St Johns The Baptist Parish Church, Burscough

 

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St John The Baptist Parish Church, Burscough.

Children We deemed you all our days,

we vexed you with our care.

But in a universe ablaze,

What was your childish share ?

To rush upon the flames of hell,

and quench them with your blood.

To be of one England’s flowers that fell,

Ere yet it broke the bud.

And we who wither were we grew,

and never shed but tears.

As children now would follow you,

Through the remaining years;

Tread in the steps we thought to guide,

Just as firmly as you trod;

And keep the name you glorified,

    Clean, before man and God.      

                               Hornung.

The Vicar of Burscough 1913-1919.

St John The Baptist Parish Church, Burscough, Lancashire.

‘The East Window’

The original village war memorial.

The ‘creation’ of Rev Travers Stoney, artistic creation of Gustav Hillier.

The alabaster & marble wall mounted war memorial at St John’s. 

 

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The WW1 portion of the memorial in full showing all the relevent names

 

            The left panel of the war memorial in month of death order till 1916

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The center panel

 

 

The right panel

 

            

              

The WW2 names listed in the bottom panel

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A full descriptve of the names above, can be found in the Lathom & Burscough WW 2 War Memorial Page.

Below.

The ‘Roll of Honour’ transcribed as on St John The Baptist Church Memorial.

reproduced in the booklet

‘The East Window’ by David Orritt.

Showing regiments and dates of death, researched by Richard  Houghton 1999.

The lower panel of the East Window a section the original

‘Burscough War Memorial’ 

Please refer to the page East Window for an appraisal.

Further information can be obtained from.

  secretarylbmhs@gmail.com

The graves shown below are Navy personnel that served at

RNAS Burscough / HMS Ringtail 1942 -1945.

Details of air crew Royal Navy Courtsey Micheal Dawson

Colbeck Ralph Austin

                      Rank. Sub-Lieutenant (A) Date of Death 11/11/1943. Age 21

         Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve

H.M.S.Attacker.www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/ESCORT/ATTACKER.htm

      Son of Wilfred Howard Buckley Colbeck and of Mary Winifred Colbeck (nee Clarke),  Puru, Auckland, New Zealand.

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Sunderland Peter Graham.

                    Rank: Sub-Lieutenant (A Date of Death:  28/05/1944  Age  22.
                                        Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

H.M.S. Heron.  Airstation at Haldon / Teignmouth during WW2.

Son of Frank and Dora Grace Sunderland, of Harrogate, Yorkshire.

On Sunday the 28th May 1944, Fairey Firefly Z1906 of 1771 Naval Air Squadron, while
stationed at HMS Ringtail, RNAS Burscough was carrying out ‘camera attack exercises’
with other aircraft from the squadron at 3000ft, approx 2 miles North East of Burscough,
between the villages of Rufford and Holmeswood. The crew on this fateful day were, Sub Lieutenant (A) Maurice Walton Williams RNZNVR from Napier, Hawks Bay, New Zealand (son of Daniel Walton Williams and Lillian Jane Cogle Williams of Napier, New Zealand) and Sub Lieutenant (A) Peter Graham Sunderland RNVR form Harrogate, Yorkshire, both aged 22.

During a tight turn Z1906 was observed to go into a spin from which it failed to recover and the aircraft struck the ground, bursting into flames on farmland below and killed both crew members instantly. Most of the residents of the nearest village, Holmeswood, were attending the morning service at the local church and although used to the frequent aerial activity over their homes, they had been alerted by the unusual high pitched engine note of an aircraft out of control. Those in the local auxiliary fire service rushed to collect their equipment and raced to the scene, whilst to most observers the column of black smoke, alsovisible from the airfield at Burscough, told its own grim story. Those first on the scene found the aircraft completely in flames and were forced to take cover as the multitude of flares carried by many such Fleet Air Arm aircraft, began to explode. Through the flames the bodies of both crewmembers were discernible to some witnesses, but clearly beyond help, not that the would-be rescuers could get near the conflagration. By the time heavierfire-fighting equipment could get to the scene from the airfield, the aircraft was completelyburned out and all that was left to do was the grim task of recovering the bodies of theunfortunate airmen.

They are both buried at St John’s Parish Church, Burscough Village.

 

·Neville Alan Edgar

                                           Rank: Sub-Lieutenant (A)
                                  Date of Death:   06/10/1944.  Age  21.

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

On the 6th October 1944, a Curtiss-Wright SB2C Mk I Helldiver (JW121) of 1820 Naval
Air Squadron, while stationed at HMS Ringtail, RNAS Burscough, was carrying out
practice dive bombing at the Preesall Sands bombing range near Morecambe. The aircraft was flown by Sub Lieutenant (A) Alan Edgar Neville of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, aged 21.

He also had a Naval Rating passenger on board, a Steward, Frank Thomas Turner C/LX 613540, Royal Navy, aged 20.

During a practice run, the aircraft dived at 40 degrees to carry out an attack on the floating wickerwork target moored off Pilling Lane (Morecambe Bay). Due to the many design faults in the Mk I Helldiver, it was on this occasion faults with the wing elevators (part of the flight control surface) that played their part in the aircraft having insufficient height for the pilot to recover from the dive and the aircraft went straight into the sea close to the target, killing both of the crewmen.

Sub Lieutenant (A) Neville was born on the 22nd September 1923. He was the son of Edgar Neville and Mabel M Neville (nee Hall) from Hornchurch, Essex. Alan was a pupil of the Royal Liberty School, Romford for six years and was employed by a firm of chartered accountants until he enlisted under the „Y‟ scheme in September 1942.

He was sent to
Canada for training as a Fleet Air Arm Pilot, then went on to Pensacola, Florida, where.
he gained his commission and wings and finally arrived in Jacksonville.

In his letters home he told of the fine time he was having in America and how he once hitch hiked 600 miles in two days whilst on leave.
He returned to the UK in July 1942 and spent a fortnight at home on leave, that was the last his parents saw of him. They were expecting him home on a second leave when they received news he had been killed in an accident. Mr Neville commented that his son was known as one of the safest pilots in the squadron. He was one of the first pilots to qualify in dive bombing in this tricky and dangerous aircraft.
He was a member of Romford Red Triangle Club. He was a keen cricketer and was one of the Old Libertians’ most valued fast bowlers. He was also a keen pianist, chess player and photographer.

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Williams Maurice Walton

Rank: Sub-Lieutenant  Date of Death:  28/05/1944. Age 22

Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve

H.M.S. Heron  Naval Airstation based at Haldon / Teignmouth during WW2

Sub Lieutenant (A) Maurice Walton Williams RNZNVR from Napier, Hawks Bay, New Zealand (son of Daniel Walton Williams and Lillian Jane Cogle Williams of Napier, New Zealand)

                  Refer to Sunderland for air accident account.

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       Turner Frank Thomas     

                                                     Courtesy Michael Dawson.
                                          Rank Steward.  Service No C/LX613540
                                                Date of death 6/10/1944. Age 20.
                                                         See Neville above.
                                                   Royal Navy  H.M.S. Ringtail

Steward Frank Thomas Turner was born on the 19th August 1924 in Pitsea, Essex. He was the Son of James Turner and Rose Ellen Turner (nee Cox) of South Norwood, London. He
had two sisters, Gladys Laura Turner, (1916-1965) and Megan Doris Turner (1923-1955).He is buried at St John’s Parish Church, Burscough Village, Lancashire.
(Thanks to Janis Holmes, Marylyn Yugovich, Jim Mason additional photos.

 

Images of grave burial courtesy Michael Dawson.

2014.