It was the name of the occupant that drew my attention to this grave.
Ignatius Michael Howell. He had a brother, Aloysius. Pretty distinctive names in Stratton St Margaret, I would imagine.
St Ignatius was an early Christian writer. He was one of the five Apostolic Fathers and the third Bishop of Antioch. He died c108 in the Roman arena. St Aloysius was a 16th century Jesuit who died during an epidemic in 1591. It’s probably fair to say that William and Esther Howell were a devout couple.
William worked as a Railway Clerk and in 1884 when he was 16 years old, Ignatius followed his father into the Works in the Clerks & Draughtsman Department. By 1893 he was earning £80 a year, rising to £110 by 1899.
Ignatius married Kate Celestine Knight on November 25, 1889 and the couple had eight children – seven daughters and one son, Mary, Agnes, Kathleen, Gertrude, Margaret, Monica, Winifred and William.
Ignatius died at his home at 154 Croft Road on April 19, 1951. He was buried in grave plot C3437 with his daughter Agnes who died in 1916 and his wife Kate Celestine who died in 1928.
This is the final entry in the Crimean War Diary written by John Harris and published in the Swindon Advertiser after his death in 1902.
Jan. 1 (1856) – Very cold, with much snow. Firing from the north side continues during the day. At night rockets are observed on the heights.
Jan 2. – The troops are comfortable in huts – several of the outpost sentries have been found frozen to death at their posts. The Russians continue to throw shot and shell into the town. The rations are, generally, of a better quality than have been hitherto served out to the troops.
Jan. 3. – Received orders yesterday to hold ourselves in readiness to proceed to Kertch, as the Russians are collecting in force in that district. It will be a difficult march at this time of the year, although the distance is not great. But the mountain passes are covered with snow, and very deep.
Jan. 4. – Marched to-day at 10 a.m. for Kertch and encamped at Bidar for the night, caught a violent cold, which I thought would prove my death. We had to keep our watch fires going the whole of the night, as wolves came down in great numbers. We lost one man during the night, and it was supposed that he was taken away whilst on sentry duty, as his carbine and much blood was found near his outpost.
Jan. 5. – Awoke this morning before daylight. It was bitter cold, and my limbs nearly contracted with the damp and cold. I was nearly ready to give up. We are to remain at Bidar until the river is going down, and we shall be able to ford it to-morrow.
Jan. 7. – Marched over the Bidar bridge this morning and reached Kertch at 9 p.m. much fatigued. Have the damp wet ground and the dreary tent once more.
Jan. 12. – All the Russian outworks round Kertch were destroyed by our men yesterday and to-day. Fresh butter was offered to-day by the Tartans and the country people at 3s per pound.
Jan. 25. – The Russians are very quiet in their batteries, and fresh supplies are coming in great abundance from the out villages. The English and French mail arrived with the intelligence of an armistice between all the powers for the space of six weeks.
Having between Jan. 25th, and Feb. 6th, gone to Balaclava, the writer of the diary continues:
Feb. 7. – The Russians hoisted a flag of truce from the heights, and from the staff fort in Sebastopol. They have received the news of an armistice. The Russian General and the generals of the French, English and Sardinians will meet to-morrow at 11 o’clock, half-way on the traction bridge, to sign the articles of the armistice. No firing or any other warfare to be carried on for six weeks.
Feb. 8. – All hands employed raising the dock gates. Great rejoicing among the Russians on account of the Armistice. Salutes were fired for the occasion.
Feb. 9. – A holiday was given all the troops, and all Government offices closed for the day.
Feb. 10. – Wind bitter cold; several men frost-bitten in their fingers, ears, noses and above the ankles. Others have had their fingers and toes amputated. One man was obliged to have both his feet taken of just above the ankle. Other have had their fingers taken off, and another had his ear off. My nose was frost-bitten, and as white as a lily, but I got it round by rubbing plenty of snow into it.
Feb. 14. – Escorted prisoners to Balaclava. One got away on the road, but was recaptured.
