Holbeach researcher honours the fallen with a single red rose placed on their grave
A keen researcher has honoured world war fallen heroes by placing single red rose on each of their graves.
Linden Secker has a passion for finding out about unidentified burial grounds and has laid roses to mark fallen heroes who had a connection to Holbeach.
During the ongoing Remembrance events Mr Secker wanted to provide a form of recognition to the fallen heroes of both World World Wars at Holbeach cemetery.
Mr Secker, who runs a Facebook page called Holbeach Genealogy and Cemetery Research covering all aspects of the town’s history, said: “I cover all aspects of Holbeach history in general and have a huge passion for the town.
“In recent years I have always tried to provide some form of remembrance event in Holbeach Cemetery.
This was often through the Holbeach Cemetery Chapels Trust which unfortunately no longer operates.
“As the years have progressed so too has the information gathered and the trail of graves has grown.”
The avid historian became ‘concerned’ a couple of years ago after looking online at the Holbeach Roll of Honour which has quite a few deaths recorded as unidentified.
He said: “I spent around fourteen months researching these lost servicemen and in doing so linked them to the Holbeach research that is my passion.
“Currently I hold a database of over 185000 cell entries regarding burials in our town.
“This year for various reasons I was unable to carry out a remembrance trail but instead decided to mark as many graves as I could with a single rose to indicate to others the location of our fallen soldiers.”
“It is simply a way of providing a small symbol of gratitude and remembrance to those who lost their lives.”
“Many of the roses are hidden away in the bushes out of the public eye, but by placing the flowers at the relevant graves they are at least recognised and remembered.”
Here are the stories behind those fallen heroes:
Albert Kisby
He was the son of Walter Kisby from Barrington Gate Holbeach, originally a saddler by trade but enlisted as a driver in the 2nd Dept Army Service Corps at the age of 18 years 4 months on February 22 in 1917.
Five months later in July 1917, Albert was admitted to Brook War Hospital in Woolwich suffering from pneumonia and was described as seriously ill.
He remained in the hospital until his death from pleurisy ten months later in April of 1918.
Maurice William English
He died at sea off Milford Haven – he had become a Lieutenant with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was appointed aboard HM Motor Torpedo Boat 665 and was undergoing tests at Milford Haven.
Maurice was on the bridge when a fellow crewman accidentally fired a machine gun at him during a training drill receiving four bullet wounds to the chest at close range from which he died immediately June 2 in 1943.
His vessel MTB 665 was soon to head for the Mediterranean and was sunk off the Italian coast shortly afterwards.
Maurice was the son of William and Dorothy Kate English of Spark Hayes Holbeach.
He had been married just a few months.
Harold South
He originated from Littleport and moved to Holbeach as a butcher’s apprentice where he married in 1915. Having served in Army Service Corps and Rifle Brigade he returned to Holbeach where he died from pneumonia shortly after the end of WW1
John Meek Norris
A Lance Corporal, 1st Battalion, Lincs Regiment, died on April 2 in 1917 from gunshot wounds he received to his chest and abdomen.
He was buried at Warlincourt Halte Military Cemetery, Saulty, France and commemorated on his parents gravestone in Holbeach.
