon.

In Dundee you will find this Memorial The Submarine Memorial to those who were lost at sea and have no grave, It was one place that really made me think. The State pillars have the Submarine that was lost and the list of crew who died, I cannot help think of the horror they went through in their last moments knowing there was no way they could get out.

 Go round the churchyards in the UK and you will more than likely come across a Commonwealth war grave. You cannot miss them as they are made to the same design with the crest of the Armed Forces they were in or in the case of the army you will find the regiment. The old difference is if you come across one who has one the Victoria Cross the highest honour for valour, that will be at the top. The headstone in St Botoph in Swyncome
belongs to Sargent A J Barnett who unfortunately was killed in a plane crash not far from where he is buried. He came from the Village 

This on in Kerry Wales was the first Slate Headstone I came across.

 This one at St John Baptist Whitchurch Hill
Threw me at first till I realised the initials stood for Non-Combatant Corps

Visit Benson in Oxfordshire and across the road from the church you will find the village cemetery, it contains a lot of Commonwealth War Graves who served at RAF Benson.

 There is one grave which belongs to the youngest person I have come across
He was 15 when he was killed in a flying accident with his tutor

I did return quickly to Botley cemetery where  I was looking for the graves of a Lancaster Crash at Lyford on the way you pass these graves on the corner of the Commonwealth War Grave section, they belong to German POW's and airmen who died

Not far away are the graves of Italian personnel

The Lancaster Crew I was looking for were buried next together with the pilot in the centre

While I was there I got to talking with a guy who was doing maintenance on the war graves, he pointed out the grave on the right which belonged to the only Greek Personal in the UK. The one on the right shows a WWI tank which I have not seen before

 This Grave is in a part on it's own over in the corner of the War Cemetery, it is the first nurse I have come across

I will leave you with this view of the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Botley and

 wish you all a peaceful weekend

St Michael and All Angels Kerry

I have to prologise because I did not go anywhere this week for a couple of reasons but I'm still not happy about going out places  but in a couple of weeks they are allowing  places of worship to open again so I will endeavour to venture out then but I do have a couple of blogs I can write before hand.

This is a place I forgot I visited back in 2012. I did have a specific purpose which was to visit the grave of an Airman Killed in a crash near Wallingford back in 1944. It's a story I had heard about and after seeing the cairn in memory to them at the junction of Andrew and Wilding roads in Wallingford I thought it would be good to find theirs graves sometime. I knew one of them was buried at Brookwood Cemetery and found out Sgt Andrews was buried at Kerry in Wales. After finding out where the place was my wife & I went out for a drive one day when we were on holiday.

St Michael & All Angeles looked like a typical church you would find in Wales

In the square near the church you can see the village War memorial

There were two men from the village who are named on the Memorial Sgt F/E J F Anders RAF is the person who dies near Wallingford and was buried at his local church

Now I did not take any photos of the church apart from the weather vane on the porch. I think the fact the church was locked and I had left my wife with the dogs was the reason

I did walk around the back looking for his grave and came across this Commonwealth War grave of Private Price Charles Evans in the overgrown grass. It was the first slate headstone I had seen

I realised there was a cemetery nearby so went there to look for the grave I was after

The cemetery held the more recent burials

I soon found the Grave of Sgt Andrews

I felt I had put closure to my quest in finding the two RAF heroes. When you hear the words "Greater Love has no man than he lays down his life for his friends" it rings true.

You can read more of what I found out about  Flying Officer J A Wildingford & Sargent J F Andrew in this link.

Take Care and have a wonderful weekend

St Mary Magdalene Shippon

This was the first church I have visited in three months and I was not expecting it to be open but then I needed to phone a church warden to arrange this and as things are at the moment I felt I would be asking a little much. Not much I can find on the church other than "St Mary Magdalene was built in 1855 to a design of Gilbert Scott." The entry door in the porch had a notice telling people it would be open for Prayer from 12am-1pm for personal prayer as as it was around 10am I did not think I should hang around to go inside so if you would like to see the interior then click this link that takes you to a fellow Church Crawlers Web Site Oxfordshire Churches.

From over the boundary wall at the roadside you can see the church is built in the mid 1800's being typical of that time

The village War Memorial is the first thing you pass after coming through the gate.

From over in the North East side of the churchyard gives a good view

There was not a lot of room to get a shot of the east

so I took another useing the wide angle lens as well

Going around the South side to the West end

Finally back around the South side

If you look over to the left as you come in the gate you see an area that seems to be made into a patio where a tree once stood

to the right a bit you can see over to the east end of the churchyard

Where you cannot miss these two huge tomb chests which are unusual in their design, not something I have seen before.

Carry on past and you come to the South side 

Where there are some  graves near the boundary wall, the building you see is the church hall

Above an unusual cross now fallen over and left safe.


Right the churchyard on the South side looking West

Where you can see a few family tombs and plots

Along to the West end of the churchyard

Where you go around to the North side.
Right a last look along the South side of the Churchyard

 and a final look at the two chest tombs

Just as I was going back I noticed the Commonwealth War Grave of  Private F.R.Bosbury who dies ages 18, it was almost hidden under the Yew tree but is remembered. RIP
Till Next time stay safe and have a great weekend