Feb. 16. – Stores and men arriving from England, and in the course of other two months Camp to Balaclava; distance, nine weary miles. We shall be able to take the field with a fine and powerful army.
Feb. 23.- Two Greeks shot on the Heights for killing a French soldier.
Feb. 27. – Snow fell very heavy during the night. A Greek sailor was hanged from the yard-arm of the Black Eagle, for attempting to set fire to an English vessel laden with powder.
Feb. 28. – Wind bitter cold; many cattle found frozen on the plains. Two French soldiers shot for killing and robbing an English soldier on the road from Balaclava to the camp. A Greek spy was caught in the English camp and shot.
Feb. 29.- Two English officers suffocated in their huts by using charcoal to keep them warm.
March 7. – The English mail has arrived with good news. Peace is proclaimed. All men paraded for a field-day. Salutes fired from all the forts, fires lighted on all the hills, and fireworks displayed.
From this date to the 18th July the old soldier records the various incidents which lead up to the close of the war and the return home. On the 18th of July he records as follows:-
Entered the chops of the English Channel, and passed the island of Jersey at 4 p.m. We then caught a glimpse of the white cliffs of old England, and all the crew and the troops gave hearty cheers, which seemed to echo back to the good old ship the news of our welcome home.
July 19. – Landed at Portsmouth at 9 a.m., and marched to the Railway Station with several bands playing “Cheer, Boys, Cheer,” “Auld Lang Syne,” and “See, the Conquering Heroes come.” We are now safely landed in England after twelve months hard toil on the battle field.
The diary is concluded with the following statistics in relation to the death roll:-
English loss 30,301
French loss 45,284
Sardinians loss 9,112
84,697
Russian loss 174,989
Swindon Advertiser, Friday, August 8, 1902.
John returned to England and in 1859 married Sarah Coleman at St. Mary’s Bathwick. By 1861 they were living in Swindon at the appropriately named 5 Alma Terrace* with their year old son John Frederick Mark. John was employed as an accounts clerk in the GWR Works, a job he would retain until his retirement.
Subsequent census returns record him living at 19 Bridge Street (1871); 2 Queen Street (1881) and finally at 24 Sanford Street (1891 & 1901) where he died in 1902.
He was buried on August 2, 1902 in grave plot E8002, which he shares with his wife Sarah who died in January 1908.
*The Battle of Alma took place in Crimea on September 20, 1854
“Put your feet up Gramps,” we used to tell my grandfather. Always dashing about he was, as if a ten hour shift in the Rolling Mills wasn’t enough to tire him.
Then, of course there was the Chapel. What little spare time he had was spent in the Baptist Chapel just behind the house where he and Nan lived. He might as well have lived there, I used to think. Wonder he hadn’t worn a path from the garden gate to the Chapel door.
One of the founding deacons he was, along with a Sunday School teacher and a dozen other duties he performed.
When he retired they presented him with an armchair.
“There we are Gramps, now you can put your feet up proper.”
He never did, mind.
The facts …
Ebenezer Evans was one of the foundation deacons of the Cambria Baptist Chapel
A Teacher’s Retirement – On Sunday afternoon an interesting ceremony took place at the Cambria Baptist Chapel, New Swindon, in the presentation to Mr Ebenezer Evans of an easy chair as a slight token of the esteem of his fellow teachers on his retiring from the school through advancing years and consequent declining health. Mr Evans has been a teacher in the Sunday School for 20 years, and had spent a similar time in Sunday School work in South Wales before coming to Swindon. The presentation was made by Mr J. Green, superintendent, on behalf of the teachers and scholars, who willingly subscribed towards the gift. Mr Evans, evidently much surprised, thanked the subscribers for their kindness, adding some good advice to those present who were beginning life.
The Faringdon Advertiser, Saturday, August 13, 1898.
Ebenezer Evans moved to Swindon following the opening of the Rolling Mills. By 1868 he was living at 38 Cambria Place and the 1871 census describes him as a 40 year old Rail Straightener born in Beaufort, Brecon. Living with him were his wife Jane and children John L. 14, Elizabeth 12 both born in Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire and David 8, William 5, Sarah 3 and 1 year old Edith all born in Swindon. Also living with them in the small cottage were two lodgers. The couple would go on to have another two children, Mary Ann and George.
