George Palmer – cricketer

We have long become accustomed to sensationalist tabloid journalism, but the heading in a Victorian issue of the Swindon Advertiser seems particularly insensitive. When a young cricketer collapsed and died on the pitch the heading read ‘His Last Innings.’

George Palmer was born in Northampton in about 1861 and we learn from the inquest report that he had served in the army in India before arriving in Swindon. At the time of the 1891 census he was lodging with William and Lucy Taylor at 20 Percy Street, Rodbourne where he worked as a Blacksmith’s Striker in the Works. He married Charlotte Annie Varney at the parish church in Fairford just seven months before his death.

His Last Innings

Sudden Death in the Cricket Field at New Swindon

A Cricketer Falls Down Dead

A shocking case of sudden death happened in the Recreation Ground, New Swindon, on Saturday afternoon. A young man named George Palmer aged about 34 years, and living at 15, Percy-street, Even Swindon, was playing for the Even Swindon Cricket Club against another New Swindon team. He was batting and had just hit a ball for five runs. Afterwards he made one run, and had just got to the wicket when he fell down dead. As he fell he uttered the words “Cover up my head,” and never spoke again. A doctor was sent for, who pronounced life extinct. The body was removed to deceased’s home, and Mr Coroner Browne communicated with. Deceased had only been married a few months.

The Inquest

An inquest was held on the body of deceased on Monday afternoon at the Dolphin Inn, Even Swindon, before Mr W.E.N. Browne, County Coroner, and a jury of whom Mr H.G. Hughes was foreman.

The first witness called was Henry Brooks, a GWR employe of 4, East-street, New Swindon, who said he knew deceased well. He had never heard him complain. Witness was umpire in the cricket match in which deceased was playing on Saturday. He was quite cheerful when he commenced playing in the match on Saturday. He had made eight runs, and had run six of them, when he fell down by the wicket. Witness thought deceased was in a fit. He was taken underneath a tree, and as he lay there he said, “put something over my head.” Deceased did not speak again, and died immediately. Witness had heard that deceased received a blow from a cricket ball whilst playing a match a few weeks ago.

Mr Hayward, a juryman, said he heard that deceased said as he was going to the match that he hoped he should not have a fit again.

Wm. Palmer, brother of deceased, said he saw him on Saturday morning, and he was quite well then. Deceased was struck with a ball on the temple about a month ago. On Saturday witness was playing with deceased in the match. He saw deceased fall, and went and fetched some water, but deceased did not speak again.

Dr. Howse, partner with Dr. Swinhoe, said he was called to deceased in the Recreation Ground, and found him quite dead. He had since ascertained that deceased had serves in the Army in India, and had a sunstroke. The circumstance tended to produce a weak heart and the excitement of violent exercise and the heat of the day would cause sudden stoppage of the heart’s action. In his opinion death was due to syncope or sudden failure of the heart’s action.

The jury returned a verdict accordingly.

George was buried not in Radnor Street Cemetery but in the churchyard at St. Mary’s, Rodbourne Cheney on June 19, 1895.

The Funeral

of deceased took place on Wednesday. Mr. Palmer had been a member of the Even Swindon United C.C. since its formation, and was always held in very high esteem by his own clubmates and local cricketers generally. Consequently a very large following from the various clubs in the district attended to pay their last respects, besides a good muster of his old shopmates and friends, numbering altogether upwards of 170. The houses en route to the church at Rodbourne had with few exceptions the blinds drawn and the route was lined with a large concourse of sympathising onlookers. The funeral service was conducted by Rev. C.T. Campbell, who delivered a very touching address at the graveside. The wreaths and flowers sent by various clubs and friends formed quite a floral display. The corpse was borne by eight members of the Even Swindon United C.C.

The Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, June 22, 1895.

