Monthly Archives: May 2021

We are very fortunate to be able to enjoy so many different species of tree in the Old Cemetery. One that is particularly admired is the Weeping Beech on the main carriageway and its moods through the year are wonderfully caught in the photos by Bruce. Both Bruce and Geoff have happy memories of the same poem,‘Trees’, by the American poet Joyce Kilmer. It was put to music and sung by the American,  Paul Robeson. For those who may not be familiar with the poem, here are the words: I think that I shall never seeA poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prestAgainst the sweet earth’s flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day,And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wearA nest of robins in her hair; … Continue reading →

Many will remember Polio scares, particularly in the 1950s, and taking vaccine in a sugar cube. In 1985, Rotary International pledged that it would eradicate the dreadful disease from every country in the World and launched a campaign called ‘Polio Plus’. In recent years, to mark the advanced stages of the work of immunisation, a new name (End Polio Now) was introduced, and a new symbol adopted, to draw attention to the Cause and as a visual reminder of the huge progress to date – the planting of deep, purple-coloured crocus corms, planned to bloom to coincide with World Rotary Day on 24 March each year. The purple crocus was chosen because it is the colour of the dye marked on each Third World child’s little finger to show they have been immunised.  In 2018 and 2019, Southampton Clausentum Rotary … Continue reading →

Recently, Val Ferguson of FoSOC was asked, by a researcher, to locate the grave of Miss Hilda Moore who died, in Southampton, in 1932. Hilda has a very special place in the local history of our city. In 1919, after the end of the Great War, military horses were to be sold by auction. Helped by the Borough’s Veterinary Surgeon, Hilda purchased a magnificent white gelding and presented him to the Southampton Borough Police. Named Warrior, the horse served with the police from 1919 to his death in 1935. Thanks to Sir Sidney Kimber, Warrior was buried close to the Club House at the Municipal Golf Course, where his memorial can be seen to this day. The researcher is undertaking detailed investigations so as to put together as much as possible of the stories of Warrior and of Hilda Moore. … Continue reading →

The photos that accompany our news item for the 174th Anniversary of the Old Cemetery in 2020 were taken during the 170th celebrations. Sadly, last year and, again in 2021, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, we have not been able to gather at the cemetery to mark the anniversary. The cemetery had its origins in the burial crisis that faced Southampton, and many other places, in 1837, the year Queen Victoria came to the throne. Southampton itself was, then, much smaller effectively what we know today as the Old Town and immediately surrounding areas. The churches were within the walled town, except for St Mary’s, the Mother Church, that stood close to the River Itchen as it does today. It was in this latter location that the public burial ground was to be found, by the side of St Mary’s, … Continue reading →