John George Hawdon 21st May 1919

John George Hawdon Died 21st May 1919



Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

The only John George Hawdon that I can locate seems to have been born in Kent although there is no other material. John seems to have slipped into a sort of post mortem anonymity.

Jack Bibby Died 11th June 1917



© Godric Godricson



Bertram Robert Russell-Kalkara

Albert Bartlett Died 19th October 1919

Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

William H Cornes Died 31st October 1919

Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

War Dead - Alex Anderson 24th May 1918



Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson



Captain J. Boxhall, J McDonald and Mr Bonner Died 1917

Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Kalkara - The Cemetery

 Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

The cemetery at Kalkara is large and sun washed. The ground is hard and the graves are cut from the limestone that forms most of the island.

T.E.L. Marsh Died 27th April 1916

Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Warren Stephen Wright 1896-1926

Buried Kalkara, Malta

© Godric Godricson

For a genealogical understanding of Warren Stephen Wright see this link

James Philip Alfred Bremridge 1893-1926

Buried Kalkara, Malta

© Godric Godricson

James was born to the Rev Henry Bremridge [Link] at Winkleigh, Devon, 1893.At one point, James lived at "Woodhouse", Saint George's Avenue, Weybridge in Surrey  with his wife Eleanor Isobel.

James died in 1926 whilst serving aboard HMS Delhi [Link] and left a will containing just over £22,000.

Haydon Marriott Sutherland Forbes 1897-1927

Buried Kalkara, Malta

© Godric Godricson

Haydon Marriott Sutherland Forbes was the only child of Dr.F.C.S. Forbes and 'Mrs. Forbes' (afterwards Farrington) born 1897. By 1911 Haydon was at the Royal Naval College, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight and later married to Cicely Malkham. Father to Pamela Patricia Forbes born in 1925.


Haydon was a descendent of Robert III of Scotland (b. 1337 - 4 April 1406) and the Lords of Forbes. Died on flying duty, 9th June 1927.

Montagu Western Plumptre - Died 24th August 1927



Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]


Son of  Rev. Edward Montagu Plumptre, an Anglican clergyman. Montagu was born 1903 in Limpsfield, Surrey, England.

Charles Perowne Christie. 1893-1929

Buried - Kalkara, Malta [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Charles Perowne Christie was born in Ongar, Essex 16th August 1893. Charles' father was a stockbroker agent, Charles H F Christie originating in Chigwell Charles was in the navy by the 1911 census (incorrectly registered as Charles J Christie)  as a midshipman aged 17. Charles married in 1923 and died in the Naval Hospital at Bighi in Malta [Link]. A will records that Charles left his substantial estate of over £4,000 to his wife, Caroline Stella Dyson  (Born Greenwich  27 July 1895). Caroline appears to have returned to Greenwich and appears in the electoral roles for that locality into 1939 before her own death on 16th September 1982.

I am unable to verify the information although it appears that Caroline graduated from Girton College, Cambridge University  in 1916 with a BA [Link].

For HMS Courageous [Link]

War Dead - Marquês de Nisa's men 1798

Plaque

Upper Barraka Gardens - Valetta  [Link]
© Godric Godricson

Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery

The Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery is hidden away outside of Paola which is a short bus ride from Valetta. When I visited the cemetery it was 35 degrees centigrade and very dry. The dust clouds formed a haze that found its way into the mouth and up the nose. The Maltese bus drivers didn’t seem to know where the cemetery was located and had even less knowledge as to which bus stop I should use. This is a surprise becasue the cemetery is huge and the final resting place for many Maltese.

I managed to find the place easily enough and managed to cross the busy lanes of traffic that separates the blisteringly hot cemetery on the hillside from the population down below. The British neo-Gothic style marks the cemetery out from the usual baroque structures on the island. The formality of the entrance arch and the Church formed a backdrop that was impressive although it left me unprepared for the enormous cemetery that lay behind the walls. The burials are found in below ground mausolea capped by marble slabs and stele as well as above ground monuments. The marble used in the structures and monuments would fill an entire quarry. The cemetery is marvellous,  worth seeing and part of the 'world class' list of cemeteries that could be compiled. The usual names are found here "Azzopardi", "Caruana" and "Borg" are present and laid out in strict well maintained lines with their neighbours and friends.

