Major T.P. Gray is buried in the graveyard of Dalston Church in North Cumbria. His grave is marked by a single, slightly damaged white stone with his name, rank and regimental insignia carved into it.

Major T.P Gray is remembered in Dalston Church, Cumbria

Surrounded by dark coloured headstones the bright white Commonwealth War Grave memorial stands as a beacon in the graveyard, just like the Major possibly did for the men under his command.

Little is known about Major Thomas Patrick Gray and why he is buried in the church in north Cumbria. Except that he died on the 12 September 1946 and that he was a major in the Royal Artillery.

He is buried in ward 5, sec. C, grave number 60.

His service number, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, was 94441.

It is thought that he may have been the Judge Advocate General for a time. However, at this stage this is not proven.

More information

Do you know any more about Major Gray ?  Let us know via the comments area below or via the contact us page.

The church yard of St. Michael’s in Dalston, Cumbria could have come straight out of a novel by J.R.R Tolkien.

Tiny gravestones look as though they are sprouting from the earth

In the mists of an autumn morning, we came across 30 or so small gravestones about 18 inches in height and 12 inches wide,  this was something we had never seen in a Cumbrian church yard before and it felt like we had suddenly been transported to the Shires of Middle Earth.

Then a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach at the thought that all the graves were of infants and that some epidemic befell the Victorians of Dalston.  However, closer inspection revealed that these are just normal graves, representing a wide selection of the population and all dating around the late 19th century.

Victorian flamboyance

Victorian gravestones are renowned for being quite large, well carved and often ostentatious and there are gravestones in Dalston churchyard which fit with this generalisation.  Perhaps hard times in the late 1800′s led to people selecting smaller grave memorials but these are not simple stones, they are just as detailed and well carved as their larger counterparts.

There are about 30 to 40 grave stones in the older part of the church yard, surrounded by mature yew trees, with a handful of others scattered in between the larger memorials.

A broken grindstone takes a young life.

Inscriptions on these miniature stones are well worn and some are falling over but one or two give an insight into the lives of the people they commemorate;

One reads:
“In memory of Robert Baldwin
Who was accidentally killed by the
breaking of a grind-stone at the forge
February 7th 1885 Aged 19 years
Thy will be done”.

St. Michael’s Church

St. Michael’s Church stands in the main square of Dalston village.  Built in 1750 from red sandstone and restored in 1850.

The chancel is said to date from the 13th century and two Bishops of Carlisle are buried here.

Did this man create the miniature gravetones?

One of the other graves we found in Dalston Church yard and marked by a regular size memorial, belongs to John Harkness, a local tombstone cutter who died in 1891.

Perhaps John Harkness was responsible for the miniature gravestones!

We would be interested to hear from anybody who can shed light on the reason for the small grave memorials and indeed, their creator.

Further information

Dalston Church website
Carlisle Records Office

A private burial place in the wilderness of Freedom Hills, Alabama has now become a Coon dog burial site and tourist attraction.

In 1937 Key Underwood sadly buried his faithful coondog, Troop. They had hunted together and been close friends for more than 15 years.

Coondog Cemetery direction sign

The burial spot was a popular hunting camp where coon hunters from miles around gathered to plot their hunting strategies, tell tall tales, chew tobacco and compare coon hounds. Those comparisons usually began and ended with Troop…he was the best around.

Underwood knew there was no place in the world Troop loved more than that camp. It was only fitting, he decided, that Troop spend eternity there.

On that dreary Labor Day of 1937, Underwood said good-bye to his legendary coonhound. On a rock from an old chimney, with a hammer and a screwdriver, Key chiseled out Troop’s name and the date. A special marker was erected in his memory.

Out of one hunter’s devotion to his faithfull coonhound, was born the “Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard,” which has became a popular tourist attraction and is the only cemetery of its kind in the world.

Other hunters started doing the same when their favorite coon dogs died. Today more than 185 coon dogs from all across the United States are buried in this spot in Northwest Alabama.