William Hall – killed at work aged 13 years and eight months

At 13 years and 8 months of age William was working as a ‘slipper.’ A ‘slipper’ was a young lad who assisted with the movement of wagons by horses. He would place the chocks to ensure that the wagon did not move when parked. They were called slippers because the chock looked like a slipper.* As one of the jurymen remarked during the inquest – ‘he thought it a great shame that the Co. should employ lads at such work. It was very dangerous for the lads so employed.’

William Hall had a short life. You could easily miss him on the 1881 census returns where he is recorded as James William Hall aged 4 years old. He was then living in Llanelly, Carmarthenshire with his parents John and Ellen, and two brothers. William was born in Swindon in 1877 but by 1881 the family had lived in Wales for a few years. His younger brother Thomas was born in 1879 in Llantrisant while Frederick was born in Llanelly in 1883. By 1890 the family were back in Swindon living at 166 Rodbourne Road, handy for the Works where John worked as a Stationery Engine man and where William would soon join him.

The Fatal Accident at the GWR Station

On Saturday, Mr W.E.N. Browne, coroner, held an inquest at the Cricketers’ Arms, New Swindon, on the body of the lad William Hall who received fatal injuries at the GWR Station, New Swindon, on the previous Thursday. Mr T. Wheeler was chosen foreman of the jury, who then proceeded to view the body, which was lying at the GWR Medical Fund Society Hospital. Inspector Wheeler was present to watch the proceedings on behalf of the GWR Co. The following evidence was taken:-

John Hall sworn, said: I am father of deceased, whose age was 13 years and 8 months. He had been only two days in the employ of the GWR Co., but he was at the same work for three days a fortnight ago, but left and did nothing till he was taken on again during the past week.

Henry Roach, shunter, in the Loco. Dept., said he was standing near the E Box in the afternoon. He heard someone call out, and on looking round he saw the second wheel of the van go over the deceased. Witness went to the lad’s assistance and picked him up. He asked deceased how he got under the van, and he replied, “My foot caught in the points, and it threw me down.” Deceased was quite sensible when picked up. The driver was at the horse’s head.

By a juryman: – It was a general practice for boys to be employed in “slipping coaches.”

(A juryman here interposed with the remark that he thought it a great shame that the Co. should employ lads at such work. It was very dangerous for the lads so employed).

Albert James Ford, said he was a driver in the employ of the Great Western Railway Company. Deceased was working with him as a “slipper.” On the day of the accident he was at work with the deceased, as usual. The first he heard of the accident was when the boy, being caught under the wheel, cried out. He went to the lad, and found the wheel had passed over him, and his shoe was left in the points. It was a horse box that was being drawn, but the boy was not riding on it at all. Witness had that same morning cautioned the deceased against walking on the rails, and he was not doing so when the accident happened. If the lad’s foot had not caught in the points the accident would not have occurred.

Mr Cailey, assistant to Messrs Swinhoe, Bromley, & Howse, said deceased was admitted to the hospital about 2.30 p.m. on Thursday. He was suffering from severe injury to the thigh and one arm. Deceased had his boots on when brought to the hospital. He lingered till six o’clock, when he died from exhaustion.

The Coroner having briefly summed up, the jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death.”

The Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, Feb. 15, 1890.

c1886 View of Swindon GWR Works from railway line published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.

Today there is no one left to remember the young boy who was doing the work of a man. No one to remember that William Hall was 13 years and eight months old when he was killed at work.

William was buried on February 18, 1890 in grave plot B1778 – a public grave that he shares with two others.

*Many thanks to David Robert for correcting a previous error.

Sarah Cox – guilty of wilful murder?

The story of Sarah Cox was revealed for all to read in the local press; to question her morality; to gossip and pass on the details of her crime. Yet who knew the facts; who knew what had happened to her? Her employer W.H. Stanier, Chief Clerk to William Dean, Chief Locomotive Engineer at Swindon Works, described her as ‘a God-fearing, steady girl.’ To his knowledge she never went out but once a week, besides going to a place of worship.

