Not just a load of old rubble. The Story of Samuel Tolson and how I found his gravestone. On a beach....

I have researched a LOT of gravestones from very many churchyards in England and Scotland. But the most unexpected, extraordinary discovery of a headstone, and the history behind it,was the one I found on a beach! I had heard about the stretch of beach from Crosby to Hightown on the Sefton coast. It has literally millions of bricks and rubble that was dumped (deliberately!) after the Bootle blitz in WW2.

 

I had just moved to the area and was keen to have a walk along the beach. What a day I had. The weather was exceptionally kind to me on that day!

 

 

Brick beach at the start of my walk, Hightown.

 

I could not believe my eyes! I knew there were a lot of bricks - but I had not understood the enormous amount of rubble! And most of it very accessible if you are prepared to clamber over it! I found dozens of different makes of bricks - this would be a marvellous day out for brick lovers! ("Brickophiles" I am told!)

 

 

 

Not only bricks, but reminders of everyday life for the working class people of Bootle. I found tiles, floor covering, glass, parts of buildings,and more. But wait a minute, what is that item, top left.....

 

I was thrilled with all my "finds" (I will be taking them back in due course. I feel they are part of a "living" memorial and museum). But then I saw something that took me aback - a headstone! With writing on it! What luck! Scrambling down I took a photo of it in situ.  I couldn't wait to get home to research it- I don't think you could have found a happier person at the beach that day! This is what I discovered using some of the information on the headstone...

 

Samuel Tolson was born in 1756 in Cumberland. He married a widow, Jane Al(e)try on 11th February 1813 and died in 1842. Samuel had 10 chldren by his first wife Ann (nee Thompson). He was a tea dealer lving in Phygiate Street, Liverpool (per the 1832 Trade Directory of Liverpool). His second wife Jane died in 1850. Dinah, whose name is also inscribed on the stone was his daughter. She died in 1848 of consumption.

I have researched 100s of family stories and this was the most astonishing and rewarding. A family history from a stone not in a church, but on the beach!

 After some local research I discovered that Samuel had been buried in 

St John's church Bootle

 

It was consecrated in November 1865 and assigned a parochial district in February 1866. The church stood on a site flanked by Brasenose Road and St. John's Road. During the Second World War it  suffered from bomb damage to the extent that it had to be demolished. The rubble was dumped, as we have seen, on the coast. It was used in sea defences and so it is not only a living memorial to the blitz and the people who lost their homes and belongings but also a protection against the stormy seas. 

 

When I left the beach at Crosby that day, I turned around and took this photo. A perfect day!

 

 Such a perfect day!

After posting my research on a local Facbook page I was contacted by a descendant of Samuel who was thrilled to know where it was. Many people suggest that the stone should be moved, perhaps to another churchyard. However it is huge, heavy and in an inaccessble area. Besides, it is no longer in the place of Samuel's burial. Many people have told me they have visited the beach since reading my FB post. I think it is fitting that his memorial is left in a beautiful place and is surrounded by reminders of the lives of his family, friends and neighbours.

RIP with your memories Samuel

 

Tales from a Small Churchyard.......A Husband and Wife's shared fate: 16 years and 1000s of miles apart

I often visit my local churchyard in Formby. St Peter's is an oridinary parish church like 1000s of others in England. But like all of these churches, the many stories contained within the churchyard are anything but ordinary.  I love researching the lives of these souls, resting quietly now. As one stone says 

"in the midst of life we are in death"

 St Peter's church Formby

I was drawn to this large headstone in the shape of an anchor. Formby is near the coast but there is not a specific link to the sea. I saw that it was a memorial to a Captain's wife, Annie Rothery. On closer inspection I could see that Annie was drowned in the South Pacific. Who was she? Was she with her husband? Did he also die and what were the circumstances of her death?

 Annie's memorial. She is buried on the small south pacific island of Penrhyn.

 Detail of inscription on Annie's grave

 

Annie Robinson was born in Cumberland in 1857. She married Henry Rothery in Walton on the Hill, Liverpool in 1877. His occupation was Master Mariner.  He must have often been at sea: the 1881 census shows she is in Formby with her sister in law and her children. Annie and Henry did not appear to have had any children. Annie's house is  just down the road from me! I must take a sneaky look next time I pass it!

Looking through newspapers for the time of Annie's death I discovered that she was on board the Derby Park with her husband, who was the captain. The ship floundered near the island of Penrhyn. All hands were saved except one......

 

 A report of the sinking of the Derby 1888

Annie's boat capsized within a few yards of the beach but she drowned- I don't think many women of any class, and certainly not the middle class, would have learned to swim in the 1800s and surely her heavy clothes would have weighed her down. Henry must have been absolutely shattered by this terrible accident. He was 5 years older than Annie and the sea had been his life. Ultimately, it too, claimed him.

What became of Henry? On further research I made the awful discovery that Henry also died by drowning and on a ship he was captaining. This time however, it was close to home and only 3 people survived. It was 15 years after his wife's death, in 1904.

The shipwreck of the Khyber was widely reported, as was the official investigation. Caught in terrible weather passing through the Isles of Scilly and onto the coast of cornwall those on board struggled for several hours to keep it afloat. Several boats attempted to reach the ship but ultimately it too capsized and was smashed to pieces on the rocky coast. 