Jane, wife of Ebenezer Evans, died in November 1900 aged 65 and was buried on November 8 in grave plot C1167. Ebenezer died in 1903 aged 72 and was buried with his wife on February 19, 1903.
You saw it happen so often in those days, a mother or father would die suddenly, but to lose both parents within a matter of three years was heart-breaking for those poor children. Little Arthur was just four years old when his mother died and only seven when he lost his father.
I would have happily taken that little boy into our home. It would have been what his mother would have wanted. We were close, the two of us. But his father had obviously made provision for his family.
It would have been hard on those children had their father not been a Freemason. The girls received a good education and Walter, the brother just a couple of years older than Arthur, went into the railway factory before moving to Wolverhampton and a job as a fitter in the GWR Stafford Road works. But I never knew what had happened to that little boy.
I often thought about young Arthur then one day there was a knock on my door and who do you think was standing there but him. My, he had grown into a handsome young man – I could see something of his mother in him. He came in for a cup of tea and a piece of my sponge cake and he told me he was about to start work as a clerk in the Works, following in his father’s footsteps.
He had been to the burial ground at St. Mark’s to visit his parents’ grave, but things looked very different to how he remembered them and he came away without paying his respects. Perhaps someone could help him find the grave? He’s been gone a long time.
The facts …
When Arthur White’s father Richard Lewis White died in 1879 it seems likely it was members of Swindon’s Freemasonry who provided for the young boy and his family of siblings.
Richard Lewis White, secretary and chief accountant for the GWR locomotive and carriage department, was a member of The Gooch Lodge when he died in 1879, leaving behind six orphaned children from his first marriage.
The first clue to what happened to the children comes in a newspaper article published in the Western Daily Press, Bristol on Wednesday, September 17, 1879:-
Somerset and Wilts Freemasonry – The balloting papers for the election of daughters of Freemasons to the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls have just been issued. The election will take place at the Freemasons’ Tavern, London, on Saturday October 11th. There are 48 candidates on the list, and 18 vacancies in the school. Among the candidates are one from Somerset and one from Wilts. The Somerset candidate is Mabel Jane Sampson, whose father, Thos. Sampson, nurseryman and farmer, was initiated, in the Lodge of Brotherly Love, No. 329, Yeovil, on the 16th March, 1859. The Wiltshire candidate is Adelaide Louisa White, ten years of age, whose father, Richard Lewis White, a clerk on the Great Western Railway, died on the 6th of February last. He was initiated in the Gooch Lodge, No. 1,395, New Swindon, on the 4th of April, 1870, of which he became Worshipful Master. He was also Past Provincial Grand Sword Bearer of Wilts.’
Adelaide was one of the successful candidates, polling 1,118 votes and at the time of the 1881 census she is recorded as a pupil at the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls, Battersea. In the same census Eleanor, aged 17, is recorded as a pupil at Queen’s College, a private school in Islington and 12-year-old Walter is a pupil at The College, Beach Road, Weston Super Mare.
Arthur’s eldest brother Richard Corbett White died in 1877 aged 15 while his sister Frances worked first as a domestic servant and then a dressmaker at the time of her marriage in 1893.
And what of little Arthur who was just four when his mother died and seven when his father died.
The first definite sighting of Arthur is on January 4, 1887 when he enters the GWR employment as a Lad Clerk and it is possible to track his employment record in the Swindon Works. By 1902 he is Assistant Chief Clerk and in 1918 he is promoted to Chief Clerk. His annual salary rose from £45 in 1889 to £1,000 in 1924, so the boy orphaned as a seven-year-old did well. And like his father he also became a Freemason, joining the Royal Sussex Lodge of Emulation in 1919.
Arthur married Emily Sendell in October 1917. He was 45 and she was 41. They did not have any children.
