Greenwich and Eltham Cemeteries – resting place of one of Britain’s most cherished children’s authors
Continuing our coverage of cemeteries in the Royal Borough
of Greenwich, this week we focus on Eltham Cemetery
Eltham Cemetery and Crematorium (or ‘Falconwood’) is
relatively modern, with the cemetery section having opened in 1935. Darren
Beach’s excellent pocket-sized London Cemeteries book[1]
describes it as “one of London’s flattest cemeteries, especially compared with
the rolling hills of Greenwich. Given the terrain, it’s not surprisingly based
on a grid pattern, with trees only along the paths and edges.”
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| Eltham Chapel |
The cemetery features some interesting memorials and Beach
highlights a “half-size figure of a man dressed in flying gear commemorating an
airman killed in 1938. It’s not easy to miss – his outfit looks more like a
post-apocalyptic radioactivity suit than anything else.”
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| Memorial to L.A/C. Ernest Francis Bennett, who lost his life when flying solo from the No 12 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, Prestwick |
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| The wreckage of the L. A/C Bennett's aircraft was located near Strathaven, Lanarkshire |
Born on the 15 November 1890 in Bury, Lancashire as Richmal
Crompton Lamburn. Crompton was actually her mother’s maiden name. Although an
unusual name today, Richmal was a fairly common name in the Bury area, but
virtually unknown outside Lancashire. She left the north for university in
London, where she graduated in Classics. Like many children’s authors, Crompton
worked as a teacher and, like Enid Blyton, she worked in south London, and she
later lived in Bromley, Kent. The first story about William appeared in Home
magazine in 1919. Since then, the William books have become bestsellers,
and have been adapted for stage, radio and television – including a recent BBC
version starring Daniel Roche.
In the early 1920s, Crompton contracted poliomyelitis, which
led to the loss of the use of her right leg in 1923. It was then that Crompton
left teaching and devoted her life to writing. During the Second World War, she
volunteered for the Auxiliary Fire Service. Although she was a popular aunt and
great aunt, she never married and had no children.
Crompton’s canon of work includes forty adult novels and
nine collections of short stories. Despite writing most of her books for
adults, it is for her character of William that Richmal Crompton continues to
be most fondly remembered. Martin Jarvis, the voice of William in most radio
and audiobook readings of the books, describes the world she created as “still
real, still recognizable, reflecting both the absurdity and blessedness of
British life.”[2] The
mischievous scamp, whose motto is “Doin good, ritin’ rongs and persuin’
happiness for all” remains one of the enduring characters of British children’s
fiction.
Richmal Crompton Lamburn died in Bromley on the 11th
January 1969, aged 78. Her body was cremated at Eltham Crematorium five days
later.
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| Register entry for Richmal Crompton Lamburn (taken from the Deceased Online database) |
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| The rose garden where Richmal Crompton's ashes are scattered |
As usual, we love to hear from readers of this blog. Do you
have a favourite William book? Or perhaps you know of someone buried or
cremated at Eltham?
[1] published by
Metro Guides www.metropublications.com
[2] Martin
Jarvis, Foreword to More William (2010 edition, Macmillian)
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1939/1939%20-%200022.html
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