Gunner E.H Deacon,RFA.

[Simon Furnell]

Evening all.

I popped into a local churchyard today,waiting for one of the girls to come out of a dance class,where there are some CWGC graves covering both wars.

The big surprise,to me,was that a new stone had been erected,and it was in a place that i don't remember there being a CWGC headstone before.

The headstone is to Gunner 86100 Ernest Henry Deacon,RFA,and he died on the 2nd of December,1917.

He was a local man,and the headstone looks as though it has been put on a proper grave,which has a very sturdy,pink granite,border around it.

I had never noticed this man before,and when i looked closer at the granite,i noticed it was engraved,very faintly,with the words,"In memory of Gunner E.H Deacon,died 2nd of December 1917".

It hasn't been erected long,as there are flowers around the base of the stone,and the wedges are still in place to hold it up.

Can anybody shed any light on this man,and is it possible his body was brought back,to be buried at home?.

As i said,i don't remember there being a stone in that place before,so maybe he was a casualty,who died in the UK,but had never had a headstone before?.

Any ideas,chaps?.

All the best.

Simon.