Access to the cemetery is in ‘drives’ along the contours of the hill and when I was there a funeral was taking place with relatives making their way in large black cars. The Maltese understand the importance of funerals and the big black car behind the hearse is a well used metaphor on the island. The signs at the entrance were a shock because they were clearly forbidding photographs and I have to say that I was disappointed. There was so much to photograph although I follow the rules and if the sign says no photographs then there are no photographs. The temptation was great as there appeared to be no one around although I believe in behaving ethically when visiting burial sites. My apologies for the absence of pictures.

The burials are well laid out and protected, at least at the first glance, although on a closer inspection it becomes clear that some above ground structures have been damaged and items on the walls appear to have been broken and carried away. So much for the 'Marquis of this and that' who would find their monuments looking a little sad with a dry and flimsy wooden door revealing the walls now lacking ornamentation.Presumably ripped from the walls by thieves. The Maltese newspapers carry stories about thefts from tombs and I think I saw the brutal evidence of such thefts.  



Looking for the Commonwealth war graves at
Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery
© Godric Godricson

 I looked inside the metal grills of various funerary chapels and found no inhumations with all burials being decently below ground. Unfortunately, The dry heat eventually took its toll and after an hour or so wandering amongst the monuments, I had to leave for the bus back to Valetta and a cold drink.

On the way out of the cemetery, I asked for the section maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission although the caretaker didn’t speak English and he seemed a little blunt even when speaking Malti to other visitors. I should say that the photograph alongside this comment was taken at Kalkara.

Ettore Barbara - Kalkara



Photograph on the grave of Ettore Barbara
Died 30th June 1915
Kalkara Naval Cemetery - [Link]

© Godric Godricson



Inscription on the grave of Ettore Barbara
Kalkara Naval Cemetery - [Link]

© Godric Godricson



Rinaldo Sceberras-Testaferrata



Plaque
Upper Barraka Gardens - Valetta  [Link]
© Godric Godricson

Find a Grave [Link]



Sin, conscience and Ġorġ Preca of Malta

We are not marble statues!

© Godric Godricson

When we consider death, burials and the cemetery we inevitably come back to the idea of theology and the Christian faith. I was recently thinking about Saint Ġorġ Preca of Malta (recently canonised by Benedict XVI) and noted that there is an allegation of homosexuality against Ġorġ Preca. I’m not particularly interested in this ‘allegation’ of homosexuality; the allegation neither interests me or concerns me although it does bring up the idea of image or hypocrisy both for the living and for the dead.

Thinking about theology, reputation and Saint Ġorġ Preca;  I remembered a young friend of mine training for the priesthood some years ago. This young man couldn’t get over the idea that he was, at some indiscernible point in the future, going to be charged with hypocrisy or preaching one thing and going on to do another. He was particularly horrified when he understood that he would be an ‘icon for the people’ or an ‘alter Christi’. It was all too much for him in his young life. How would he cope with that level of stress and expectation as a gay man? He still has such feelings of inadequacy although he successfully manages such feelings. Sometimes, ordinands need support when faced by negative images which are unhelpful unless managed and channelled effectively. None of us are marble images and we are all ‘gooey individuals’ with a soft centre.

If ‘we’ all needed to be free from sin and the temptation towards sin before being ordained then ‘we’ would all be in trouble because ‘we’ all sin and despite knowing about sin we continue to sin.  We would all be up the creek without a paddle!

Hidden Cemeteries and hidden lives
Saint Edmund's - Hunstanton

© Godric Godricson

The idea of “hypocrisy” came to my young friend and he began to hate the idea of this sort of theological dualism and he began to have a sort of zealot existence whereby ordinands try to expunge sin from their lives and lead the most virtuous life imaginable and that sort of destroys life around them and destroys any real life with their family.  In the United Kingdom, after the MP expenses scandal and where the larger denominations have men who have broken most of the major rules about conduct it is a problem to be seen as a “hypocrite”. No-one wishes to be seen as a hypocrite and no-one wishes to condone that sort of moral ambiguity.

