RNCVR Posted 26 May , 2004 Share Posted 26 May , 2004 I wonder if any of our readers might live near Woodlands Cemetery in Gillingham, Kent, & could look up & possibly photograph a gravesite for me?? Thanks in advance, Bryan(in Canada) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 26 May , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 May , 2004 reply requested on this topic - forgot to check the box!! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 26 May , 2004 Share Posted 26 May , 2004 'Signals' is your man. He lives nearby. Email him via the Forum if he does not see this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 26 May , 2004 Share Posted 26 May , 2004 Bryan, Please supply the details and I will be happy to oblige. Sigs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedixon Posted 28 May , 2004 Share Posted 28 May , 2004 I live in East Kent and am more than willing to do the same for anyone who wants anything from around here. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Clark Posted 28 May , 2004 Share Posted 28 May , 2004 Me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 28 May , 2004 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2004 Thanks Terry, Sigs, Dave & Neil - your quick responses sure are appreciated. The man's name is EDWARD PHILIP PARRICK - he is ex RN & he has a LOT of service, so I think he might be in the Naval Section (which I am told is quite large) of Woodlands cemetery. He was born 31 Aug 1860 & died suddenly on 7 Sept 1935. He was Mayor of Gillingham at the time of his death & has a very detailed obituary in the "Chaham Rochester & Gillingham News" (Sept 13) - judging by the names mentioned therein he must have had a HUGE funeral. He had one son - also named E.P. Parrick who served in WWI ending up as a Engineer Lt Commander - he might have WWII service as well - quite possibly he might be in the same cemetery. If you could locate him Sigs & are able to get a photo of his gravesite that would be great!! Is St Days, Truro in the same area?? I have a Army?Navy musician buried in St Days! Many thanks in advance, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 28 May , 2004 Share Posted 28 May , 2004 Truro is the other end of the country but unless one of the others beat me to it, I will have a look in the Naval section for Edward Parrick ... I am busy this weekend so it wont be for another week or so. If he isnt in the Naval section it will be a needle in the proverbial haystack as Woodlands is a large communal cemetery - do you have anything else to go on as my instinct is as he was no longer serving it is very unlikely he will be in the Naval part (not that I mind looking)? There is not a register for Woodlands available to the public either although I have just thought I might be able to find out from the local Council office. Will keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 28 May , 2004 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2004 Thanks Sigs, thats great! I dont have any more to go on than what I have already given you - I tried to see if Woodlands Cem had a web page, but they dont. I thought I might be able to track him if the cemetery had the graves there registered on line. I know in Canadian cemeteries there is an office (in the larger ones anyway) where you go to check on who is buried where in that cemetery, & they can give you Section, Plot, number etc - would there be a cemetery office at Woodlands?? I wonder if there might be a record at Gillingham City hall?? - he was Mayor of Gillingham when he died - perhaps they might have a record of his burial - there was a large city council group in attendance at his funeral. Thanks very much for doing this for me, its very much appreciated - pls dont make a special trip - whenever you have the time is great. Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 28 May , 2004 Share Posted 28 May , 2004 I have looked for a central record before in the local record offices but there isnt one in the public domain. I can contact something like the Parks dept and I am sure they will have a record or point me in the right direction. Dont worry I will give it my best shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 3 June , 2004 Share Posted 3 June , 2004 Bryan, Not good news I am afraid. Edward Philip Parrick was buried at Woodlands Road 12 Sept 1935 in grave AA/233. The cremated remains of Mary Kathleen Parrick were added to the grave 14 Nov 1956 - I presume this was his wife. I found the correct section and looked at just about all the inscriptions that I could - I only managed to find two with numbers, something like 87 and 738. I found a group of graves together that dated from 1935 but Edward Parrick was not amongst them. I now believe he may have just had a kerbstone to mark his grave and this has since been sunk ... it is obvious that many kerbs(/headstones?) in this section have obviously been removed or sunk. I will have a look again in case I missed it but I am pretty sure his grave is no longer marked and because of the lack of numbering on those graves that remain, I cant be precise as to where Parrick's grave is. Sorry! Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 4 June , 2004 Author Share Posted 4 June , 2004 Hi Jon, Been away couple days, just back today, & pls dont apologize by any means - think you have done a super job attempting to locate the grave of E.P. Parrick. I thought he would have had some kind of headstone, being the mayor & prominent in the community - not sure exactly what a kerbstone is but assume some kind of numerical marker indicating the grave numbers?? However its nice to know he is in there somewhere. Is it he custom not to have headstones in UK cemeteries?? Is this normal?? I was in Scotland in '01 & we went thru some old cemeteries & noted quite a few old headstones, some very large. Have another chap in St Days Truro I would also like to get checked - any contacts down in that area? perhaps should I just put on forum as I did with this one?? Again many thanks Jon, if I can be of assistance to you with anything Canadian in future, I will certainly try, Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 4 June , 2004 Share Posted 4 June , 2004 Bryan Headstones are normal in UK cemeteries but you will find many graves where either none was erected (due to cost etc) or where the stone has subsequently been removed due to its condition etc. Also a lot of headstones in the UK were destroyed by bombing in WW2 (Gillingham area would have been in the front line with the docks along the Thames). A kerbstone is a low stone kerb around the edge of a grave roughly 6ft by two and a half - about six inches high when new. These often substituted for headstones and had the person's details engraved along their length. With the passage of time many of these have sunk into the ground or the soil level has built up around them so as to bury or obscure them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 4 June , 2004 Author Share Posted 4 June , 2004 Yes Terry, that makes sense - I had not thought about the bombing in WWII & the closeness of G'ham to the Thames. I have seen grave photos of these perimeter boundries - just did not know there were referred to as kerbstones. We have those in Canada also on older graves -mostly pre WWI gravesites. I would think the cost of doing this today would be prohibitive, at least here anyway! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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