She kept the secret of her pregnancy and the identity of the child’s father, but in the end she confessed to her crime.

The inquest on Sarah’s baby was reported at great length. Then, perhaps surprisingly, the charge was commuted from ‘wilful murder’ to the lesser, second indictment of ‘concealing the birth of her child’.

But what happened to Sarah …

Rolleston Street pictured in 1957 shortly before demolition. Published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.

Inquest on an Infant at Swindon

Verdict of Wilful Murder

On Saturday Mr. Coroner Browne held an enquiry at the Clifton Hotel, New Swindon, into the circumstances attending the death of an infant which was found buried in a garden at the rear of No. 28, Rolleston Street, New Swindon. The case has excited considerable gossip in the town. It appears that a young girl named Sarah Cox, in service at Mr. W.H. Stanier’s, the Sands, Old Swindon, was confined on Wednesday night, April 24^th, unknowing to any of the family, and that she took the child away in her box, and afterwards buried it in her brother’s garden in Rolleston-street. Mr George Wiltshire was chosen foreman of the jury, and the following evidence was taken:-

Richard Cox, brother of Sarah Cox, stated that he lived at 28 Rolleston-street. His sister came to his house on Thursday morning. He saw her at nine o’clock in the evening, after he came home from work. He went to bed that night about 11 o’clock, leaving her on the couch in the front room. She would not go to bed that night. She brought her box with her when she came to his house in the morning. He went to his work as usual the next day, and at twelve o’clock he was sent for by his wife, who told him of what had taken place, and that the body was in the back garden. He at once went into the garden, and saw where the earth had been removed, and then gave information to the relieving officer and Inspector Cruse. He saw Sarah Cox, his sister, about eight days previously, and noticed she was stouter than usual, but she had never made a decided statement that she was enceinte. His sister had been away from his house since October last, except coming occasionally since Christmas, on account of ill-health. His sister had had a child before, but it only lived a short time – some three months.

Mary Ann Heath, a laundress, living in the Quarries, Swindon, said she knew Sarah Cox as a servant at Mr. Stanier’s. She saw her there at a quarter to eight on Thursday morning. Witness had not then any suspicion as to the girl’s condition. She looked very ill; her face was as white as paper, and her lips were black. The girl never said anything as to her state of health. She left at half-past nine o’clock on Thursday morning in a cab, which Mr. Stanier had ordered;- By the Coroner; All the time witness was attending at Mr Stanier’s she never saw anything wrong with the girl, nor misjudged her in any way. The girl had told Mrs Stanier that she met with an accident a month ago. Mrs Stanier asked witness if she had any suspicion about the girl, and she replied, “Not in the least.” No complaint was made to her by the girl. Witness noticed a large bloodstain on the bed when she made it.

Inspector Cruse said that just before one o’clock on Friday morning he had his attention called to this matter by Richard Cox, and in consequence went to 28, Rolleston-street. He saw that the earth in the back garden had been disturbed. He removed it, and found about three inches below the ground the body of a newly-born male child wrapped in two newspapers, and with a piece of tape tied tightly round its neck. He saw Ellen Cox, the previous witness, who told him all that she had stated in her evidence. He had the body removed to the mortuary, and communicated with a doctor.

Mr E.C. Arnold, FRCS, MB, said he was called soon after one o’clock on Friday to the house, 28, Rolleston St. He went and saw Mr and Mrs Cox there. He went upstairs, and there saw Sarah Cox. He found she had every symptom of having been recently confined. She informed him that she had been delivered of a child on Wednesday night. He examined her in the presence of a witness. He saw the body of a child with a piece of tape tied round its neck. He afterwards made a post-mortem examination of the body and found that it had breathed. The girl said she had no recollection of anything except that she was confined on Wednesday night, and the next morning she found the child dead on the floor with the tape tied round its neck. He called in Dr. Streeten to assist him in the post-mortem examination, and they concurred in the opinion that it was fully developed, and perfectly healthy in every organ. There was a deep groove round the neck, and the signs were those of asphyxia. With the exception of the mark made by the tape, there were no signs of violence. The tape was tied with sufficient tightness to cause death. There was no proof, however, that the child had had a separate existence from its mother. The cord was divided near the placenta end, and had the appearance of having been cut, and not torn. The girl could have cut it herself.

