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Oakwood Hospital Cemetery M.I.s, Barming
Monumental Inscriptions with Index of names

Transcribed by D. E. Williams November 2017


Cross in memory of those buried here, Oakwood Park Cemetery, Barming

The Cross erected to the memory of all the persons buried here, and avenue of evergreen trees. The notice board erected by Maidstone Council, wrongly describes this as a "War Memorial" , (See Inscription 1). This photograph gives a good impression of the size of, and emptiness of the cemetery.
   The cemetery is located in Oakapple Lane, which turns off Hermitage Lane, a short distance from the former hospital. The hospital was founded in 1833 and closed in 1994; in 1833 the hospital was home to 169 patients but at it's peak in the 1940's it contained over 2,000 patients. The cemetery of 6 acres, is a rather melancholy, 6 acres of grass, being almost devoid of monuments, although it contains about 7,000 burials! Most of the monuments are for members of staff.
   It was originally named the "County Mental Hospital" and has been known by other names, "Barming Asylum", "Barming Mental Hospital" and Barming Heath Lunatic Asylum" After it's closure in 1994, it was developed as a residential estate known as "St. Andrew's Park", many of the buildings have been converted into apartment blocks, including the 1833 building, designed by Maidstone architect, John Whichcord. In 2015 responsibility for the cemetery was taken over from the Department of Health by Maidstone Borough Council.
   The grounds contain many fine, mature trees, some in double rows, including, Irish Yews, Wellingtonias, Scots Pine and Birches. Most of the monuments are on the eastern side, near the chapel, with one on the northern side and two nearer the middle.

D. E. Williams
Borstal
Rochester
10th December 2017

1.   PEDESTALS AND CROSS

IN
MEMORY OF ALL
THOSE LAID HERE
"Thanks be to God,
Who giveth us the Victory,
Through our Lord Jesus Christ"
                     Corinths. 15 V 57

2.   HEADSTONE, IN BUSH

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
WILLIAM BAILY
DIED 16th DEC. 190[4]
AGED 40 YEARS

1891 Census, Benjamin William Baily, aged 27, attendant at Hospital

3.   HEADSTONE

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ALBION BAKER
WHO DIED 26th MAY 1922
AGED 50 YEARS
"Gone from us but not Forgotten,
Never will thy Memory Fade,
Sweetest Thoughts shall Ever Linger,
Round the Spot where thou are Laid"

Principal Probate Registry Index
Albion Baker, 13 Progress Villas, Tonbridge Road, administration to wife, Harriet, effects value, £130 16s 4d

4.   PEDESTALS, CROSS MISSING

IN MEMORY OF
SAMUEL BINGHAM M.R.C.S.
DIED
7th FEBRUARY 1915 AGED 67 YEARS

Principal Probate Registry Index
Samuel Bingham, administration to Walter Edgar Collier, Assistant Medical Officer and Frederick George Stenning, Solicitor, effects, £677 3s 11d.
Dr Bingham died at the hospital from Bronco Pneumonia, (Kent Messenger Death Notice).

5.   HEADSTONE

IN AFFECTIONATE MEMORY
OF
ROSE BLACKMORE
(PROBATIONER NURSE)
DIED MAY 12th 1931
AGED 23 YEARS
SHE GAVE HER LIFE NURSING THE SICK
A NOBLE END

I wondered about the meaning of "She Gave her Life", was it a violent end? I checked the Kent Messenger for any report but found nothing. It may be that she caught an infection nursing patients ?

6.   HEADSTONE

IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
CECIL CHARLES BULLMORE
                         M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.
DIED 25th JULY 1934
TEMPORARY MEDICAL OFFICER
OF THE STAFF OF THIS HOSPITAL

Dr. Bullmore was a Surgeon at Falmouth Hospital in 1900, when he wrote an article for The Lancet, about Beri-Beri, which seems to have come to Falmouth on a Merchant ship. He was a L.R.C.P. and S., Edinburgh and L.F.P.S., Glasgow. He was Medical Officer of Health for Falmouth and Truro in 1902.

