Help required: Accrington cemetery - Page 2

Doug · 27-12-2007, 17:38

I was up there on Boxing Day but didn’t see the post…..Whilst the thread is open I’d like to say how much Accrington Cemetery is a credit to those who manage it and the people of Accrington and the Hyndburn District.

Well done KSH……….I owe you some K and a pint.

kathleen_firth · 27-12-2007, 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

As the karma I sent you said, its nice to see there are still some good people in the world.

i agree what a lovely thing to do

Doug · 27-12-2007, 18:32

earthdog, Are you aware of this.............

Brockville Museum - Military Memorial History

FS Yerdon appears at the bottom of the page...

K.S.H · 27-12-2007, 19:01

Good link Doug, sure he will appreciate it

HERES another link, KB813

K.S.H · 27-12-2007, 19:14

Just slightly off topic, ever seen one of these flying? magnificent aint it, and the sound is something else, add to it a few spitfires and a couple of hurricanes you'll never hear anything like it

earthdog · 27-12-2007, 22:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by K.S.H

Heres a photo of the headstone, converted to greyscale to make it easier to read, you don't need to save this I will send you all the photo's full size to you.

Just a very quick note to say thanks Ken for the excellent photos, and for the other postings in the thread. I'd seen some of those links before but not all. I'm a little tight for time just now (just got home after visiting family and we need to get the kids to bed). I'll post more later though, including the reasons I'm interested in this grave. And Ken, thanks again.

Alan

K.S.H · 27-12-2007, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthdog

Just a very quick note to say thanks Ken for the excellent photos, and for the other postings in the thread. I'd seen some of those links before but not all. I'm a little tight for time just now (just got home after visiting family and we need to get the kids to bed). I'll post more later though, including the reasons I'm interested in this grave. And Ken, thanks again.

Alan

No problem Alan, glad to help

earthdog · 27-12-2007, 22:56

Well, thanks again Ken, and thanks again everyone else for the interest and links. My interest in this grave is this. My mother-in-law was Mildred Cotter of Accrington (born at the Moorlands Maternity Home on 12/08/1926). In 1944, she married Harold Yerdon, whose grave we've been discussing, but he was killed just three weeks later in a training flight. The Lancaster he was in crashed in Tingrith, Bedfordshire, quite close to where the M1 is now.

Mildred received a pension from the RCAF until she married again (to my father in law) in 1953, when the pension was stopped. Strangely, the Canadian government decided in the late 1980s to start paying these pensions again, that is, for widows who'd remarried. Mildred and her mother visited Canada in the early 1950s, and they visited Harold's family but they "weren't interested" apparently.

While I was aware of the outline of this story, I've recently been contacted by a woman who's looking for information to publish on Bombercrew.com – A Tribute to Heroes of RAF Bomber Command, so I started looking for more information also. In addition to the links that have already been posted in this thread, I also found a tribute on-line to one of the other men who died in the accident:

Harvey Irwin - Veterans Affairs Canada

At the moment, I don't have a lot more information than this but I'm still looking. Do keep in touch any of you if you'd be interested to hear more when I find it.

That aside, can I say what a great experience I've had of "AccyWeb". It's great to know there are people about who'll help just for the satisfaction of helping. I'm in Windsor so I can't imagine I can offer help in return but do let me know if I can return the favour in any way. That's to you mainly Ken of course, but also to anyone else listening.

Speak soon.

Alan

earthdog · 27-12-2007, 23:02

While I've got your attention, and since this is something of an ancestry forum, Mildred Cotter (mentioned above) is descended from Accrington locals with the following surnames, if that's of interest to anyone researching this area:

Woods
Burrows
Wilkinson
Talyor
and Cotter, obviously

I'd be interested to hear of any possible connections.

Alan

earthdog · 27-12-2007, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthdog

While I've got your attention, and since this is something of an ancestry forum, Mildred Cotter (mentioned above) is descended from Accrington locals with the following surnames, if that's of interest to anyone researching this area:

Woods
Burrows
Wilkinson
Talyor
and Cotter, obviously

I'd be interested to hear of any possible connections.

Alan

Sorry, should have attached this to the last reply, here's a family tree to go with what I just said.

Alan

WillowTheWhisp · 27-12-2007, 23:14

My children have a Thomas Taylor in their ancestry via my first husband but it is a fairly common name I suppose.

earthdog · 27-12-2007, 23:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

My children have a Thomas Taylor in their ancestry via my first husband but it is a fairly common name I suppose.

I'm afraid I can't say much about the particular Thomas Taylor in my wife's ancestry because I don't know much. His daughter Elizabeth (shown on the tree I posted) orginally married a man called Hewitt but he evidently died. So the widow Elizabeth then married Thomas Cotter and these two are my wife's g-grandparents. I only know of Thomas Taylor as the father of the bride on their marriage certificate. She was resident at 67 Havelock Street when she married Thomas Cotter, in 1890. Thomas Taylor is listed as "Collier".

Alan

lancsdave · 27-12-2007, 23:25

Thanks for the explanation why he is buried in Accrington Alan. Shame his family weren't interested, especially when somebody loses their life so young.

earthdog · 27-12-2007, 23:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by lancsdave

Thanks for the explanation why he is buried in Accrington Alan. Shame his family weren't interested, especially when somebody loses their life so young.

Yes, it's all very sad. Incedentally, I didn't mean to suggest they weren't interested in Harold's death, it was more that they weren't interested in further contact with Mildred. She went on to live a good long life though, and died only in January just gone.

Alan

BERNADETTE · 27-12-2007, 23:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthdog

Yes, it's all very sad. Incedentally, I didn't mean to suggest they weren't interested in Harold's death, it was more that they weren't interested in further contact with Mildred. She went on to live a good long life though, and died only in January just gone.

Alan

A lovely story and a couple of the links make you stop and think about all the young lifes that were lost in the quest for freedom.