Mr W.H. Stanier was the last witness called. He said that Sarah Cox had been servant at his house for the past six months. Within the last two months she had complained of stiffness in her hips. About four months ago she went to her brother’s in consequence of illness. During the past month she had frequently complained of her hip, and ascribed it to rheumatism. On several occasions she had gone to the GWR Surgery for advice and medicine.

On the night of Thursday, April 11, on her return from the surgery, she said that Dr. Bromley had advised her to take rest for a few weeks. Mrs Stanier asked her if she wished to go at once, or if she could remain until another servant was obtained. She replied that there was no difficulty in her staying a week or two longer.

The girl had a bedroom to herself all the time she was with the family. Mrs. Heath, the laundress, who had given evidence, had been in the habit of coming to assist in the house once or twice a week, and she would be the only woman likely to go into the girl’s room. On Thursday morning she got up and set the breakfast. Mrs. Stanier came to him shortly after eight o’clock, and remarked that the servant seemed very ill. The result of their conversation was that he ordered a cab to take her to her brothers. Mrs Stanier sent Mrs Heath to her bedroom, and she afterwards said there appeared to be nothing inconsistent with the girls’ statement.

Witness had previously consulted Dr. Bromley, and he said he did not notice that the girl was in the family way. Witness said he would like to add that he had always held the highest opinion of the girl’s character. He believed her to be a God-fearing, steady girl. To his knowledge she never went out but once a week, besides going to a place of worship. The excellent character she bore (disarmed) all suspicion.

This was the whole of the evidence and after some deliberation the jury returned a verdict of “Wilful Murder” against the mother, Sarah Cox.

The jury gave their fees to the Victoria Hospital.

Extracts from The Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, May 4, 1889.

The Alleged Wilful Murder

In the case of Sarah Cox, 27, servant, indicted for the wilful murder of her child at Swindon, the Grand Jury thew out the bill for wilful murder, returning a true bill on the second indictment of concealing the birth of her child at Lyneham. Prisoner pleaded guilt to the lesser count, and she was let out on her own recognisances and those of her brother to come up for judgment when called upon.

The Salisbury Times and South Wilts Gazette Saturday, July 6^th, 1889.

The details of the baby are recorded in the Radnor Street Cemetery burial registers as – Cox 1 day old 28 Rolleston Street buried on April 29, 1889 in plot B1178, an unmarked, public grave.

Albert Cook – a little boy crushed to death

This is the unbearably tragic story of three year old Albert Cook who hitched a ride home from school on the axle of a brewer’s cart. It is the story of two young boys who witnessed the accident but were too frightened to alert the carter, and were later called to give their evidence at the inquest. A story of unbelievable horror, which anyone at the scene would surely never be able to forget.

A Little Boy Crushed to Death

On Tuesday evening a most sad and painful accident happened to a little fellow named Albert George Stephen Cook, living with his parents at 10, Swindon Road, New Swindon.

It seems that a light covered wagon belonging to Col. Luce, brewer, of Malmesbury, was proceeding down Eastcott Hill on Tuesday evening, when a Mrs. Tyler living at 114, heard a scream, and running to the door saw a child entangled in the wheel. She immediately apprized the driver of the fact, and he stopped his horse, and with the help of P.S. Peplar, who was soon on the spot, started to extricate the poor little child from its awful position.

The body was so tightly fixed between the wheel and the axle that a “jack” had to be obtained from Messrs. Affleck, Bros., Prospect Works, and the wheel taken off before the child could be removed. This taking about one hour. Dr. Fox assistant to Drs. Rattray and Lavery, was sent for, but life was extinct.