7.   HEADSTONE

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
OUR DEAR FATHER
FREDERICK CLARK
WHO ENTERED INTO REST
6th APRIL 1916
AGED 65 YEARS
"Thine For Ever ! God of Love"

1881 Census, Frederick Clark, employed at the hospital as a Plumber and Gas Fitter.

8.   SHIELD SHAPED PLAQUE, LYING ON GROUND

ERECTED BY HER
COLLEAGUES
TO THE MEMORY
OF
NURSE MARY ELLEN
CRONIN
WHO DIED
JANUARY 30th 1933
R.I.P.

9.   HEADSTONE

IN MEMORY OF
ALFRED LOUIS DUNKIN
(LATE HEAD ATTENDANT)
DIED 28th JANY. 1911 AGED 47 YEARS
"Safe Home, at Last"

10.   HEADSTONE, ISOLATED ON NORTHERN SIDE

SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
MATILDA REBECCA
THE WIFE OF
EDWARD CHARLES EDWARDS
WHO DIED
26th DECEMBER 1883
AGED 62 YEARS

From the 1871 and 1881 Census, we learn that Edward was a Pensioner of the Indian Civil Service, (Punjab Revenue Service), Matilda was born in India. In the Civil Registration Deaths Index, Matilda's age is given as 65, but the census ages are in line with the headstone.

11.   HEADSTONE

"AT REST"
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
GERTRUDE MAY
GAMMON
BORN 31st MAY 1890
DIED 24th MAY 1955

1911 Census, Gertrude Gammon, a Music Teacher in Loose?

12.   HEADSTONE

[                                 ]
ELIZABETH ISABEL GRAY
WHO PASSED AWAY 1st SEPT. 1912
AGED 26 YEARS
"[       ]Her[ ]Her[       ],
Cease to Weep for Tears are the [    ],
Calm the Tumult of the Breast,
She who Suffered is at Rest"

13.   HEADSTONE

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
MY DEAR HUSBAND
CHARLES GRAY
WHO DIED 28th OCT. 1923
AGED 64 YEARS
"Thy Will be Done"

1911 Census, Charles Gray, Surgery Attendant at the Hospital

14.   HEADSTONE

IN LOVING
MEMORY
OF
ALICE A. HICKMOTT
STAFF NURSE
DIED MARCH 7th 1925
AGED 28
"Peace. Perfect Peace"

15.   PEDESTALS, CROSS MISSING

IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
MOTHER
SARAH ANN HULSE
LATE MATRON
DIED 22nd FEBRUARY 1923
AGED 69 YEARS
"A True Life – Nobly Lived"

16.   HEADSTONE

IN MEMORY OF
JAMES HYLAND
LATE HEAD ATTENDANT AT THIS ASYLUM
WHO DIED 23rd OCTOBER 1902
AGED 56 YEARS
ALSO EMMA
WIDOW OF THE ABOVE
WHO DIED JULY 2nd 1923
AGED 71 YEARS
"At Rest"

17.   HEADSTONE, ERODED

IN MEMORY OF
MINNIE JARVIS
[WHO DIED [ ] ] SEPTEMBER 1903
[ERECTED] BY THE FEMALE STAFF

18.   LOW HEADSTONE

HERBERT KING
DIED
MARCH 3rd? 1943
AGED 54 YEARS

19.   COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION HEADSTONE

238427 LDG, AIRCRAFTMAN
T. H. LOVETT
ROYAL AIR FORCE
18th AUGUST 1940 AGE 40
"At the Going Down
of the Sun,
And in the Morning,
We shall Remember Them"

20.   FALLEN HEADSTONE

IHS
IN MEMORY OF
JAMES ROBERT NAUGHTON
LATE HEAD ATTENDANT OF THIS ASYLUM
WHO DIED 31st DEC. 1899
AGED 54 YEARS

21.   HEADSTONE

IN AFFECTIONATE MEMORY
OF
EMILY KATE NEVE
HOME SISTER
DIED OCTOBER 10th 1933
AGED 48 YEARS
Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. IN FRANCE DURING THE GREAT WAR
CONSCIENTIOUS DEVOTION TO DUTY

Q.A.I.M.N.SR. Was the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service, Reserve.
Principal Probate Registry Index
Emily Neve, was of the Nurses Home and a Spinster, administration granted to Allen Coulter Hancock, Medical Superintendent, effects, £958 1s 2d

22.   SMALL HEADSTONE

"PEACE"
IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
MICHAEL WILLIAM PANNELL
BORN AUGUST 5th 1927
DIED MARCH 15th 1951

