First Visits This Year

Visiting Commonwealth War Graves as a Commission Volunteer I get to see some great sights. People tend to concentrate on the easily recognisable headstones, all have a story behind them, the not so recognisable ‘private memorials’ also looked after by the commission often tell a lot more of the story, more room on the headstone.
Just occasionally you see headstones as shown in today’s photo, poignant does begin to cover it. I have seen several, either headstones like this or ashes interred in their husband’s CWGC plot. Lillie, a widow for forty-eight years, I wonder what her story was, growing old alone perhaps. Somewhere in France in a grave or on a memorial her husband Joseph will be remembered always and honoured every November, his service and death remembered in the Commonwealth War Graves archives, his name also on the village War Memorial while Lillie fades from memory in a churchyard in Cornwall.

I’ve not visited any of my allocated cemeteries since December, since I slipped in a wet Feock churchyard last autumn I’ve been more careful but it was good to be back today. Except for one private memorial I walked straight to the headstones of all those I had come to visit, at least the memory isn’t failing yet!

Home to walk Paddy and a coffee with Mrs S before she left for work.