Arthur died on October 24, 1929 at his home in Okus Road. He left effects valued at more than £4,000 to his widow Emily. He was buried in plot E8134 in Radnor Street Cemetery on October 29, 1929, where Emily joined him when she died in 1968 aged 92.
Images of London Street published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
The GWR Company doctors came and left, but the Swinhoe family of physicians were a constant presence from 1859 until 1918.
George Rodway Swinhoe was born on December 15, 1867 at 4/5 London Street, a property in the railway village which served as both accommodation for the GWR company doctor and as a surgery. George was the sixth child and first son of George Money Swinhoe and his wife Diana.
A member of the Royal College of Surgeons (England) and a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (London) Dr George Rodway Swinhoe was appointed to the medical staff at the GWR in 1893. His name appears in the Register of Staff alongside such railway luminaries as Charles Benjamin Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer; Wm Arthur Stanier, Principal Assistant to the Chief Mechanical Engineer and Frederick George Wright, Chief Assistant Locomotive and Carriage Superintendent.
In 1894 he married Mary Canning Gertrude Glass and the couple had two daughters.
Dr Swinhoe died at him home on November 10, 1929. The following obituary was published in the North Wilts Herald.
Death of Dr. G. Rodway Swinhoe
Popular Swindon Medical Man
Useful Career
Dr George Rodway Swinhoe, of The Close, Church Place, Swindon, passed peacefully away at his residence at 6.40 on Sunday evening.
He had been in ill health for some time, but was only taken seriously ill a week ago. On the previous Monday he was engaged in his professional duties as consulting surgeon and examiner to the GWR Company at Swindon.
Dr Swinhoe was 61 years of age and had lived in Swindon practically all his life. “Roddy” Swinhoe, as he was popularly known to a host of friends, was a son of the late George Money Swinhoe, who came of a very old Northumbrian family.
Dr. G.M. Swinhoe was born in Calcutta, and he went through the Crimean War, but came out of the ordeal unscathed. He came to Swindon as chief medical superintendent on the GWR Medical Fund staff, on the special recommendation of the late Sir Daniel Gooch.
Appointed to the Staff.
At a later period the medical staff comprised Drs. Swinhoe, Howse and Bromley. The last named died in 1894, and Dr. G. Rodway Swinhoe was then appointed to the staff. Dr. Howse retired in 1899, and Dr Rodway Swinhoe became chief assistant to his father, whilst his brother, the late Dr. Astley Swinhoe, became third assistant.
The father and two sons carried on the three chief positions on the GWR Medical Fund staff til 1905, when Dr. Astley Swinhoe died.
In 1908 Dr George Money Swinhoe died, and Dr. G. Rodway Swinhoe was appointed to the office of Chief Medical Officer, a position which he held till the year 1917.
Dr “Roddy” Swinhoe, who was the eldest of a large family*, was a zealous and most able physician and surgeon. He was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons (England) and a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (London). His post on the GWR Medical Fund staff and with the GWR was an onerous and responsible one.
Services During the War
During the war Dr “Roddy” rendered valuable medical services. He was previously in the old Swindon Volunteer Corps, afterwards taken over by the Wilts Territorials. Then he was promoted to the rank of Major in the RMTC.
In Charge of Labour Battalion
For a period of the war Dr. Swinhoe was in charge of a Labour Battalion in the Park and Drill Hall. Later he was in charge of a private military hospital at Bowood, Calne, which was placed at the disposal of the authorities by the late Lord Lansdowne.
Dr Rodway Swinhoe was also a keen worker in connection with the GWR St. John Ambulance Association, and was the experienced lecturer to the classes for a number of years. For his services he was, on his retirement, made an Honorary Associate of the Grand Priory of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Interest in Sport
Always a lover of clean, good sport, Dr. Roddy was closely identified with the Swindon Amateur Swimming Club, the Swindon Amateur Athletic Association, the Gymnastic Societies, and many other sports associations. In his younger days fishing and shooting were his hobbies, and he used often to tell some good stories at dinners of various societies to which he was always invited.
The Funeral
The funeral took place on Wednesday.
