This week we look at maritime and military
memorials in Charlton Cemetery
Established in 1855 as
a ‘Gentleman’s Cemetery'. Charlton largely retains its original Victorian layout. For a relatively small cemetery,
Charlton has a high number of notable and unique memorials. Amongst those
interred is Sir John Maryon-Wilson (1802-1876), who, as Lord of the Manor of
Hampstead, helped to preserve Hampstead Heath for future generations. Curiously, the very fine Hampstead Cemetery – the data for
which is also in the database – features a wide range of well known politicians
and establishment figures, but obviously Maryon-Wilson had moved south of the
river.
Perhaps
the most striking monument belongs to Jemima Ayley (1825-1860), whose canopied
memorial features an effigy lying above a vault which contained a table and
chairs for visitors.
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| The tomb of Jemima Ayley |
The graves of Royal
Naval personnel and merchant seamen are unsurprising for a cemetery so near to
the maritime hub of Greenwich. There are numerous graves associated with the
Royal Docks, including a memorial to fifty-two who died of yellow fever aboard
HMS Firebrand in 1861 The first Director of the National Maritime Museum, Sir
Geoffrey Callender (died 1945), is buried here, as are Admiral Sir Watkin Pell
(died 1869) who served with Lord Nelson, and Admiral George Perceval, 6th Earl
of Egmont (died 1874), who was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
These are two of many connections to Lord Nelson in the Deceased Online
database, including the burial record of his daughter, Horatia, which is featured in our post on Harrow cemetery records.
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| Memorial to Major General Orde Charles Wingate (1903-1944) |
Like Greenwich
Cemetery, there is a strong military presence at Charlton. There are memorials
to personnel connected with the Royal Artillery at Woolwich. Major General Orde
Charles Wingate D.S.O. (26 February
1903- 24 March 1944) was a Royal Artillery officer who led the Burmese Chindits
in ‘special military jungle operations’ in the Far East, before being killed in
an aeroplane accident in India. Wingate was an extraordinary and, many say,
eccentric military leader. Before the war, he headed the Jewish
counter-guerillas in Palestine and carried out special duty in the Abyssinian
campaign that restored Haile Selassie as Emperor. Wingate's body, along with
those of his fellow crash victims, were exhumed and reburied at Arlington
National Cemetery in Virginia, USA. A memorial stone to Wingate stands in
Charlton Cemetery, and another memorial to him and the Chindits is located near
the Ministry of Defence building on Victoria Embankment. In his obituary, The
Times wrote, "By any measure Wingate was one of the thrilling figures
of the war."
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| Section Officer Joan Marjorie Easton WAAF (1917-8 September 1943), who died while trying to rescue civilians from a crashed Stirling bomber in Cambridgeshire, is commemorated with a simple small stone. Her brother, Sergeant (Pilot) Eric John Easton of the RAF Volunteer Reserve was killed on 30 April 1941 and is buried nearby. |
We'd love to hear if
you have a relative buried in Charlton Cemetery. Do leave a comment below or
contact us via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Sources:
The Times (London, England), Saturday, Apr 01, 1944; pg. 8;
Issue 49820.
Darren Beach, London’s Cemeteries. (Metro
Publications, 2006)
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