Volunteering

This limestone gravestone with, at the top, an engraving of a vessel in tumultuous seas is to be found in Mylor Churchyard.
As well as my Commonwealth War Graves volunteering I wanted to see this and the H.M.S Ganges Memorial shown in the ‘extras’.
The gravestone commemorates a disaster thought to have been one of the worst, in UK waters, ever. The ship, Queens Transport, had arrived from Lisbon and anchored in Carrick Roads. As well as soldiers and seamen from the Peninsula War she was conveying many of their family members. During a violent snowstorm on 13 January she began to drag her anchor. In the small hours of the following day in the midst of a dark and stormy winter’s night the cable parted. By dawn she was a total wreck, and 195 of the 330 on board perished. They are buried in a variety of local churchyards, where they were washed up in due course.

Sam came with me and was hugely interested in the 16th century ‘graffiti’ and masons marks on the church along with the natural spring fed well in the churchyard.

Returning home I rowed again in the evening, the most enjoyable session yet before heading home to BBQ for Mrs S, Sam and I. Love the warm evenings, nothing beats a BBQ with family and a cold beer to finish a family day.