It is evident that the child was doing what hundreds of them do every day, viz., swinging or riding on the backs of wagons, one of the most dangerous practices for a child, and after this frightful accident, we should think mothers would warn their children against it.

The Coroner was communicated with, and an inquest was held on Wednesday evening, at the “Globe” Inn, Eastcott Hill, before Mr Amos Barns, deputy coroner, and a jury of whom Mr Charles Fox was chosen foreman.

William Cook, living at 10, Swindon Road, said he was father of the boy, whose age was three years and two months, and his name was Albert George Stephen Cook. Harold Matthews, a boy of six summers, said he with others, including the deceased, were returning from school. When they got to Eastcott Hill, they saw a wagon, and they ran behind to get a ride. Deceased sat on the axle, and he (witness) thought he was looking out between the bed of the cart and the wheel to see if the carter was coming after them, when he caught his head in the wheel and springs. Witness was frightened, and did not call to the driver, but went away.

Jesse Goldsmith, aged nine years, said he saw deceased sitting on what appeared to him to be the drag chain, and he went to rise himself up, and in doing so, fell into the spokes of the wheel, which drew deceased up to the top, and then deceased body stopped the wheel. The driver of the wagon stopped at the top of the hill and the children were round the wagon then, and the driver drove them away, but they waited until he got up into the wagon again, when they ran to the back of the wagon as before.

Emma Tyler said she lived at 114 Eastcott Hill, and on the day in question, about 4.15 p.m., she heard a scream and ran to her front door and there saw deceased in between the wheel and the wagon, his head being drawn nearly up top of the wheel, whilst his body was twisted under the bed of the wagon. She called to the driver, who stopped the horse immediately, and got down.

Charles Warner, of Malmesbury, said he was a drayman in the employ of Col. Luce, of the Malmesbury Brewery, and he was the driver of the wagon on which the little child met its death. He said when he got to the top of Eastcott Hill he stopped, and put the drag and safety chain on. The vehicle was empty, but he thought it would be easier for the horse. There were several children waiting to get a ride, he supposed, when he got back into the wagon. He ran after them and told them to run away. When he started he had no children on the back, and he was not aware any came there until the woman called out to him. He found the child in between the off hind wheel and the bed of the wagon, with its body twisted round through the springs. He helped take the wheel off and the pins out of the springs before they could get the child out. From the position it was in, it must have been sitting on the axles or day-chain, and fallen into the wheel.

Dr William Monds Fox said he examined deceased and found very few external marks of injury, but the neck was dislocated, which caused death.

The deputy coroner said the main point the jury had to decide, was whether or not the driver of the wagon had shown any negligence or was to blame in any way in the matter. The foreman said the jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death,” and wished to exonerate the driver Warner from all blame.

The Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, August 24, 1895.

Albert G. Cook 3 years old of 10 Swindon Road was buried on August 23, 1895 in grave B2339 an unmarked, public plot, with three babies – 14 days old Henry Trappel who was buried on August 19, 1895; Stanley William Herbert Hayes, 8 months old, who was buried on September 22, 1921 and Leonard George Scott, 11 months old, who was buried on September 24, 1921.

Season of mists – last day

Sadly, we have arrived at the last day of our virtual walk through Radnor Street Cemetery – it’s been fun, hasn’t it and the weather wasn’t too bad? It could have been worse. We conclude by stopping off at the grave of William Chambers.

Despite a shortage of readily available building land and a depression in the railway industry during the 1870s, Swindon enjoyed a building boom throughout much of the late Victorian period. Many of our street names bear testimony to a number of local builders, George Street, Crombey Street, Colbourne Street, Ponting Street, Turner Street.

William Chambers lived and worked as builder and funeral director in the end house in Ashford Road, the one with the Calvary cross in the brickwork. The silhouette of the shop sign can still be seen. As we have already discovered William Chambers was building on the Kingshill estate in the 1890s.

