A Vandalised Tombstone

This tombstone at Llandaff Cathedral was "vandalised" on the night of January 2nd 1941, by a parachute mine which destroyed the Cathedral's roof and much of the interior.

It was the tombstone of George Ashburner of Tilgate, Sussex, who died in 1869 and was buried in Llandaff.

When the parachute mine exploded, a great chunk of this large, heavy monument was blown into the air, landing in the bath of the White House, a church property which stands on ground at least 30 feet higher than the graveyard!

A small fragment of the tombstone, bearing a plaque engraved with the story, sits on the grass in front of the White House. The main bulk of the stone, pictured here, now lies peacefully under a sycamore tree by the Cathedral.