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.):-

Moving further away from St Deiniol’s itself, slightly downhill, we found scattered among other graves the distinctive shape of Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones. Usually Commonwealth War Graves Commission graves are well kept – even those in “normal” cemeteries. The ones here were a bit overgrown though.

Sub-Lieutenant J N W Parish, Royal Navy, HMS Herron, 17/5/1941, Aged 20:-

The lower portion of the above stone commemorates Sub-Lieutenant Parish’s brother, David, Pilot Officer, RAF, lost on operations from Malta, February, 1942:-

L Serjeant G E Roberts, Royal Welch Fusiliers, 7/12/1940, aged 22:-

M C Hughes, Able Seaman, RN, “HMS Osprey,” 9/10/1942 aged 21:-

Sapper, W H Clover, Royal Engineers, 17/8/1940, Aged 26:-

Corporal J H Williams, Pioneer Corps, 14/11/1944, aged 34:-

Signalman J Dutton, Royal Signals, 14/12/1916, aged 29:-

Private A Atkiss, Pioneer Corps, 27/7/1943, aged 32:-

In St Deiniol’s churchyard, Hawarden, I noticed a sign pointing to a Crimean War grave. Naturally I made my way to it.

Not only was Thomas Ryan, “a native of Kilkenny and late Troop Sergeant Major in HM XVIII Lancers,” present at the Battles of Alma, Inkerman and Sevastopol* he was at Balaklava* and was no less than a survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade!

Whom – as his gravestone has it – “God’s high grace saved from death in the memorable light cavalry charge at Balaklava.”

Strictly speaking this is not a war grave as Ryan came back from Crimea and, “took his final discharge on October 20^th 1908, aged 88 years.”

A wonderful thing to come on out of the blue, though.

*As the spellings were then.

Hawarden War Memorial stands at the junction of the B 5125 and the A 550 (Gladstone Way) hard by Gladstone’s Library.

It is in the form of a stone column with crucifix in a recess towards the apex:-

Closer view:-

Dedication, “To the praise of God and the glorious memory of the men of Hawarden who gave their lives for their country in the cause of righteousness and freedom AD 1914-1919. Their name liveth for evermore.” Click photo to zoom in on lower dedication:-

The names for the dead of the Great War are mostly on stone panels behind the memorial. Left side:-

Right side:-

Further names are inscribed below the dedication panels:-

More Great War names on left side pillar, World War 2 names beyond:-

Names for 1939-1945, left side:-

Another name (on the extreme left of the Memorial):-

Right hand pillar, World War 2 names beyond:-

Names for 1939-1945, right side:-

Across Gladstone Way there is a Great War 100^th Anniversary Commemoration. The perspex silhouette represents a dead soldier:-

Hawarden‘s most famous inhabitant, William Ewart Gladstone is himself buried in Westminster Abbey with his wife beside him.

Some of his descendants are, though buried in Hawarden, off St Deiniol’s Churchyard. Their graves are a bit overgrown, however.

William Henry Gladstone, 3/6/1840 – 4/7/1881. Son of William Ewart Gladstone:-

William Glynne Charles Gladstone, born 14th July 1886. Lord Lieutenant of the County of Flint, MP for Kilmarnock Burgh. Grandson of William Ewart Gladstone.

On the same gravestone, Evelyn Catherine Gladstone, 2/1/1882 – 11/12/1958. Brother of William Glynne Charles Gladstone:-

Behind the above (double) grave is that of Herbert John, Viscount Gladstone, 1854-1930, and his wife Dorothy Mary, 1876-1953, who are buried in an iron surrounded enclosure:-

Grave inscriptions:

(i) -1910 Secretary of State for the Home Department:-

(ii) First Governor General of South Africa:-

(iii) Wise and generous and true he fough.. (indecipherable):-

Erskine William Gladstone, died 28/3/2018, aged 92. Great-grandson of William Ewart Gladstone?

Hawarden, where Gladstone’s Library is situated (see posts in the past week) and where Gladstone and his wife lived, is a village in Flintshire, North Wales.

Main street:-

Gates to Hawarden Castle:-

Hawarden Post Office and side street. I got a flicker of deja vu at the road sign pointing to Queensferry. For a moment I thought I was back in Fife:-

Over the road from the Post Office and near to the gates above lies the Gladstone Memorial Fountain, erected by locals to commemorate the fiftieth wedding anniversary of William Ewart Gladstone and his wife, Catherine:-

The upper inscriptions on the three sides read in total, “Drink ye the water of life.”

The grounds of Gladstone’s Library, Hawarden, are dominated by a huge statue of the man.

Statue of William Ewart Gladstone with Gladstone’s Library building behind:-

Showing figures:-

Reverse of Gladstone Statue. Inscribed 1809-1898:-

The windows of our room in Gladstone’s Library looked out on the graveyard of St Deiniol’s Church in Hawarden.

The graveyard extends into an area of land away from the church, where there are lots of old graves:-

We were told Gladstone read about 300 books a year. They know this because he made notes on them.

That’s almost one a day! Substantial books too. And he managed all that while he was Prime Minister.

There are books on lots of subjects in the Reading Room of Gladstone’s Library which also contains his cabinet, housing objects he held in special regard.

Gladstone’s Cabinet, Reading Room upper floor railings and windows:-

From right hand side + windows and upper floor of Reading Room:-

Contents of Gladstone’s Cabinet:-

Ceiling of Reading Room:-

Lower floor, with view of upper gallery:-

Stairs to upper floor:-

Gladstone’s Cabinet from upper floor of Reading Room (plus a beardie bloke reading a periodical):-

Lower Floor from upper floor:-

Upper floor and part of vaulted ceiling:-

Upper floor:-

Upper floor bookshelves. (The library has its own idiosyncratic cataloguing system – devised by Gladstone as I recall):-

The library parts of Gladstone’s Library are reminiscent of Walter Scott’s home at Abbotsford but a bit grander. The larger of the two is the Theology Room, which, as its name suggests, mainly houses Gladstone’s collection of books on theology and religion.

Book racks, windows and gallery:-

The ceiling is impressive but the photo is badly focused, I’m afraid:-

Gallery support, complete with carving:-

View to part of gallery:-

A selection of periodicals on display:-