Monday Mourning ~ Tumbled Stones

Despite it's aged appearance, I took this photo only last year because I was amazed at the subsidence from rabbit burrows ~ of which there are many etc, that had caused this jumble of headstones in Southend~on~Sea Cemetery.

ARP Warden's Memorial ~ IOW

Sacred to the Memory of

Senior Warden EDWARD A. KERSEY

Warden MONTAGUE B. BRINTON

Warden WILLIAM M. COWBURN

Mrs ALICE F. HANN W.V.S

Killed on Duty during the War 1939 ~ 1945

We Will Remember Them

Erected by their Comrades of the Civil Defence

Warden and Ambulance Services East Cowes 

In September 1935, four years before WW2 began,  Stanley Baldwin the British Prime Minister, issued a circular entitled Air Raid Precautions ~ARP~  which suggested local authorities should make plans to protect their people in the event of a war. This included the building of public air raid shelters.

In April 1937 the government created an Air Raid Wardens' Service and during the next year recruited around 200,000 volunteers. These volunteers were know as Air Raid Precaution Wardens and their main role was to protect civilians from the danger of air~raids.

ARP Wardens patrolled the streets during blackouts, to ensure that no light was visible.
If a light was spotted, the warden would alert those responsible by shouting something like 'Put that light out!' or 'Cover that window!'.

Anderson Shelter in Garden ~ Gas Masks being carried in their cardboard boxes

The ARP Wardens also reported the extent of bomb damage and assess the need for help from the rescue and emergency services.
They were also responsible for the issue of gas masks and pre-fabricated air~raid shelters ~ Anderson and Morrison shelters ~ they also organised and staffed the public air raid shelters.

The ARP's knowledge of their local area, enabled them to find and reunite family members who had been separated after the 'All Clear siren' was sounded.
There were 1.4 million ARP wardens in Britain, mostly part time volunteers who had other full time day jobs.

The ARP Warden was issued with a helmet with the letter 'W' upon it, a whistle or wooden rattle, a hooded torch and canteen of water as seen here carved in stone.

Angel of Death

The Angel of Death is the title given to this monument of George William Lancaster and his wife Louisa Mary who died on this day in 1922.

In Sweet and Loving Memory of

George William

Lancaster

23rd January 1920

Aged 66 Years

'Love Lives Forever'

The memorial was sculpted by Sydney March in Portland stone and Bronze and is a Grade II listed monument in East Sheen Cemetery. This work was influenced by North Italian tomb sculpture ~ especially Leonardo Bistolfi ~ and is considered one of the most significant examples of funerary sculpture.

The Lancasters were a north-country family who made their money in coal mining.

Their monument was described by Hugh Meller, author of London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide & Gazetteer, as 'arguably the most dramatic sculpture in any of London's cemeteries'. I have to admit that it is one of my favourites too.

Louisa Mary

Lancaster

Died

June 23rd 1922

'She Lived For Others' 

It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction and I recently found this very interesting article by Sheldon K Goodman about the relationship between George and his wife Louisa, whom he was not even married to, for the full story please continue to read his article..

https://cemeteryclub.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/the-bronze-angels-of-london/

Colonial Governor ~ Sir Claud Hollis

Festina Lente

In Proud and

Loving Memory

Sir Claud Hollis

G.C.M.G  C.B.E

Born 12th May 1874

Died 22nd Nov 1961 

Festina Lente ~ Make Haste Slowly or More Haste, Less Speed

Sir Alfred Claud Hollis  GCMG, CBE ~ 1874 ~ 1961 ~ was British administrator who served as British Resident to the Sultan of Zanzibar between 1923 and 1929 and Governor of Trinidad and Tobago between 1930 and 1936 and author of a historical account of Spanish Trinidad.

He also wrote books on the Language and Folklore of the Masai and Nandi.

Summer Solstice

Today is the longest day of the year.

Daisies in St.Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Widdington, Essex

Wednesday's Child

Suffer Little Children To Come Unto Me

To the Memory of

Little Bennie

Who Died

November 9th 1869

Aged 11

Redeemed with the Precious Blood

of Christ

Benjamin Gilson Way

Beloved

And Only Child

of

Benjamin

&

Elizabeth Sarah Way

Suffragette ~ Emmeline Pankhurst

On this day 84 years ago in 1928 the British Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst died and was buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.
Pathe Film Clip of Emmeline Pankhurst

The Suffragette Movement

In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Socil and Political Union, along with her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. They wanted women to have the right to Vote and the Union became better known as the Suffragettes.

'Suffrage' means the right to vote and the National Union of Women's Suffrage had been was founded earlier in 1897 by Millicent Fawcett. Millicent believed in peaceful protest and patient logical debate.

Sylvia and Christabel

Although the Suffragettes started out peacefully the going was slow, by 1905 Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney interrupted a political meeting and asked Winston Churchill and Sir Edward Grey if they believed women should have the right to vote. When the men did not answer, the two women got out a banner with the slogan 'Votes for Women' on it. The women were arrested for causing an obstruction and refused to pay a fine, preferring to go to prison instead to highlight their cause. This kind of behaviour was unheard of at the time and really caused a stir, however the women refused to bow down.

Emmeline Pankhurst is Arrested

Others opposed to the movement were the Church of England and so the women burnt down churches, the Royal Family was also seen to be against women having the right to vote and so the women chained themselves to the railings outside Buckingham Palace. Shop windows were broken in London's Oxford Street and boats were hired to sail up the Thames, where abuse was shouted through loud hailers at Parliment. Paintings in galleries were slashed and post boxes set alight. Women refused to pay taxes and Politicians were attacked on their way to work and had their houses fire bombed.

Suffragettes happily went to Prison where they went on hunger strikes, however they were then force fed. This caused a public outcry as force feeding was reserved for the treatment of lunatics and these were mostly educated women.

The government responded with the Cat and Mouse Act, which allowed the Suffragette to go on hunger strike without being force fed, until becoming on the point of collapse and so weakened that she was unable to continue protesting. The Suffragette would then be released from prison before dying from starvation, which saved the government from embarrassment. Those that did recover were then re~arrested for the most trivial of charges so that the whole process could start again.

Emily Davison at the Derby

The Suffragettes took even more extreme measures to further their cause, when in June 1913 Emily Wilding Davison died when she threw herself at the King's racehorse during The Derby.

Emily Davison

Many men asked the question, that if an educated woman such as Emily could do this, then what might a lesser educated woman do ? How could they possibly be given the right to vote ?

Emily Davison's Funeral

In August 1914 at the start of World War One, Emmeline Pankhurst instructed Suffragettes to support the government and the War effort as a sign of patriotism by stepping into those roles left behind by men who had gone to war.

By 1918 selected women over 30 years old got the vote and in 1928, all women over 21 years old win the vote.