William was born in Stroud in 1839 the son of Samuel, a handloom weaver, and his wife Maria. In 1859 he married Sarah Tyler and the couple raised their family of eight children in nearby Bisley where William then worked as an agricultural labourer.

In 1871 he was working as a bricklayer and by 1884 the family had moved to Swindon where William established himself as a builder and contractor. His four sons would eventually join him in the business, William and Alfred both bricklayers and Robert and Samuel who were joiners.
From 1884-1897 William was engaged in building projects in Stafford Street and Hythe, Kent and Maidstone Roads. In the last decade of the nineteenth century William was also busy building in Ashford Road.

At the time of the 1891 census eldest married sons Alfred and William both had homes in Stafford Street. Family folklore tells how so many relatives once lived in Stafford Street that it was known locally as Chambers Street.

William’s son Samuel took over the family business after his father’s death. A 1906 trade directory entry describes the business at 1 Ashford Road as under new management – S. Chambers (late W. Chambers) builder & contractor, dealer in all kinds of building material, funerals completely furnished, repairs promptly attended to at moderate charges.

William died in 1901 and Sarah in 1926. I think this stylish headstone befits a couple who spent their lives in the funeral business.

I’ve very much enjoyed your company this week. You may like to join us for ‘an in person’ cemetery walk this Sunday September 29. Meet at the chapel 1.45 pm for a 2 pm start.

Extracts taken from To Autumn by John Keats

Season of mists Pt IV

The sun is shining brightly this morning, but will the weather hold? I’ll make an early start, just in case, but you can relax at the kitchen table and take your breakfast at leisure. Join me on a virtual walk around the cemetery.

It’s easy to almost miss this magnificent pink granite monument to another railway father and son, encompassed by this large yew tree. Like the Carlton obelisk opposite that we visited on our summer walk, this memorial was also paid for by employees at the GWR Works.

James Haydon was born in Bristol in 1826. The Railway Employment Records available on the Ancestry website, indicate that James entered the railway employment in March 1851 when he was about 25 years old.

By 1861 he was working as an engine fitter in the Swindon Works. He lived with his wife Ellen, their young son Lancelot and his wife’s nephew Henry Wardle at 9 London Road. Sharing number 9 were Thomas Watson and his wife Ann along with Ellen’s parents, Lancelot Young (who at 64 was still working as a boilersmith) Eleanor Young and several other Wardle children. Things must have been very cosy at number 9.

By 1871 James Haydon was Deputy Manager at the Works and was living in a house in what was then still known as Sheppard Fields. This later became Sheppard Street, named after the former owner of this area, John Harding Sheppard.

James died on July 5, 1888. He had been Assistant Manager in the Loco Works for 22 years. The inscription reads ‘this monument has been erected as a token of affection and esteem by his fellow officers and employes.’

Also remembered on this memorial is James’s son, Lancelot who died in 1894 aged just 38. Lancelot followed his father into the works and his career can be charted through the same railway records. He began work as a pattern maker apprentice in 1871. In 1877 after he had finished his apprenticeship, he transferred to the Drawing Office. In 1881, by then a mechanical draughtsman, Lancelot left the GWR for an appointment on the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway, but by 1888 he was back at the GWR firstly as Assistant Draughtsman and later as Chief Draughtsman.

At the time of the 1891 census he was living at his old family home, 21 Sheppard Street, with his wife Isabella and their young daughter. The following year Lancelot was on the move again, this time to Newton Abbott as Assistant District Superintendent Loco Carriage Dept. He died less than two years later.

Tomorrow we meet another man who has left his mark on Swindon but now I will take a brisk walk down the hill as I’m sure I just felt some spots of rain.

Season of mists Pt III

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too –
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

To Autumn by John Keats

Join me on another virtual cemetery walk from the comfort of your home.

