Page 2 of 5
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:50 am
by johnnyboxer
Hugh wrote:Hello again,
One of the interesting points in the Peak District is that Maurice Oldfield, who was the son of a local tenant farmer, was head of MI6 from 1973 - 1978 and is thought to be the inspiration for one of the characters in 007. He lived in the village of Over Haddon, close to Bakewell, and is buried in St Anne's churchyard.
Another piece of useless information off my conveyor belt of a brain cell
TTFN
Hugh.
Hugh
He was my ex- wife's uncle
We were married in Over Hadden church
He was indeed much of the inspiration behind Le Carre's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy too as well as M in 007
He was a quite enigmatic man
Martin Pearce's (his nephew) recent book is worth a read too
One of the first Spymasters not to be OxBridge and he went to Manchester university
His ww2 war service is fascinating too and part of the reason he entered MI6
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 9:13 am
by Alan29
I like the possibly mythical one that reads
George Smith - peace at last.
Mildred Smith - til we meet again.
I did love the pair of gravestones I saw in Gloucestershire where a Willy was buried next to a Fanny. Didnt have my camera with me.
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 9:19 am
by dodursley
Clearwell, Forest of Dean, a simple gravestone to a brave man.
Grave of F G Miles who received the Victoria cross in January 1919 for actions in the last days of the war (23 October 1918) and was buried here in 1961 Link
http://www.victoriacrossonline.co.uk/fr ... 4587643984
One of the locations in our Gloucestershire Armistice Challenge see
https://sites.google.com/site/vmccsc/news
- miles VC.JPG (151.76 KiB) Viewed 5214 times
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:26 am
by daveuprite
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2020 2:00 pm
by Flintlock
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 8:16 am
by dibbs
Yes fascinating places. I recently took my bike for a service and whilst waiting went for a hike round the local village, and found a war memorial and it was amazing to see how many brothers and members of the same family had lost their lives in the great war and ww2, makes one feel very humble and grateful as they were so young, and being a parent myself it brings home the sorrow their parents must have felt.
Then on the flip side the earlier post about the lady's inscription saying about standing on my boobs! and my personal favourite (was it spike milligan?) who's inscription was 'I told you I was ill!!' lol....
Interesting topic this!
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:07 pm
by mark vb
It's a subject which fascinates me, too. I particularly like the interments found in S. America, which are generally above ground, often comprising elaborate mausoleums, often with glazed doors that enable the coffins, sarcophagi, photographs and so on to be seen. Some have stairs leading down to a subterranean crypt. Below is one of the many avenues in Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires.
I've always quite fancied building my own mausoleum, as a retirement project, in the depths of my garden (which fortunately is wooded and remote from complaining neighbours).
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 12:57 pm
by Flintlock
dibbs wrote: ↑Mon Aug 17, 2020 8:16 am
Yes fascinating places. I recently took my bike for a service and whilst waiting went for a hike round the local village, and found a war memorial and it was amazing to see how many brothers and members of the same family had lost their lives in the great war and ww2, makes one feel very humble and grateful as they were so young, and being a parent myself it brings home the sorrow their parents must have felt.
Then on the flip side the earlier post about the lady's inscription saying about standing on my boobs! and my personal favourite (was it spike milligan?) who's inscription was 'I told you I was ill!!' lol....
Interesting topic this!
Yes, life dealt Mr McLean a grim hand. Other interesting occupants of the graveyard included a missionary shot dead in Africa, an ex RAF Pilot who went on to help form the Columbian Air Force.
Also a couple of 13th Century Norman coffin lids propped up against the wall of the church
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:16 pm
by gbags
Flintlock wrote: ↑Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:05 pm
Came across this grave yesterday evening.
Two brothers, both served in WW1 and both survived, between them awarded
Three DSO's
One MC
Three Croix De Guerre
Mentioned in Dispatches twelve times.
Returned home to Ireland and both killed in the Irish War of Independance
20180704_194045.jpg
20180704_194017.jpg
20180704_194809.jpg
I agree that graveyards are very interesting as well as peaceful.
I’m not being flippant but I wonder if those officers were still serving the crown and killed by Irishmen or Irish patriots and killed by the Crown forces?
In Exeter there’s a Commonwealth War Grave with Allied airmen from all over the world, laid almost beside German airmen, which is pretty poignant.
Re: Graveyards
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:35 pm
by Richard Simpson Mark II
The Irish war was a tangled web for sure.
This man's life (and death) is as good an example as any
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_Childers_(author)
British patriot and decorated soldier, Irish patriot, a martyr to the republican cause executed by the republic. Make sense of that!