More information

Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard

Coon dogs - Find out more information about Coon Hounds.

A young 18th century Manx smuggler,  Thomas Stowell, is buried at Bowness on Solway church.

Smuggling along the Solway coast was rife during the 17th and 18th centuries, with large gangs of professional smugglers operating on the Scottish coast and to a lesser extent, on the English side.

Many illicit loads were landed between Saltpans and Skinburness by these ‘midnight traders’, including brandy and tea. One of the smugglers’ Ankers barrels, used to transport such goods, is on display in Bowness on Solway church.

His smuggling cost him his life

In 1755, the King’s boast from Skinburness intercepted one of these smuggling ships.  During the chase, a young Manx smuggler, Thomas Stowell, (or stoal) was wounded by gunfire.He was landed, with his cargo of brandy and tobacco, at Bowness-on-Solway where he died.

Thomas Stowell is buried in a marked grave at Bowness on Solway churchyard, situated under a Yew tree where six more smugglers are buried, in unmarked graves.

The smugglers’ grave can be found by walking to the right (north) of the church and locating the yew tree which is about a third of the way down the graveyard.
More information

Smugglers’ Britain – Find out about smuggling in Britain

Wherecanwewalk.com – The Smugglers Route walk – The Bank End Ramble

The monument inscriptions from the graveyard of St. Cuthbert’s, Bewcastle in Cumbria, is a valuable resource to all those researching their border roots.

Home of the famous Bewcastle Cross

A full description of each grave, together with a plan of the churchyard showing numbered graves, index of persons, index of places and miscellaneous index, is available on CD in Word, Rich Text and Adobe Acrobat format, for both PC and Macintosh, either to pick up in the church, or by post.

Basic details of St. Cuthbert’s, Bewcastle grave inscriptions are also available online.

Transcriptions have also been made of the official records of births, deaths and marriages from 1813 to 1916, plus marriage bonds from 1770 to 1824.

More information

Bewcastle.com - Genealogy pages.

Monument inscriptions from St. Cuthbert’s, Bewcastle. – Basic online listing

The project to record headstone inscriptions in Cockermouth Cemetery began in the Autumn of 2004.

Gravestones have been recorded for All Saints Church Rooms and church graveyard and Allerdale Council Cemetery.  Records can be searched free of charge online via cemetery or by surname.

All saints graveyard Cockermouth

All the headstone inscriptions in the old part of the Cemetery have now been recorded.

Inscriptions in the remaining part of the Cemetery (over the bridge crossing Tom Rudd Beck) will be added to on an ongoing basis.

These inscriptions will prove a valuable resource for both family and local historians.

To find out more about the project or search the database visit the Cockermouth Tourist Information Centre web pages.

Maj.-Gen. Sir George Frederick Johnson is buried in his local graveyard of St Mary’s church, Walton, Brampton, Cumbria.

Maj. Gen. Sir George Frederick Johnson Headstone

Decorated with the award of Companion, Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.), He gained the rank of Major-General in the service of the Scots Guards.

He was invested as a Commander, Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.), Knight Commander, Royal Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.) and Companion, Order of the Bath (C.B.).

St. Mary's church, Walton, Brampton, Cumbria

He lived at Castlesteads, Brampton, Cumberland, England.

Married to Lady Ida Mary Ramsay born on 29 January 1906. The daughter of Arthur George Maule Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie and Lady Mary Adelaide Heathcote-Drummond.

The marriage took place on 4 January 1938.

The Orkney Family History Society have ongoing projects to catalogue all of the graveyards of mainland Orkney and the surrounding islands.

Bound copies

Some of these sites have been completed and are now available in booklet form or members can view the details on the website.

Cataloging has been rigorous and you will find full inscriptions detailed for each entry.

For those who view the entries on line, there is an added advantage that a global search of all Orkney graveyards can be done by name.

A fantastic tool for the family historian and a real credit to the hard and diligent work of the society and it’s members.

The society have also published census details from 1841 to 1901.

Visit Orkney Family History Society

Find out more about Orkney