The first portion of the service was conducted in St. Mark’s Church by Canon A.G. Gordon Ross (vicar). Canon Ross also read the committal sentences at the graveside in Radnor street cemetery.
A long list of mourners included family members, and representatives from the GWR Company and the Medical Fund Society.
Many beautiful floral tributes were placed on the grave.
The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr A.E. Smith, of Gordon Road.
North Wilts Herald Friday, November 15, 1929
*He was the 6th child but the eldest son
Dr George Rodway Swinhoe was buried in a large grave plot numbered E8228/29/30 which he shares with his parents and three brothers.
New Swindon has been much criticised for its rows and rows of red brick housing, but it wasn’t always like that. In the beginning there was the Works and the company houses, constructed from stone quarried locally at Kingshill and Bath and Corsham. But granddad said those early cottage were built just for show.
“Railway men and their families began arriving in such numbers that those building their homes couldn’t finish them quickly enough. The first cottages were little more than hovels, just two rooms often with two large families sharing one property.”
Mr granddad used to say Swindon was a work in progress.
“The whole place was one big building site.”
Granddad could remember Bath Street before it was renamed Bathampton Street and Faringdon Street before it became Faringdon Road.
“Mr Hall lived at number 1, Mr Laxon at number 2 and the Laverick family at number 3,” he recalled. “Mr William Laverick senior lived there first and then his son, William junior took on the property.
There was a sad story surrounding young Mr William Laverick, but granddad would never tell me what it was.
“Old Mr Laverick was the Superintendent at the Wesleyan Sunday School. My mother would have had me go, but my father wasn’t insistent so I managed to avoid it.” That made him chuckle, which brought on his cough.
My granddad used to say Swindon was a work in progress. I wonder what he would say if he could see it now.
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel published courtesy of Local Studies, Swindon Central Library.
The facts …
William Laverick was born in Bedlington, Northumberland on September 16, 1843 the son of William and Mary Ann.
He entered employment in the GWR Works on July 3, 1858 as a Door Boy in the Loco Factory before beginning his apprenticeship as a forgeman in 1860. In 1885 he was made a foreman.
The family were Wesleyan Methodists and William Laverick senior was Superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School for 35 years.
William Laverick junior and his wife Maria had a large family and the registers for the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Faringdon Road list the baptisms of six of their children.
Sadly, four of their children died young – Henry Allen Laverick at 9 months old and Arundel Laverick also died before his first birthday. Francis Charles died aged 2 and James Lightford Laverick aged 6 years. James died shortly after the opening of Radnor Street Cemetery and is buried in plot A100. Henry Allen died the following year and is buried in plot E7035. The other two children died before the cemetery opened in 1881 and are most likely buried in the churchyard at St. Marks. There is a mention of the four children on William’s memorial, but the inscription is badly weathered and incomplete.
William was admitted to the County Asylum at Devizes on July 22, 1890 where he died on November 9, aged 46 years.
William was buried in plot A2497 on November 13. In the 1891 census William’s widow Maria continued to live at number 3 Faringdon Street with her three remaining children, William Richard a 19 year old Engine Pattern Maker apprentice, Muriel Beatrice, 18, and six year old Arthur George. She married Francis Davies Morgan in 1895. Maria died in 1904 and is buried with her first husband in Radnor Street Cemetery.
In 1924 King George V and Queen Mary made a visit to Swindon and the GWR Works. The town definitely pushed out the boat for the royal visit and there are numerous photographs of them on their tour of the railway factory. This photograph is entitled Swindon Works Veterans Inspected by Their Majesties the King and Queen April 28, 1924. The photograph shows 75 men who had completed 50 years in the railway works. In the back row, second from the right, is Mr Edmund Miller Odey.
Edmund was born in Chiseldon in 1859, one of John and Matilda Odey’s five sons. As a sixteen-year-old Edmund began his 5-year apprenticeship in the Smith’s shop on March 20, 1875. Boys were often employed in the Works at a younger age but could not officially begin their apprenticeship until their 16th birthday. His daily rate of pay was 10d (that’s about 5p today) in the first year rising to 2/6 (about 13p) in his final and fifth year. Edmund worked all his life as a Smith’s striker, a physically demanding job, which he was still doing up to his 65th birthday at the time of the royal visit.
