Also published in The Hurricane local news publication
The Friends have spent 8 years cutting, delving and researching into the stories in the Old Cemetery in Cheriton Road, opposite Morrisons.
The group began by cutting back brambles, ivy and overgrown shrubs, often finding two or three stones hidden in the middle. One such lovely cross was for Gwendoline de Chassiron, who, we discovered after research, was married to the great grandson of Maria Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon.
We have found smugglers, as you would expect in a seaside town like Folkestone. Some fairly well-known, like Cookie – William Cook, a self-confessed smuggler turned preacher, with a large unmissable stone – others with less well-known stories. We have some of the crew of The Four Brothers, Mary Fox and others we probably have yet to find.
We have our fair share of heroes too, military and civilian. There are 45 Commonwealth War Graves, a new one having been recognised just a couple of years ago and three soldiers awarded VCs for their brave exploits in India and the Crimea. Less well-known is John Dartnell, who was recommended for a VC for his bravery in scaling the wall of Jhansi’s fortress in India. Too many awards had been given to his company, so he didn’t receive a VC. Among the civilians is 10 year old William Hayward, who got his siblings out of the house during a landslide and so saved their lives, when his parents and baby sister were killed.
We have murder victims – William Salkeld , who was shot on the Leas while out for a stroll, and a case of medical mis-management. Gertrude Fletcher’s doctor was tried at the Old Bailey and found guilty of causing her death.
There is now a permanent memorial, created by the Friends, in the form of the White Garden, to all those babies ‘born sleeping,’ who died at or very near birth and had no chance of being famous. Most have unknown graves, so we set up a garden for them. Our board just outside the garden explains its significance.
Many mayors and town benefactors are buried here, 23 mayors to date and possibly more to find. The Weston family, with the fountain on the east cliff, made a huge contribution to the town, as did Mary Hunt with her support for the town’s schools, especially the Girls’ School. Then there is Stephen Penfold and his wife, who did so much to help the Belgian refugees in WW1.
The group has discovered grave stones, buried under the grass, sometimes after requests from people in America or Australia who cannot get here themselves. One of these was for Olive Balmford, buried in a children’s plot and thought to be unmarked. We located the grave, no easy task with so few stones as markers, and discovered a buried stone. A relative came to visit it earlier this year. We have also shown round visitors from Canada and India.
On the research side we have recorded every burial on “Find A Grave” and made plans of each area, showing individual graves, all with GPS and available on our web site for people to do their own investigating. Every stone has a photo and work is in progress to photograph the unmarked graves too and show their position in the cemetery.
In March this year, as usual, we placed flowers on some ladies’ graves for International Women’s Day, researching and sharing their stories. Flowers will be laid to remember the Gotha bombing casualties in April and in May we hope to remember the German sailors who drowned when the Kurfuerst was rammed and sank in Sandgate Bay. 103 of them are buried round the big memorial and many more were lost at sea. In November we will be putting poppies on all the Commonwealth War Graves and VCs for Remembrance Day, as we do every year.
If you are interested in the history of Folkestone, like gardening, or just want some fresh air and exercise on a Saturday morning, you will be very welcome to join us at about 10.30 by the old mortuary and help to make more discoveries. You can also find out more about the work we do at: www.fofc.uk or on Facebook group: Friends of Folkestone Cemetery.
C. Moody