There has been heavy rainfall over night and underfoot is very damp and slippy. But I have come prepared as today I am taking you to a crowded corner of the cemetery where there are some magnificent monuments with some classic funeral iconography.

The IHS on this cross is the Greek representation of Jesus Christ’s name. The garland of flowers around the cross represents victory in death. This is the last resting place of Edward Henry Sammes. It’s interesting that his family should make a point of adding ‘of Swindon’ to the inscription because Edward was not originally from Swindon but was born in Lambeth in January 1842, the son of William and Sarah Sammes.

The first reference to Edward in Swindon is in the 1871 census when he is 29 years old and living a 1 Belle Vue Road where he describes himself as a grocer. That same year he married Sarah Anne Spackman from Wootton Bassett. The couple had two children William and Millicent who are both buried here as well.

At the time of the 1881 census Edward described himself as a retired grocer. By 1889 he was a member of the Old Swindon Local Board, so well placed to know plans for development in the town. The family were then living at Wycliffe House in Devizes Road.

In 1892 Edward submitted a planning application to build eight houses on the corner of Kent Road and Maidstone Road. The land had orginally come on the market in the 1870s but development was slow to take off. However, by the 1890s the area was pretty much one huge building site.

A map of Edward’s project shows an empty site next door on the corner of Kent Road and Ashford Road with another empty site opposite. The building specifications for Edward’s houses describe three bedrooms, a parlor, sitting room, kitchen, conservatory, scullery, WC, coals and pantry. At the other end of the road rival builder William Chambers had a yard opposite his own development at Ashford Terrace.

Edward died in 1897 aged 55. He left £5,814 18s 6d to his widow Sarah and son William, worth today somewhere in the region of £2.7 million.

I’m not sure if his son William ever worked or whether he spent his whole life living off his inheritance. In the 1911 census the family are living at 31 Devizes Road where William, then aged 35, and his sister Millicent 27 are both living on private means.

We have been fortunate with the weather today. And doesn’t the cemetery look beautiful in its Autumn finery. But then it always looks beautiful to me. I look forward to keeping your company tomorrow.

Season of mists Pt II

And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

To Autumn by John Keats

Hope you can join me from the warmth of your sitting room where the logs crackle in the hearth and the wind moans down the chimney. You might have expected the cemetery to be inaccessible after the deluge yesterday, but I shall pull on my wellington boots and my raincoat and venture forth.

This is the final resting place of members of the Wall family, husband and wife William and Mary Ann, and their son Arthur Henry.

Arthur was born in 1899, one of William and Mary Ann’s six children of whom sadly only three sons survived childhood. He grew up in Rodbourne living at addresses in Redcliffe Street, Drew Street, Linslade Street, Montague Street and Jennings Street. William worked as a Boiler Maker in the railway factory and when young Arthur left school he followed him into the GWR Works and the same trade.

Following the outbreak of war in 1914 Arthur was keen to join up and enlisted in the 2nd Wiltshire Battalion on January 12, 1915. He gave his age as 19. He was in fact not yet 16, but recruiting officers were apt to turn a blind eye to a fresh faced, eager young volunteer. He was posted to France on June 1 where his age was quickly detected and on July 7, 1915 he was sent back to England as being ‘under age and physically unfit for service at the front.’ He spent the following year in service on the home front before returning to France in June 1916, this time in the 1st Hertfordshires.

His service records reveal that on May 12, 1918 he was gassed. His medical records state that his capacity was lessened by 40% and he was left with defective vision and suffering from headaches. He was discharged on November 23, 1918 as being no longer physically fit for war service. He received a pension of 11s and returned to Swindon where he married Mabel Pinnegar in 1919.

