The Funeral of Admiral Vander-Meulen, Bishops Stortford, 1913

Some years ago I acquired the card and there was a major bit of detective work to find out who the deceased was. Accounts of the death of Admiral Vander-Muelen have now appeared on the British Newspaper Archive and I have added then to "The Funeral" page.

Military Funeral of Private Crichton and other Tring News from 1915

Extracts from the Bucks Herald of 20th February, 1915

Edited from British Newspaper Archive
Previous week ~~~~ Tring News Index

The big event of the week was the funeral of George Crichton, of  "D" Company, 13th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, who had been billeted with Mr and Mrs J. Shephard of Lonbgfield Road, Tring, and who was buried, with full ceremony, in Tring Cemetery.

The religious needs of the troops were also to the fore. The Right Rev. Bishop J. Taylor Smith, Chaplain-General to the Forces gave a service, In addition to the regular church parades some soldiers had joined the parish church choir, and the Y.M.C.A. put on an event in the Gem Picture Palace. More everyday needs were supplied by the Rothschild children who gave 300 lbs. of tobacco and 2,300 packets of cigarettes to the men stationed in the town and surrounding villages.

The letter in last week's paper about the verse "The Lads of Halton Park" produced a response from the author, G. Patterson, who was billeted at New Mill, Tring, complaining that it had been reprinted without permission on post cards in Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard - and he hopes that any profits are donated to charity. The camp was also in the news because work on the butts was nearing completion.

Other news was that Frederick Plumeridge, who worked on the Grand Junction Canal, had died - and the vicar of Marsworth had left and his replacement had not yet been named.

Surnames this week: Anderson, Atkins, Clarendon, Clissold, Crichton, Essex, Francis, Hampden, Holdaway, Kirk, Lang, Mullins, Palmer, Patterson, Pearce, Plumeridge, Prior, Pickett, Rothschild, Sheppard, Smith, Wright

Every Picture tells a Story - The Bishops Stortford funeral.

The funeral in Hockerill, Bishops Stortford, 1913

Old Post Cards

Bishops Stortford

I enjoy finding old post cards which tell us something about the past. Over 5 years ago I published two pictures of a funeral, and by looking at the pictures in considerable detail I was able to work out that the photographs were take in Bishops Stortford, in the winter months between 1912 and 1916. However I could not identify the name of the deceased but speculated that it might be Sir Walter Gilbey (of Gilbey's gin fame). The problem is that I did not have easy access to the Bishop's Stortford papers of the time.

Jill has now contacted me with additional information, which I have added to the page, which clearly shows that the deceased was Admiral Frederick Samuel Vander-Meulen, a local magistrate. She also supplied a modern photograph which clearly identifies the location of the other 1913 photograph.

Update to the Gilbey Funeral at Bishops Stortford

A few years ago I acquired two photographs of a grand funeral procession and by carrying out some detailed research, using clues such as poster on the wall, and in windows, in the background was able to identify the place where one of the photographs was taken, and to date it to a very narrow period. While it has not yet been confirmed it seems very likely that the funeral was of Walter Gilbey, of Gilbey's Gin fame, in Bishops Stortford, in November 1914. For details of the interesting story behind the pictures see The Funeral, Bishops Stortford.

 At the time the location of the above picture was not known, although it shows the same hearse with the same floral arrangement on the top. Now David Brown, of Bishops Stortford writes: 

From the houses - particularly the small gable end you can see behind the house on the left, and the windows in the attic - it is pretty clear that the procession is in London Road just south of the junction with South Street (the Whitepost roundabout).  The procession is heading south along London Road and presumably would have turned right up Thorley Hill towards the cemetery

 I have also added a brief news report of the funeral, which took place on November 16th, from The Times and a portrait from the Illustrated London News.