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Two
Special Visits
We like to visit the graves or the memorials of our Dovorian
casualties as often as we can. Towards the end of 2007 there
were two special occasions, when we were privileged to
accompany the relatives of casualties as they paid their
respects. Here is one of those special times; for
the other see George Bates -
90th Anniversary
RELATIVES OF JOHN CORK
John and his family have suffered several losses in war-time.
Nelson, John's father, also died on service, between the wars.
After the Dover War Memorial Project Civilian Service of Remembrance we went
across the channel with John, for him to visit for the first
time the places where his relatives are remembered - and for John
to see the gun emplacement whence came the shell that killed his
little friend in Dover.
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Below is one of the stations of
Batterie Todt, on the Calais coast. The huge gun barrel
jutted from the dark entrance behind John. It's from here, on
13th September 1944, that the shell was fired that
killed little Freddie Spinner, aged 9. It fell by the
Dover Priory Station. |
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Freddie had just stepped off the
train from London, with his sister, Dora. Mrs Julie
Annette Green also died at the station, as did a
constable from Folkestone, a soldier, an RAF man, and an
ATS woman. The shells are large: over twenty people were
injured, including Freddie's sister. |
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Even on a misty day, it's easy to see the Kent coast
from the Atlantic Wall batteries. |
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John is named after his uncle. John
James Cork was killed on 25th January 1915, aged 25,
just twelve days after landing on the shores of France.
His body was never identified, and he is commemorated on
the Le Touret Memorial, France
(right)- John finds
his uncle's name on the memorial. The wall where John
James Cork is commemorated is in the first open archway
on the right |
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John is also the cousin of Alfred
George Cork, who died on 17th April 1918, aged 18.
Alfred Cork's body was also lost: he is commemorated on
the memorial wall at Tyne Cot, Belgium. Another Cork
from Dover, Victor, is buried at Tyne Cot. He was 20,
killed in action on 28th November 1917. It was cold,
dark, and very silent at Tyne Cot by the time we found
Victor's grave; we began to understood well in those
moments some of what the soldiers on the Western Front
must have undergone. |
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We finished our day at the magnificent Menin Gate in
Ypres. John met the chief bugler for the Last Post
ceremony, Antoon Verschoot, MBE |
with thanks to Alan Taylor (pictured here by Maggie's persuasion
at the entrance to a bunker at the Australian Memorial Park,
Fromelles) who did all the driving during our visit and
navigated us everywhere we needed to be (and a few more places
as well!).
pictures: Simon Chambers
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