From Rob Thompson, Hovingham, North Yorks:
Following The Diary's post about the seamen's graves at Kilmory (here), I recently found this photo of our grandchild by a war grave in the Old Cemetery at St Congan's church, Kilchoan, taken around 2000.The inscription is for a trooper NJ (Norman James) King of the Warwickshire Yeomanry, dating his death as 2nd July 1940. At that time they were serving in the Middle East, in Iraq and Syria, still as horsed cavalry. The stone seems to be relatively new at the time of the photograph but this may be misleading. It is a regulation headstone, as used in British war cemeteries across the world. What links this young cavalryman's headstone to Kilchoan, so far from both his theatre of operations and his regiment's home base, is a mystery.
A similar picture on the Scottish War Graves website shows a metal plaque at the foot of the headstone commemorating his brother, Douglas H King, also of the Warwickshire Yeomanry, dated 2000 or 2005 (unclear in photo).
Has anyone any ideas?
war graves site info : washed ashore after the sinking of the Arandora Star .
ReplyDeleteCometbouy on the Clyde
He was serving on the ship 'Andorra Star' which was torpedoed by an enemy submarine in the Atlantic en route to Canada. The ship was carrying POWs and civilians of Italian nationality.
ReplyDeleteHis body was washed up on the sea shire on the West coast of Scotland. WkY museum, The Court House, Jury Street, Warwick, CV 34 4EW
Apologies the ship was named 'SS Arandora Star'
ReplyDelete