Plan to honour Saltash firefighters killed in Devonport in WW2
'Served together, died together'
Mr Stanlake said: "They were all young Saltash men who grew up together, served together, died together and sadly are laid to rest together side by side."My Uncle John was told he had to stay home during the war because his parents were farmers and farming was an essential issue. "He wasn't a happy bunny, he wanted to go and do his bit but he kept applying to go in the army and kept being rejected so he joined the local fire brigade."Their deaths were a massive blow for the then small, close-knit town of Saltash. "Three weeks after Uncle John died, his call-up papers to join the army finally came through, which was very sad."
The retired police constable said despite trying to look after his uncle's grave at St Stephen's churchyard, "three of the graves, you wouldn't know who it is, there's no markings at all"."We're trying to put some continuity in, so we can have new headstones on the graves that have nothing," he said."Stanley Crabb's will be tidied up and re-engraved with the fire brigade motif put in, and Bernard Jasper's will be levelled-up and cleaned."For personal family reasons, those two will look slightly different, but we wanted to do this very respectfully and with the total permission of the families and what they want."Mr Stanlake said the plans also included "a storyboard erected near to the site with photographs and names" so people visiting the churchyard could learn about their story.
The 73-year-old said he had been pursuing the passion project for more than three years and had "jumped through various hoops" to get the work approved by the relevant authorities."All six families have already donated, quite rightly, so we're looking for about £8,000."In this country, we are very good at looking after our dead from wars and before I leave this planet I want to see these graves refurbished to a level that is befitting to these men's memory and the sacrifice they made. "These lads deserve better, it's been a long time but we need to honour their memory for many years to come and what's there now doesn't do that."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
a day ago
- Daily Record
Abandoned Scottish mansion once home of head of Tennent's reclaimed by nature
The property dates back all the way to the 1850s. New photographs show a ruined Scottish castle that was once home to the head of Tennent's brewery. As seen in the images, the once-grand property is being reclaimed by nature. Dunalastair House is situated in a green setting in the southern Highlands, 18 miles from the Perthshire town of Pitlochry. However, the recent photos show it as a shadow of its former self. The property was built in 1859 by local architect Andrew Heiton. It was originally the home of General Sir John Macdonald, who commanded land forces in Scotland. In the early 1880s, Sir John's son Alastair sold the property to Hugh Tennent—the great-great-grandson of the Wellpark Brewery founder of the same name. Now known as Tennent's Brewery, it produces the best-selling beer in Scotland. Tennent owned the mansion for just nine years, before he died at age 27. During World War Two, Dunalastair House was used as a school for the children of Polish refugees. However, the property experienced a catastrophic fire that destroyed a valuable painting by John Everett Millais. It fell into disuse by 1952, before its contents were sold at auction two years after. The abandoned Dunalastair House later became a hotspot for vandals in the 1960s. When thieves stole the lead from the roof, the building quickly fell into a state of decay. After this, deer fences were constructed around the property to keep potential trespassers out. Today, the imposing structure has been taken over by trees, nettles, and bracken. Many proposals to restore the mansion have been made. However, none have succeeded because of the price and extent of the repairs needed. More On History Heritage Homes and property Beer Photography
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
St Gerrans Church spire is under threat of falling down
A campaign has been launched to prevent the collapse of a historic church spire built as a navigation stone exterior of the tower of St Gerrans Church in Cornwall is so badly eroded water has to be collected in buckets whenever it rains. Now the woodwork that holds the spire together is also under threat. Fundraising group Save Our Spire has raised more than £151,000 but needs another £66,000 so urgent work can be carried out before winter storms arrive. Group member James Leggate said: "The tower was built and 100 years later the spire was added at the request of local fishermen - it's still a navigation point on Admiralty Charts." Residents of Portscatho and Gerrans packed a meeting called to discuss the threat to the spire and the need to find £66,000 to save it. Nev Meek, president of The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, said churches were unique in their value to the community."There's something about a church that is really important to communities, community cohesion and their identity," he said."It really seems to have an impact on the community that no other building has. "The spire on Gerrans church dates from the 15th Century and they're relatively unusual on Cornish churches. So the fact that it's got this lovely spire is really special for us here in Gerrans." Mr Meek said he was also passionate about saving the spire for personal reasons."Not only do I have an interest in making sure our tangible cultural heritage is protected and preserved but I have a personal involvement."It's the church where I was baptised, where my mother was baptised and buried. There are countless generations of my family that are buried in the churchyard, watched over by the steeple and the church," he said Village resident Robin Edwards said: "Ultimately the spire on the church is falling down, it's in a bad state of repair."There's been a fantastic team that have been fundraising for at least a year but they've come up with a shortfall."They've got some grants and lottery money but ultimately we're short by about £66,000."Mr Edwards said the spire was an important landmark."You can see it (the spire) from miles around, it's a very dominant, very important piece of architecture."It's a piece of history and a focal point of the two villages of Gerrans and Portscatho."It falls on all of us as custodians of our villages and members of the community to do what we can, if we don't act we could lose this wonderful piece of architecture and history, " he said.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Rochester Cathedral welcomes restored WW2 plane for exhibition
A World War Two floatplane has gone on display at a cathedral after 12 years of restoration Short Scion Floatplane G-AEZF aircraft, which was decommissioned in 1958, was squeezed into Rochester Cathedral to go on display from was built in 1937 at the Short Brothers factory, once located on Rochester Parks, director of charitable projects at The Rochester Bridge Trust which helped fund the work, said: "Medway Aircraft Preservation Society has done an amazing job and we are pleased to now be able to put it on display for the whole community to see inside Rochester Cathedral." The trust put £40,000 towards the plane's restoration and the Medway Aircraft Preservation Society spent 12 years restoring plane's visit coincides with an exhibition about the Short Brothers factory's history, for which Rochester Cathedral was awarded a £36,000 National Lottery Heritage will be able to view the plane every day throughout during the day is free, although there may be charges for additional activities and evening events.
