November Meeting

A great talk today by Robert Sanday on 'The Roman Roads of Hampshire', accompanied by some amusing acetate slides hand drawn by the Rev. Robert himself, which beautifully illustrated his theme, with none of the high tech stuff employed by us less talented mortals who have to rely on colour slides and home-made DVD's.

It is good to see the interest in Hollybrook Cemetery among our members: Nothing macabre about it, and some really interesting stories are unfolding about people buried therein.  We are also getting known for our acts of remembrance which we approached in a very low key to see how it went,  and now faced with its success we will be more venturesome in our planning.

Next official visit to Hollybrook will be in February to mark the sinking of the ss Mendi in February 1917 with the loss of 649 men of the South African army, whose names are inscribed on the memorial.

 Then in April there is ANZAC* Day and I have yet to break it to our members that traditionally ANZAC Day is recognised with a service at DAWN on 25 April.  Somehow I think we will have to reschedule that until the more acceptable time  of  11 a.m., but who knows.

*Australia and New Zealand Army Corps:  Gallipoli 1915

JG

Remembrance Day

On Friday 11 November we met at Hollybrook Cemetery, Southampton, to remember the British and Commonwealth war dead, and - quite  fortuitously - we met up with approximately sixty young children and their teachers from a local junior school.  This meeting made the day for us, and clearly added to their day also, so much so we hope to join forces with the school again next year and plan in advance for another Remembrance Day meeting.

Hollybrook Military Cemetery is part of the chain instigated by Royal Charter in 1917 for the burial of 1.7 million soldiers worldwide.

Here in Southampton there are 365 war graves at Hollybrook and a further 800 graves at Netley.

All military cemeteries are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and it is a real delight to see how well they are tended.

There are 113 graves at  Hollybrook for WW1 and 1 900 names on the memorial for those with no known grave, were lost or buried at sea.  Hindu cremations are also listed.

All the headstones are uniform with no rank distinctions.

The youngest serviceman  to be buried there is Boy Soldier William Hesterman, aged 14 from Blighmont Avenue, Millbrook, Southampton, who died in Ireland in 1921.

The oldest is Watchman Silvester, aged 65, a Merchant Seaman who served aboard the ss 'Atlantis'

Another local man is Captain John Hughes, from Lordswood, 13th Bn. The Hampshire Regiment, Itchen Home Guard.

Many of the old British Commonwealth nations are represented by the graves and  by the names engraved on the memorial.

At 11 a.m. a two minutes silence was observed, preceded by the Last Post being played, and ending with the Reveillie, which co-incided with the sounding of ships sirens from the nearby docks

The event was arranged by Mike Humme, who provided the wreath and several hundred small wooden crosses which were distributed among the children and it was good to see the eagerness with which they went about placing them on the graves and finding things of interest written on the headstones, both at the British and Commonwealth section of the cemetery for WW1,  and at the site of the WW2 graves to which we moved following the wreath laying.

Many interesting things were recounted, both by Mike, from his research and knowledge of the cemetery, and by the children from their examination of the headstones,  including:   There are 186 graves at the WW2 plot, including three unidentified seamen, and Dutch, Polish and German war graves.

There are two young ladies buried there, being 19 year old Moira Livesey, a member of the Womens Royal Naval Service, whose parents were from New Zealand, and 18 year old Gladis Lea of the Transport Auxillery Service, who died on 14 February 1945.

 Lt. Hawks of the Royal Army Medical Corps, killed on Salisbury Plain during a fire-power demonstration on 13 April 1942, along with Lt. Wilson Gordons.

Padre Derrick Williams, on 5 June 1944 whilst serving with a  Royal Marines Commando on D-Day preparations.

Poppy crosses were placed on all the graves, both from WW1 and WW2 and for all nations.

We reflected not only  on the dead from the many conflicts which have plagued the world since WW2, with a special thought for those who are today fighting in distant parts of the world, but also on those who were left behind, especially the young children of those who died, and the significance of the words........
                                             
                                                  "WHEN YOU GO HOME
                                                   TELL THEM OF US AND SAY
                                                    FOR YOUR TOMORROW
                                                    WE GAVE OUR TODAY"


JG

November 11th

A reminder that on Friday 11 November we will meet at the main gate of Hollybrook Cemetery at 10.30 a.m. for an 11 a.m. act of remembrance at the British and Commonwealth War Graves section of the cemetery.  That will be at 11.11.11, a time and date which will  not be repeated for a while.

On Monday 14th. there will be the usual monthly  meeting at Manston Court, when Robert Sanday will talk about 'The Roman Roads of Hampshire'

JG

German War Graves

A while ago our Chairman, the Rev. Robert Sanday attended a memorial service at the War Graves section of Hollybrook Cemetery, and observing there was no act of remembrance for the German war dead he contemplated that buried there were sons, brothers, and perhaps fathers, who whether or not they believed in the war they were brave men who had fought for their country.

They were young men, not so very different from British and Commonwealth servicemen who lost their lives and are now buried in Germany, and are remembered.

Robert felt there was something missing and contacted Mike Humme of the Royal British Legion, who I am happy to say has joined our Society and is a valued member of the committee.

Mike took over, and in consultation with Horst Gritsch of the Southampton Anglo German Society arranged for us to carry out an act of remembrance on Tuesday 1 November - All Saints Day - a day of significance in the German calendar.

Thus a small group of us met at Hollybrook Cemetery for the purpose of placing a poppy cross and a small bunch of white chrysamthemums  on each of the graves for the 36 German service personnel who are buried there.

Robert held a short service. during which was offered up a prayer, the opening lines of which went:
        God of peace, it is your will
        to reconcile everything in heaven and on earth........

         Gott des Friedens, es ist dein Wille
          alles in Himmel und auf Erden zu verschohnen.......

Horst read what I believe to be the German equivalent of our 'They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old.....'

          ICH HATT, EINEN KAMERADEN
          EINEN  BESSERN FINDST DU NIE
          DIE TROMMEL SCHLUG ZUM STREITE
          ER GING AN MEINER SEITE
          IN GLEICHEN SCHRITT UND TRITT

          EINE KUGEL KAM GEFLOGEN
          GILT SIE MIR ODER GILT SIE DIR
          SIE HAT IHN WEGGERISSEN
          ER LIEGT ZU MEINEN FUSSEN
          ALS WAR'S EIN STUCK VON MIR

          WILL MIR DIE HAND NOCH REICHEN
          DERWEIL ICH EBEN LAD
          "KANN DIR DIE HAND NICHT GEBBEN
          BLEIB DU IM EW'GEN LEBEN
          MEIN GUTER KAMERAD

          .........................................................................

           I ONCE HAD A COMRADE
          YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER ONE
          THE DRUM WAS ROLLING FOR BATTLE
          HE WAS MARCHING BY MY SIDE
          IN THE SAME PACE AND STRIDE

          A BULLET FLEW TOWARDS US
          MEANT FOR YOU OR FOR ME
          IT DID TEAR HIM AWAY
          HE LIES AT MY FEET
          LIKE HE WAS PART OF ME

          HE WANTS TO REACH HIS HAND TO ME
          WHILE I AM JUST RELOADING MY GUN
          "CAN'T GIVE YOU MY HAND FOR NOW
          YOU MUST REST IN ETERNAL LIFE
          MY GOOD COMRADE

John Gurney