He married in 1892 and he and his wife Mary Ann had 10 children of whom 6 had died by 1911. The family lived at a number of different addresses across Swindon – their first home together was in Radnor Street, then by 1901 they were at 3 John Street, in 1909 they were at 4 John Street and in 1911 they were at 5 John Street. All this suggests to me that they did not own their own home but were renting, probably moving frequently.
Mary Ann died in 1914 and she is also buried here in Radnor Street Cemetery but not with Edmund.
So, where does Edmund lie after all those years of hard graft in the mighty GWR factory? He died in July 1928, not many years after that feted royal visit, and he is buried in grave plot C219 a public grave, once commonly called a pauper’s grave.
I can’t help wondering what kind of life Lizzie Florence Spackman had and whether she had much influence in the decisions made on her behalf. She grew up in a railway family and married a railway man, but could she have anticipated how her life would turn out.
Lizzie was born in 1874, the middle daughter of William and Elizabeth Richards’ three girls. By 1881 Lizzie’s mother had died and the three young sisters were living with their father and two elder half brothers in Carfax Street. In 1898 she married Henry John Spackman, a Boilersmith. He was 25 and she was 23.
Henry and Lizzie lived at various addresses in Rodbourne and Westcott during the early years of their marriage. Their eldest daughter Dorothy was baptised at St. Marks’s Church on December 11, 1899 when the family lived at 22 Ford Street. Their second daughter, Norah Winifred, was baptised at St. Augustine’s on December 3, 1903 when they lived at 6 Bruce Street. Then at sometime around 1909 the family left for India where their third daughter, Marjorie Johanna was born in 1910 in Madras. Lizzie would live in India for the next 17 years until they returned to 13 Summer Street, Rodbourne in 1927.
What an adventure? Or was it a nightmare? Did Lizzie love India or was she homesick for Swindon? Once back in England the family settled down in Chiseldon, where Henry was obviously busy – but what about Lizzie? Did she enjoy her new life in the Wiltshire village or did it seem grey and lacklustre after the vibrancy of India? What was on the Spackman family menu – roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or curry?
There’s a lot about Henry in the following report, which is fair enough I suppose as it is his obituary. But I can’t help wondering what kind of life Lizzie had.
Photograph of the former railway works taken from the cemetery
A Broken Link,
Death at Chiseldon of Mr H.J. Spackman
The funeral of Mr Henry John Spackman, who died at The Gables, Hodson road, on Sunday, took place yesterday.
Mr Spackman, who was 62 years of age, was employed in the Great Western Railway Works, Swindon, as a young man. At the age of 25 he went to Madras as a boiler inspector and at a later date was appointed chief foreman. He remained in India until November, 1927, when he returned to England to go into retirement at Chiseldon.
Mr Spackman who had taken a great interest in the Chiseldon Hospital Carnival and in all forms of sport, played for Swindon Town on the Croft, and he was the possessor of a Wilts Cup medal. He gained this while playing for Trowbridge Town against Swindon. He leaves a widow and three daughters. Two of his daughters are married, they are Mrs C. Woods-Scawen, of Madras, and Mrs B. Lillie, of Shanghai. His other daughter, Miss Nora Spackman, resides with her mother at Chiseldon.
The funeral service at the Parish Church, Chiseldon, was conducted by the Vicar (the Rev. C. Foster Palmer) and the interment was in Radnor Street Cemetery, Swindon.
The family mourners were Mrs Spackman (widow), Miss N. Spackman (daughter), Mrs Webb (sister), Mr W. Spackman (brother), Mrs G. Tucker (niece), and Mrs A. Hunt (cousin).
