Today Katy took us to the City of London cemetery to see if we could find Ernest Haylett's grave. The cemetery is huge but ordered, well-kept and peaceful - except for the cars, some of which were being driven far too fast; and there was plenty of wildlife, including birds singing - and parakeets squawking - squirrels, and resident foxes which the public are urged not to feed.
Knowing that Ernest's grave was in square 253, and having checked the shape of the monument on her iPhone, meant that Katy found it very quickly.
It's virtually unchanged from....
....how it was when this picture was taken except that the marble has dirtied, some of the lead lettering has come away, the grass and weeds have grown, and....
....Edith has joined her husband. Her inscription reads, "Also Edith Elizabeth his beloved wife who passed away 4th June 1955 aged 78 years.
For they shall see God."
The Haylett grave backs on to another grave which holds a William Alfred Ward Hore who was also a Master Mariner, who died in March 1928 aged 57, also at sea. One does wonder whether the proximity of the two graves is coincidence or whether the two families knew each other.
Having tidied my grandparents' grave - in retrospect we should have brought some gardening tools - we spent the rest of our time in the cemetery wandering round a looking at the many graves and, thanks to the wonders of the mobile 'phone. learning about some of the symbols on them.
As we were in the car leaving Gill spotted another Haylett grave near the exit, a Robert Charles Haylett who died on 14th April 1936. This Robert isn't on our branch of the family tree.
Thank you to Katy for organising our day out.
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