Edinburgh (morningside) cemetery

[Peter Bennett]

I would be grateful if any member could photograph this grave.

WILSON N G NORMAN GLADSWOOD Flight Lieutenant Air Gnr. 77694 Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 18-Apr-42 30 Sec. E. Grave 707. Died at Charlton, Wiltshire. Possibly in A&AEE Lancaster R5539 crash, 2 miles NE of Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Born in South Africa and became well-known in Europe in motor racing circles prior to the war. London Gazette #2816 dated 16th May 1941 advises that he was promoted to the war substantive rank of Flying Officer with effect 6th April 1941. He is commemorated on the East London Golf Club Roll of Honour.

Thank you

Peter

[Tonym]

Peter

Have you tried "Scottish War Graves Project"? I am sure that the cemetery has already been surveyed and photographed.

Tony

[Peter Clare]

On 18 April 1942, F/Lt Wilson was part of a crew testing Lancaster R5539

During a diving test R5539 crashed at Charlton, 2 miles from Malmesbury, Wilts. All on board were killed. The crash was later traced to tail-plane surface failure, a design flaw that caused other early losses.

The crew of Lancaster R5539 that day was -

BILTON, RICHARD LEWIS
HARRIS, JACK DONALD DFC
SALTER, PETER STANLEY AFC
TRACEY, ANDREW NICHOLAS
WAKELIN, PERCY FREDERICK
WILSON, NORMAN GLADSWOOD

Racing's air crash victims - The AUTOSPORT Bulletin Board

[Peter Bennett]

Thanks Tony, but whilst they have most of the grave photos they don't seem to have this one

[Tonym]

Sorry about that Peter

A problem I find with many of my ladies, listed in cemetery but no pic.

[chick42-46]

Peter

You could try the War Graves Photographic Project. They charge a small fee but I've used them, they are quick and the photographs are good quality. It saved me a trip to Tunisia!

The War Graves Photographic Project

Alternatively, I live in Edinburgh and could pay a visit to Morningside for you. But it might be a couple of weeks until I could go (work and home live are pretty busy at the moment and it gets dark early too - not good for wandering around graveyards or taking photos!).

Cheers

Ian

[Peter Bennett]

Ian

Thank you very much, I am prepared to wait for you to visit.

Regards

Peter

[chick42-46]

Had a slow day at work today, the sun was shining and it wasn't raining. So took a long lunch break and went to Morningside.

So here are the photographs of this grave.

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It's very hard to read the inscription of the top half of the stone from the photos. It's just as hard when you are face to face with it. But I noted it down as follows:

IN
AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE
OF
MY HUSBAND
JAMES ANDERSON WILSON
OF
WILSON & CO LTD
EAST LONDON SOUTH AFRICA
WHO DIED 31ST JULY 1915
AGED 49 YEARS
ALSO IN MEMORY OF
OUR BELOVED SON
NORMAN GLADSWOOD,
FLIGHT LT., R.A.F., V.R.,
KILLED IN ENGLAND
18TH APRIL 1942.
HIS DUTY NOBLY DONE.

FATHER IN THY TENDER KEEPING
LEAVE WE NOW OUR DEAR ONE SLEEPING

As well as this gravestone, the CWGC list 80 burials at Morningside. But the War Graves Photographic Project have photos of 174. That seems to be because many men (and some women) who are buried or remembered elsewhere are also remembered on family gravestones.

However, although this was originally Norman Wilson's father's gravestone, I assume Norman must be buried here too. Otherwise CWGC would record him as buried elsewhere.

Oddly, Norman's mother is not commemorated on this gravestone as you would expect. I had a look at nearby stones but couldn't see any Wilsons. I did a quick check on the Scotlandspeople website. James Anderson Wilson's death certificate states that he was a wholesale confectioner (retired) and that he died of chronic alcoholism and a heart attack. His widow's name is given as Augusta Caroline Basset Wilson. I couldn't find a death certificate for her (there were a few Augusta Wilsons but none of them seemed right).

There is also a cross of sacrifice in the cemetery

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You were lucky this gravestone was still upright. Morningside cemetery looks like a hurricane has blown through it, as you can see from this photo of the row in which Norman's gravestone stands:

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But the "hurricane" turns out to have been Edinburgh City Council, who toppled 2000 stones in this cemetery as a precaution in case one fell and hurt somebody. It is a very sad sight. And one that makes me very angry.

Although most of the official CWGC headstones looked to be intact (apart from one, which seemed like it had been moved and against which another broken headstone was leaning), there are, as I mentioned above, an additional 94 war dead commemorated on family gravestones. I found several that were lying on the ground, including, for instance, a Campbell family gravestone commemorating William Campbell MC, 2nd. Lt, 9th Bn, Royal Scots, killed on 31 July 1917 and buried at Essex Farm Cemetery, Ypres.

The council say that gravestones like this are the responsibility of the families. That may be so, but if the families can't be traced then I don't think it is right that these headstones are just left lying on the ground. At the very least, the ones that record our war dead should be fixed and put back up!

[Peter Bennett]

Ian

I am very grateful for your kindness and exceptional photos.

Regarding fallen and damaged private memorials, the CWGC will ensure that the casualty's name is legible even if they do not re-erect the stone. If any are illegible drop them a line.

Whilst it took them four years from when I reported it, they installed a small "Gallipoli-Type" stone in Aberdeen (St Peters) Cemetery last year to an Australian Munitions Worker from WW1 whose family grave did not show his name.

Thanks Again & Best Regards

Peter

ps I wonder if Norman's mother returned to South Africa and died there