My young friend   sometimes hears the inner Policeman within him and he tries to silence the voices of criticism as he speaks to people about sin and the mindset of being sinful.  The  nature of hypocrisy is such that it is a sort of inner crime and we fear being caught out and exposed like an MP who has claimed inappropriately for a second home or the priest found to have slept with a parishioner.

The problem is that we, as men and women, expect too much of ourselves and we set the standard too high both in life and also in death. We are not perfect and yet we do have a belief that clergy are not like the rest of creation. We are all sinners who have fallen into the lake of sin and we are all collectively swimming to the shore. The task seems to be to help each other and to give each other support as we try to wade out of that great lake of sin that exists in life and in the afterlife. Rather than cast stones and berate people who are often swimming hard and against the tide; our role is to support each other and to be supported in our turn as we move closer to the judgement. We are all judged and will be judged on the final day.

Knapton

© Godric Godricson

It isn’t that my young friend has weak beliefs or has had a crisis in spirituality and faith and it isn’t that he has gone all ‘hippy’ and entered an ‘anything goes’ Catholicism. He has his personal Catholic faith and he does have a traditionalist belief. Moreover, he has a belief in the ultimate goodness of Jesus.He strives to live up to the beliefs and inner values given to him by the Bishops and clergy from long ago and ultimately from the Gospels. He turns and turns again to God and asks forgiveness and tries to encounter the Risen Christ. He is swimming, along with countless others, across the great sea of sin and towards a brighter future supported by the prayers of other flawed but wonderful human beings.

Is this itself a sort of hypocrisy? Well, I think not. Recognising our own human failings and weaknesses  is not hypocrisy and an allegation against Ġorġ Preca didn’t prevent him being declared a saint.  Understanding sin and human realities is not weakness. Instead, hypocrisy  would be the  failure to understand that failing we all have and to go about our lives as if we all were good all of the time. It would be a sort of abominable deceit if we failed to recognise the weakness in ourselves and then challenged the crimes and transgressions of others. It would indeed be wrong for us to pretend to be a totally moral person whilst being a crook or a charlatan or a fraud.



Ġorġ Preca of Malta

Carmelite Church - Valetta

© Godric Godricson

 The real and significant difference that we have as Catholics is that we are sorry for our sins. We recognise that we are all sinful and that we need to repent of our sins and then to move forward having learnt a lesson. The ideal is not to backslide although this is always a danger. We must keep moving along the pathway that God has set for us.  The true hypocrite in the 21^st century understands all of the moral and intellectual problems that s/he creates and simply ignores the moral dilemmas.  



As far as sin goes, we all know the problems created by guilt. My neighbour in a previous geographical area was a man wracked by guilt and he displayed that guilt (and that hypocrisy) by always staying at prayer that little longer than anyone else. My neighbour always made the loudest “Amen”. You get the picture! This neighbour had a case of unhealthy guilt and that guilt was infectious as people looked at him and felt that he was a  model to follow. When we acknowledge our sins then that should complete and finish the matter.  If we then continue to hold onto past guilt and feel guilty then we should know we are in trouble. That reluctance to let guilt fall away may indicate a serious personal problem that requires the skills of a trained counsellor rather than a priest. 

My young friend tries not to judge others in his ministry as judgement is ultimately an action for God Himself. It simply isn’t up to humanity to judge others in the traditional sense. Yes, my friend cries out against injustice and he will take up the struggle when it is called for but he will not throw the first stone. He will always try to understand the sinner and the sin that is being committed before speaking out. He never speaks in anger and always speaks softly. 

We all struggle to swim to the shore as we move through the sea of sin and head for the light.  However, there is no need for my young friend to feel that he is under more  supervision or scrutiny in his current ministry because he is Gay. Perhaps one day he will be like Ġorġ Preca and be a saint even if that saintliness is known only to God?