Kirkham Parish church servicemen's graves

Next to the parish church is a graveyard. There are servicemen buried there.

View from the gate of the church graveyard extension.

Looking down church lane away from the church

Directly opposite the church.
This path leads to the War Memorial

FLIGHT LIEUTENANT
P. T. CARDEN. M.C.
ROYAL AIR FORCE
12TH FEBRUARY 1942 AGE 57

FIDE ET AMORE

This is a copy and paste from DNW (Dix Noonan Webb) auctions:

Description

A Royal Flying Corps M.C. group of six awarded to Lieutenant P. T. Carden, Royal Flying Corps, late Royal Fusiliers

Military Cross, G.V.R.; 1914-15 Star (1337 Pte., R. Fus.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut., R.F.C.); Defence & War Medals, good very fine (6) £1100-1300

Footnote

M.C. London Gazette 25 April 1918: ‘T/Lt. Percy Theodore Carden, Gen. List and R.F.C. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When acting as observer he made a successful wire reconnaissance along a corps front at a height of 300 to 800 feet under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. On another occasion, while observing during a reconnoitring patrol, he and his pilot had four encounters with enemy aeroplanes, in one of which they were attacked at 800 feet by five enemy scouts. He kept up a continuous fire, and drove off the enemy, and completed a valuable reconnaissance. He showed the greatest keenness and determination at his work.’

Percy Theodore Carden was the son of Major-General G. Carden. He was educated at Wellington College, and Corpus Christi, Oxford, where he graduated with Honours in Law. He was called to the Bar in 1908, Lincoln’s Inn and Innner Temple, and joined the 18th (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, in 1914. He was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps in February 1916 and joined No. 12 Squadron in France as an observer on 16 February. He was Brigade Intelligence Officer from December 1916 to February 1917, 12th Corps Wing H.Q. Posted to the Home Establishment for pilot training in December 1917, he qualified as a pilot in 1918 and served with Home Defence units until the end of the war. He was transferred to the Unemployed List in January 1919 and was recalled in 1939, as a Flight Lieutenant, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died on active service on 12 February 1942 and is buried in Kirkham (St Michael) Churchyard Extension, Lancashire. Sold with full details of his operational flights in the Great War together with some combat reports, recommendation for M.C. and an original printed Xmas Menu from 1917.




 
Percy Theodore CARDEN  ‎(I9531)‎

Name: Percy Theodore CARDEN

Gender: Male

Birth: 14 December 1884 46 35 -- Home Lodge, Surbiton, Surrey Death: 12 February 1942 ‎(Age 57)‎ -- RAF Station Hospital, Kirkham, Lancs

This information comes from the Tollis.com website.

1326 AIRCRAFTMAN 2ND CLASS
G.E. WADEY
ROYAL AIR FORCE
14TH OCTOBER 1940

1053620 CORPORAL
J. D. JONES
ROYAL AIR FORCE
27TH APRIL 1958 AGE 45

REST IN PEACE

621470 CORPORAL
W. WILLIAMS
ROYAL AIR FORCE
12TH AUGUST 1942 AGE 30

1610759 AIRCRAFTMAN 2ND CLASS
E. H. STRIPP
ROYAL AIR FORCE
19TH AUGUST 1943

1515382 LD? AIRCRAFTMAN
A. L. G. BANNER
ROYAL AIR FORCE
22ND NOVEMBER 1943

4040676 AIRCRAFTMAN 2ND CLASS
J.P. RISDON
6TH AUGUST 1950 AGE 21


IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MY DEAR SON, JOHN
TILL WE MEET AGAIN, MOTHER
(Suspect that this is John P Risdon who was born in Marylebone, mother's maiden name was
Raynham. Birth registered in final quart 1928)

LIEUTENANT
A.S. NUTTALL
6TH COUNTY OF LANCASTER BN.
HOME GUARD
2ND MARCH 1942

3817 PRIVATE
G. PARKER
LOYAL NORTH LANCS REGT.
23RD FEBRUARY 1915 AGE 49

BARBARA HALL
"DAUGHTER"
DIED 22ND APRIL
2007
"TILL WE
MEET AGAIN"

174242926
H. SKILLEN
ROYAL ARTILLERY
21ST APRIL 1943 AGE 35

The Birley Memorial - Kirkham Parish church

This is in the memorials blog. Seems faintly out of place as most of the memorials relate to the fallen in the twentieth century wars. I will try and decode this memorial, much of the dressed stone has chipped or cracked away. Hopefully many of the names at least will still be visible. There is a datastore page here where there are more pictures. These have been used to attempt to decipher the the memorial as well as Ancestry
This is the grandest object in the churchyard by the church. The Birley family had land and influence in this area for generations. Built in the mid 19C initially commemorating William Birley the founder of Kirkham Linen Mill. There is further information relating to Wrea Green and the Birley family here.

