Seven members of a single-family are named in this grave although not all are actually buried in it. The Carpendales were a highly-respected South County Dublin family – many of whom served in India. The Rev Maxwell Carpendale was a Perpetual Curate in the village of Mullavilly in County Armagh …
John Flannery’s burial was recorded in Deansgrange Cemetery register but I could not find his grave. With the help of cemetery personnel, I discovered he was buried in the plot of the Dockrell family. If his name was not inscribed on the tombstone, it could be for a very good …
LT COL SIR WALTER JAMES THOMPSON BUCHANAN K.C.I.E 1861-1924 Walter James Thompson Buchanan was the eldest of Robert and Mary Buchanan’s eight children. Robert, like his father before him, was Coroner of Fintona, County Tyrone. Walter James Thompson as born in Londonderry on 12 November 1861 and was educated in …
MAJOR-GENERAL RICHARD HEARD C.B.E. 1870-1950 On 10 November 1866, the steamer ‘Ceres’ was wrecked off the coast of Wexford. One of the survivors was Dr Robert Lynn Heard of Donaghadee, Co Down. He was the son of Richard Griffith Noble Heard, Chief Inspector of the Coastguards in Kinsale, Co Cork, …
During a break from repairing its altar cloths, I took a look around St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, and noticed a few dedications to ‘Raj’ people on the walls. One that caught my attention was of the Gabbetts – father and son. The Gabbett family had a comfortable life in Castle …
Surgeon Major James Sadlier Ridings 1835-1891 A name like Sadleir Ridings is not easy to locate on the internet with Sadleir picked up as saddler and every riding establishment in the country flogging lessons or riding rugs called Sweet Itch, Therapy and Buzz Off – even a Buzz Off rug …
1897-1960 The couple buried in this plot in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin, had two amazing sons – one, the recipient of an O.B.E. and the other, a Knight. Adam James McElwaine, from Coleraine, County Londonderry, married Edith Mary Leech from Ennis, County Clare, who was 13 years his junior, and the …
Colonel Alexander Bredin 1837-1927 The Bredins have a remarkable military history in India with many rotating the same family names, to make it more confusing for me. But I am getting better at solving such family riddles. Thomas Bredin and Eliza McLaughery of Ballymahon, County Longford had seven children. Their …
Lt Col Eyre Evans Preston O.B.E. 1872-1937 his is a continuation of the Preston story posted last month and is about the older brother of Lt Col William John Phaelim. Eyre Evans was born to Surgeon General Alexander Francis and Elizabeth Agabeg Preston in 1872. His father was posted in …
Lt Col William John Phaelim Preston D.S.O., O.B.E. – 1873-1943 I was attracted to the grave of Rev Decimus William Preston by the inscription at the very bottom, referring to his grandson, William John Phaelim, who had been in the Indian Army. Image: The Wardrobe.org.uk The Reverend Decimus William Preston from …
LT Col William Saffery Cooper 1903 – 1962 William Saffery Cooper, late Indian Army, shares a tombstone with his wife, two children and in-laws, the McNeills. Cooper’s father and uncle both had interesting careers in the Indian Army and I may write about them sometime. His father, Lt Col William …
LT Col William Black Eddowes 1878-1947 This is a continuation of the Eddowes family – I have already written about the father, Surgeon Major William Eddowes. William Black was only two years old when his father died in January 1880 in Dublin. Eight months after her husband’s death, his young …
SURGEON MAJOR WILLIAM EDDOWES 1827-1880 The William Eddowes in this grave was buried (if you’ll pardon the pun) under a virtual landslide of Eddowes’ – from artists to Jack the Ripper victims, many in the armed forces, many in India and many called William. To confuse matters further, there were …
LT COL ARTHUR ORAM C.I.E 1885-1965 This grave holds the remains of Isabella and her brother Arthur Oram. They were two of the eight children born to Arthur Talbott Oram and Catherine Anderson. Arthur, like his father, John, was a farmer in Mayo and both men kept extensive diaries of …
Major John Langran Giddings 1818-1873 John Langran Giddings’ grave confirms ‘His end was peace’. Of course it was, given the seaside tranquillity of Sandycove, County Dublin, after the ferocity of India. It was infuriating that there was no mention of his Indian connection on his tombstone – I had to …
Colonel Francis Charles Burton 1885-1931 For a change, I am writing about someone whose name is connected to a grave in Ireland, but who is not himself buried here. The grave is that of the artist, Sir Frederick William Burton, Director of the National Gallery of England, whose painting ‘The …
MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT BEATTY 1836-1909 Robert Beatty was born in 1836 in Lisburn, Co Down. His father, David, was a tanner and currier, who was also a Justice of the Peace. Robert was the eldest of David’s three surviving sons – all of whom served in India, two in the …
Lieutenant-General Henry Hall C.B. 1789-1874 It was not easy to research the Halls on the internet because every hall in the country wanted me to book it for my wedding. But this grave in Deansgrange opened the door to a real Hall of Fame! People connected to it had remarkable …
Surgeon John George Collis M.D. 1845-1877 The internet threw up so many John George Collis’ that sorting one from the other took some time but I eventually found the right man. John George Collis’ father, Peter, was a Captain in the 95th Regiment – one of six regiments to bear …
Colonel Sidney O’Donel M.C. 1892 – 1945 The grave in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin, of the three O’Donel brothers – Sidney, Hugh Stephen and William James – is sad enough, given that the two younger brothers were only 20 and 26 years old when they died. What makes it sadder still …
