A Pause For Thought

The sun shone, Clare was on a ‘no shift’ day and I fancied doing some of my Commonwealth War Graves Commission volunteering. So accompanied by Samantha and Paddy we set off for St Gluvias in Penryn, one of the six cemeteries I look after. Most have one grave or memorial listed, St Gluvias has eleven.
As well as searching for the official war graves and private memorials listed on the official form I also keep my eyes open for those not listed. So far I have covered around 30% of St Gluvias and already uncovered these three. Strictly speaking we are not supposed to clean or clear them, we check that the writing is legible and visible and that the headstone is not deteriorating but often it’s clear that they are no longer visited in which case I clean them.
Every headstone has a story behind it and if researched/discovered that story can be moving and uplifting.

Particularly poignant today was this memorial to a young lad, not yet 17. Virtually everybody with a love or knowledge of Naval History will have looked at the date of his death and known straight away that he was almost certainly onboard HMS Repulse or HMS Prince of Wales which were sunk by Japanese bombers on that date.

I feel some research coming on.