The monument as seen from the pathway to the church entrance

William Birley of Kirkham
the son of John and Margaret Birley
died in London May 29, 1850 aged 70 years
and is buried here.
Mary the wife of William Birley
daughter of John and Susanna Swainson of Preston
died February 19, 1819 aged 40 years
and is buried beneath the entrance to this vault.
Margaret, second Wife of
William Birley
died 15 January 1864 Aged 79 years.
Also Edmund William Birley,
elder son of the said Edmund
and Caroline Dorothea Birley
7 December 1940 aged 87 Years
 
(Note this transcription differs from the 'Birley' family website which can be found here).

In memory of
Anne
the beloved wife of
the Rev. John Shepherd Birley, M.A.
eldest son of William and Mary Birley.
She died 12 May, 1872 aged 67 years
and is buried in St. Cuthbert's Lytham
also of her husband
Rev. John Shepherd Birley, M.A.
who died 1 July, 1883
and is interred at St Cuthbert's Lytham

Note to self - Next visit to St Cuthberts...
Beneath are copies of their probates.
 

(Very Difficult and there may be mistakes...)

Mary daughter of William
and Eliza died January ? 18?
Aged  ? Years
and above William Birley second son of William and Mary Birley died at
the Larches  Ashton on Ribby  ??
Eliza aged 82 Years
and is buried here
Eliza wife of William Birley
died  ? April 30 1913
and is buried close to this vault

Caroline Mary Moore
daughter of Blinnhnd and Caroline dau??
died Nov 20 1847 aged 8 months
in loving memory of Caroline Margaret
Wife of James Dunsmure
died Oct 21 1886
buried in the Dean Cemetery Edinburgh
Also of Annie Mary Wife of Colonel Dove
died Jan 20th 1895 buried at St Johns
also of Edmund Birley father of the above
Youngest son of William and Mary Birley
died at Clifton Hall March 28 1895
Aged 77 years and is buried here
also of Caroline Dorothea widow of ??
?? Edmund Birley daughter of the
Rev Richard Moore Vicar of
died August 20 1890
"Begineth his beloved sleep" Psalm cxxvii

also of Helen Maud the beloved wife of
Gervase Arthur Mathew and youngest daughter
of the above Edmund and Caroline Dorothea Birley
<----->
Ada Birley their daughter died March 8th   1934

This is the reply from the Gravestones photo resource with extra information.

This image is from the Gravestone Resource
The picture was taken in the Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.
The interesting information relates to
Caroline Margaret Birley, she is mentioned on the Birley Memorial above.
It may be possible to piece together all the missing information
on the rest of the monument.

This is the information that relates to the Dean Cemetery picture.(copy and paste) from the information.

Dean 2e Cemetery
Edinburgh

Full name	age	birth year	burial year	relationship
James Dunsmure	87	1771	1858
Susan Drysdale	69	1774	1843	wife of James Dunsmure
Lt Henry Alexander Henderson Dunsmure			1915	son of James Dunsmure
Lt Colin Hamilton Terrot Dunsmure			1915	son of James Dunsmure
Charles Hill Dunsmure			1848	unknown
Susan Elizabeth Dunsmure	67	1815	1882	unknown
James Dunsmure	72	1814	1886	unknown
Caroline Margaret Birley	36	1850	1886	unknown Fairly convinced that she is mentioned on the Birley memorial at Kirkham. Information tallies with the memorial there
James Jnr Dunsmure	61	1846	1907	unknown

This photo is on the adjoining graveyard to the west of the church. The servicemen's graves will be on a different page.

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING
MEMORY OF EDMUND BIRLEY DIED 1895
CAROLINE DOROTHEA BIRLEY DIED 1899
OF CLIFTON HALL WREA PRESTON
AND OF THEIR CHILDREN
EMILY MARION PEEL DIED 1922
CAROLINE MARGARET DUNSMURE DIED 1886
ANNIE MARY DOVE DIED 189?
HELEN MAUD MATHEW DIED 1915
RICHARD MOORE BIRLEY DIED 1926
ADA BIRLEY DIED MARCH 8 1934
ON THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE CROSS IS AN INSCRIPTION
THIS CROSS IS GIFT OF THEIR DAUGHTER ADA BIRLEY
JULY 1929

Seems this has quite a lot of further research before I can complete the transcriptions. Quite a place Kirkham. Done more on the 13/12/12