Others present at the church were Mr. and Mrs H. Howell, Mr Hargreaves, Mr and Mrs H. Hewlett, Mr A. Hewlett, Mr J. Walters, Mr E. Walters, Mr H. Walters, Mr Phillips, Mr C. Frost, Sergt. A. Cook, Mr R. Culverwell, Mr R. Finn, Capt. Johnson, Mr H. Drewitt, sen., Mr H. Drewitt, Mr. C. Goldsmith (representing the 18 Overseas Club) Mr F. Blackford, Mr. Lucas, Mr H. Cavill, Mr F. Horsington, Mr A.A. Jarman, Mr and Mrs B. Davis, Mr C. Dommett, Mr D. Richards, Mr W. Long, Mr and Mrs W. Oakey, Mrs Beamish, Mr Gilbert Whiting, Mrs Dench, Mr Street and Mr A. Green.
The funeral arrangements were carried out by Mr John C. Liddiard, of New road, Chiseldon.
If you’ve ever thought Victorian names were boring, all those William and Mary Ann’s, think again. Meet Toxopholite John Douglas Cooke.
Was he the first Toxopholite in the family? Did he pass the name on to subsequent generations? And what did they call him for short?
“Come in Toxopholite, your tea’s ready” is a bit of a mouthful to shout down the street.
Toxopholite and Amy Cooke
The man with such an unusual name had a complicated family background. Family historians suspect he was born illegitimately and that he amplified his details with an elaborate backstory – he would later declare that he was born in India on September 23, 1861.
He was baptised Toxophilite John Penery at St Andrew’s Church, Plymouth on January 4, 1860 when his birthdate was given as September 23, 1859 and his parents named as Edwin and Mary Jane Penery. His mother later married William Butterworth Cooke, an officer in the Royal Artillery, in Plymouth in 1867. Perhaps Toxopholite was never told the truth about his birth and was supplied with this story by his mother.
Toxopholite married Amy Kate Lavallin in 1883 and entered the employment of the GWR as a clerk the following year. By 1891 the family had moved to Swindon where they lived at 28 Havelock Street. They later moved to a house in Maidstone Road and by 1911 they were living at 13 Kent Road. The couple had five children, according to the details they submitted at the time of the 1911 census.
Toxopholite’s last home was 133 Kingshill Road where he died on February 22, 1940. He was buried in grave plot C1042.
The meaning of the name Toxopholite (or Toxophilite) is a student or lover of archery. It is derived from ‘Toxophilus – the schole or partitions of shooting’ a book about longbow archery dedicated to Henry VIII and written by Roger Ascham, a 16th century scholar and tutor to Elizabeth I.
February 1915 – Coach bodymaker Francis Richard Lang had two sons serving in the war and he was sick with worry. At work his foreman showed him a letter he had received from his son at the front; all was well with him. But this good news was of no consolation to Francis. The distraught father left for work as normal that final day but was not seen again until his body was found at Coate Water. He had taken his own life. A razor and empty case and a pocket knife were found in his clothes.
And so, Mercy, his wife, was left alone to worry about her boys until the inevitable happened.
Cecil Arthur Lang was born on March 19, 1882 and baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Dalston, East London, one of 11 children born to Francis Richard and Mercy Caroline Lang. By 1892 the family had moved to Swindon and in 1911 the census of that year states that along with their father, five sons worked in the railway factory. Eldest son, also named Francis Richard, was a Railway Coach Bodymaker, Leonard, Arthur and Walter were Carriage Fitters & Turners while Cecil, aged 21, was a Coach Bodymaker. The census reveals that of Francis and Mercy’s 11 children, 3 had already died. A heavy loss for parents and one that was going to increase.
Cecil Lang 26, was killed in action on June 16, 1915. He is remembered on the Menin Gate in Ypres. On his parents’ memorial in Radnor Street Cemetery, he is reported as ‘missing’. Some families could never accept that their loved ones had been killed, but continued to hope they might be found and eventually return home.
On our recent guided walk, cemetery volunteer Jon explained that in addition to the official Commonwealth War Graves, the volunteers also tend to family graves that include an inscription to a fallen serviceman. It may not be possible to restore this monument with its tall standing stone cross, but the volunteers will maintain the grave.
Mercy died on May 19, 1927 and is buried here with her husband in grave plot B3293.
Radnor Street Cemetery 