A Son of the Rock

On the way downhill from St Deiniol’s Churchyard, Hawarden I spotted two graves that at first appeared to be of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission type. They were certainly made of Portland stone and had military insignia inscribed on them but their tops were more domed than is usual. Closer inspection revealed that the deaths commemorated lay outside the war years, leading to the thought that deaths in military service outwith wartime may be marked by this slightly different headstone.

Flight Lieutenant M M Restell-Little, RAF, 19/5/1933, aged 33, may still have been killed in service. Alternatively he succumbed to his wounds many years after they were inflicted:-

Sergeant L Foster, RAF, 9/11/1948, aged 45. Below, “Dearest Wife, Ethel, died 23rd June 1988. (Related to the above thought, it is unusual for non-military personnel to be mentioned on a Commonwealth War Grave stone. In fact I think it may be prohibited. It’s not on the stone though, and the grave isn’t in a CWGC cemetery.):-