Whether Arthur was able to return to work as a boiler maker remains unknown. In 1920 he wrote to the Infantry Record Office asking if he was entitled to anything under Army Order 325/19 concerning the Territorial extra allowances. He received this reply:

‘I regret to inform you that you are not entitled to any extra pay or allowances under Army Order 325 of 1919 as you were discharged on 23rd November, 1918. The increase of pay authorised under the Army Order in question was only granted from 1st July, 1919 to soldiers who were actually serving on the date of the order, viz 13th September 1919.

Arthur died on May 22, 1922 aged just 23 years old. Have you noticed the date of death of Arthur and his father William? You can read more about the sad event here.

But for now I think I shall quicken my step and head off home as the rain clouds are gathering again. See you tomorrow to continue our virtual tour of Radnor Street Cemetery.

Season of mists in Radnor Street Cemetery

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To Autumn by John Keats

It is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and time for a virtual walk among the memorials at Radnor Street Cemetery. I shall don my raincoat and carry an umbrella as the weather forecast is not good, but you can put on the kettle, make a cup of tea and join me from the comfort of your electronic device. Meet me at the Kent Road gate.

We begin with an incomer to Swindon and a gravestone in a precarious condition. As you can see there is a crack beginning to creep around the edge. Invariably, when this happens the whole surface of the stone shears off when all record of that person is lost. Sadly, there are a number that have so suffered when you look around the cemetery.

This is the last resting place of Jane Martinelli who died in 1893 aged 65. From the brief details on the gravestone I wondered if Jane and Thomas might be Italian however, further research has revealed that Jane was born in Worcester, and this is about all that can be discovered about her. The Martinelli story, on the other hand, is one of fluctuating fortunes.

In the 1891 census Jane is living with husband Thomas at 13 John Street, Swindon. Thomas worked as a Railway Coach Builder and states his place of birth as St. Pancras, London. He was baptised at Trinity Church on December 26, 1831, the son of Louis Martinelli, also a coach maker.

Thomas was descended from an Italian family famous for making barometers and thermometers and was the grandson of Aloysious Louis Martinelli born in Como, Italy sometime between 1761-1771. By 1799 he was living in London where he married Abigail Marshall at St. Anne’s Church, Soho. He died in the Lambeth Workhouse in 1845 aged 84.

Returning to Swindon and Jane’s story. The Martinelli’s didn’t have any surviving children and tracking them through the Victorian census returns reveal they lived in Manchester and Birmingham before arriving in Swindon.

Thomas married again in 1894, the year after Jane’s death. When he died in 1905 he was buried here with Jane. Regrettably, his name was not added to the headstone.

Well, the predicted downpour has ensued and I feel a chill in my bones. Time to be heading home, I think. Join me again tomorrow. Same time, same place?

Call yourself a Swindonian?

Can you call yourself a Swindonian? Many an argument has ensued about how long you have to live in Swindon before you’re considered a local; 20 years, 30 years, 2 generations – or more?

Walter Rumble was born in Chieveley, Berkshire in 1864 and began his working life as a Carter Boy (a farm servant). In 1890 he married Annie Caines and by the time of the 1891 census the couple were living at 128 Stafford Street. Walter worked as a general labourer, most probably in the GWR Works where he remained for the rest of his working life.

Yesterday I met Walter’s great-grandson at the Swindon Society Open Day held at the Lawn Community Centre, Guildford Avenue. There were displays from the Society’s extensive photographic collection (including the many albums of Beaney photos) talks about Alfred Williams and Radnor Street Cemetery and more local historians on call than you could shake a stick at!

And then Mr Rumble showed me a booklet his father was presented with as a schoolboy in 1928 – Borough of Swindon – Extension of the Borough 1^st October 1928.

Walter and Annie lived at various addresses in Stafford Street where Annie died at No. 105 in 1926. She was buried in Radnor Street Cemetery in grave plot D826.

Walter later lived with his son Frank and daughter-in-law Violet at 134 Ferndale Road where he died aged 80 and was buried with his wife in 1944.

I think members of the Rumble family can consider themselves Swindonians – but what about you?