 

The shattered remains of the Khyber

Three men out of 25 survived. As would be expected, the Captain went down with his ship. Survivors had nothing but praise for his coolness and attempts to save the ship and his men. He was last seen at the wheel, urging others to save themselves. The investigation concluded that he was "one of the most experienced men who ever left Liverpool in charge of a ship" and that he stayed with his ship to the last. With the many 1000s of seamen based in Liverpool, this was quite a testimonial to his knowledge.

Like Annie, he is not buried in Formby. He is buried near the coast and the sea that claimed his life; St Levan in Cornwall. 

Henry's memorial stone with the names of others who perished that day

The terrible tragedy illustrates our island heritage and how many countlessf times the people of these isles have suffered pain and loss at sea. In this case, a married couple shared a fate in the watery depths years and 1000s of miles apart.

Rest in Peace Annie and Henry.

 

sources

https://www.submerged.co.uk/the-wreck-of-the-kyber/  (include some photo credits)

Ancestry.co.uk

British Newspaper Archives

 

 

 

 

The case notes of some of the patients who were at Moss Side during WW1 have survived. One of these men, William Commons, was an orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corp and as such, would have surely seen men who were terribly maimed, injured and dying in the years that he served in the War. It seems these sights affected him very deeply, causing a breakdown in January 1915.

William Commons was born in Coalville, Leicestershire on 13^th July 1885. His parents, Patrick and Mary had 13 children.  Sadly, according to the 1911 census, by that time 5 had died. Attestation records show that from 1903 to 1906 William was in the Leicestershire Regiment. He transferred to the reserve in 1909 and the 1911 census shows his occupation as a miner. On the outbreak of war he was mobilised and joined the 5^th Cavalry Field Ambulance and headed for France on 16^th August 1914.

After only a few weeks in France, William received a commendation by his General Officer (Commanding). The Citation on his records reads:

“Commended for cool and courageous behaviour under heavy shell fire”

By order of the GOC Ist Cavalry Division: 25/9/14

Other comments in his service records underline how, as well as courageous under fire, he was:

“A very well conducted and reliable orderly. Sober, steady and trustworthy. Trained in First Aid and Ambulance duties. Character very good”

What horrors and traumas did he face, that caused this is so reliable and courageous of men to go absent without leave from A Echelon No 4 Cavalry Field Ambulance at Chateau de Lapree, France, from 22/1/1915 – 29/1/1915?

According to the records from his time at Moss Side, the death of his father (who died in Leicester in January 1915) probably finally caused him to suffer some sort of mental breakdown:

“Statement by Major Hammerton:

Private Commons absented himself on the evening of Jan 21^st. Amongst his kit was found a note with the following words – “When you find my body I may be in the river. I cannot bear it any longer. I have made my will”.  Patient gave himself up to the military police [  ]. He stated that he had been wandering the streets and sleeping in fields. He was profoundly melancholic, silent and morose and when questioned answered reluctantly. ……………Patient states he had been moving about continually with the cavalry to which he was attached. Was quite well until he heard of his father’s death some weeks ago. This worried him considerably and he became depressed….denies all knowledge of his attack…..”

Most unusually, William Commons is mentioned by name in the War Diary of the regiment he served that was kept at this time.  It states he was sent to St Omer after being detained following his absence without leave. He was admitted to Moss Side on the 15^th February 1915 and stayed until 31^st March 1915.

Following his period at Moss Side, William returned to the War. On the 12^th July 1915 he embarked on a campaign in the Mediterranean. He returned to England on 16^th November 1916, suffering from influenza. During his time abroad he had suffered constantly with attacks of diarrhoea and it was suspected that he had suffered from dysentery. However, there is no more mention of attacks of neurasthenia after his discharge from Moss Side in 1915.

After serving his country for nearly 2 ½ years, William was finally classed as medically unfit to serve in the army (P Class Army Reserve) and awarded an invalidity disability pension on 6/3/1917.  He was added to the Silver Badge Roll which meant he was entitled to wear the silver badge. This was worn by men who appeared to be at an age when they would be expected to be serving in the army – it proved that they were not “shirkers” but had been injured serving their country. He was discharged from the Reserve on 10/5/1921.

Silver war badge: WW1

William never married and according to the 1939 Register he was living in Leicestershire and working as a brickyard kiln repairer. He died in Leicestershire in 1971 aged 86. 

We will never know what treatment William received at Moss Side but the committee books of the time show that the hospital took a great interest in not only treating their patients, but helping them to be as comfortable as possible, with healthy diets, exercise and leisure pursuits. They were allowed visitors and trips out.

Perhaps time away in this environment helped prepare him for this return to the army – for return he did to serve another two years. Or perhaps he did what the vast majority of soldiers and women in service did – carried on doing his duty while bearing his pain and despair quietly and with dignity.

 

Sources:

Find my Past –                                                                                   1939 Register; silver badge rolls

Ancestry                                                                                              Census returns, Birth and death records, service records

Operation War Diary                                                                       War diary

Moss Side Committee books                                                       Liverpool Record Office

Moss Side, Case notes                                                                    ????

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_War_Badge              silver badge information and image

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/914233       Information on his service record