23.   HEADSTONE

IN MEMORY OF MY DEAR HUSBAND
ERNEST BENJAMIN PLATER
WHO PASSED AWAY
9th APRIL 1912 AGED 56 YEARS
"Thy Will be Done"

1911 Census, Painter and Paper Hanger, employed at the Hospital
Principal Probate Registry Index
Ernest Plater, of 15 Heath Grove, Barming, administration to widow, Louise Esther, effects, £123 17s 6d

24.   HEADSTONE


DE LA FARGUE DE SALIS

IN MEMORY OF
CHARLES FREDERICK
DE LA FARGUE DE SALIS
LIEUT, COLONEL CANADIAN ARMY
BORN 30th OCTOBER 1875
DIED 31st JULY 1936

This obscure headstone marks the resting place of a man with a colourful life. De Salis was born in Aldershot, his father, Edward was a soldier. In 1901 he was a Lieutenant Colonel, serving with the Admiralty Naval Ordnance Department at H.M. Gun Wharf at Chatham. His mother was Margaret E. Augusta Lafarque.
   Charles
joined an Indian Army Regiment, in India, as a Private when he was a young man, he would have joined a European section.
   In 1901 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd Militia Battalion of the Essex Regiment. He served in the Boer War, was promoted Lieutenant and was awarded the Queen's Medal, (I do not know for which actions or campaigns). He stayed in South Africa until 1907 when he returned to England.
   In 1910 he married, in the Maidstone Registration District, Frances Collins. In 1911 he went to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, resigned his British commission to command a company of the Victoria Fusiliers. He was Rector's Churchwarden at St. Mary's, Oak Bay, when it was dedicated in 1911.
   In 1914 he was commissioned as a Major in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, he description then, was of a fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair; at this time his wife was in England, living in Hastings.
From June to November 1915, (now a Lieutenant Colonel), he commanded the 30th Battalion of the C.E.F.
(From Imperial Vancouver Island: Who was Who, 1850 – 1950, by J.F. Bosher

Obituary from the Kent Messenger
"DEATH OF LIEUT. COL. C. F. DE SALIS

LOSS TO MAIDSTONE
Following a short illness, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Frederick de la Fargue de Salis, of "Highcross", 182 Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, died early on Friday morning in Guy's Hospital, London.
   Mrs de Salis has been in ill health for some time past and Colonel de Salis was taken ill on July 19th when visiting her in London. Two days later he was admitted to Guy's Hospital where he failed to recover from an internal operation which he underwent on Wednesday last.
   Until he was taken ill in London, he enjoyed excellent health. As recently as the opening day of Maidstone Cricket Week he was chatting with friends in the tent of Mr Bossom, M.P.. He was 60 years of age.

EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATOR
Colonel de Salis was the therapeutic occupation officer at Kent County Mental Hospital, Barming, a position he had held for a number of years. He was an efficient administrator, and his delightful personality made him exceedingly popular with the doctors and administrative staff at the hospital.
   Well known in local political circles, Colonel de Salis was a member of the committee of the King Street Ward of the Maidstone Conservative Divisional Association (men's branch), and he accomplished excellent work as a speaker for his Party at the last three elections, while his services as a speaker were also in demand between elections.
   Though he did not claim to be a politician in the strict sense of the word, he spoke well on Imperial affairs, having a mind stored with a good deal of intimate knowledge of the Empire through being widely travelled.
   He took an enthusiastic interest in the Maidstone Branch of the Junior Imperial League, spoke on their behalf, assisted them in many ways, and was one of their vice-presidents.

PROMINENT GOLFER
Another sphere in which Colonel de Salis will be much missed is in local golfing circles. He was a prominent and popular member of Maidstone Golf Club. A real club man in every sense of that term, he was a member of the club committee, at one time was hon. Secretary of the club, and was one of the club's most energetic and enthusiastic workers.
   A friend of his told a "Kent Messenger" representative:
   "Colonel de Salis was a most lovable man who will be missed by all who knew him, especially in Conservative and golfing circles"
  
His chief interests apart from work were Freemasonry and philately. He had held high office in the Canadian Lodge of Freemasons, London and he possessed an excellent stamp collection.

DISTINGUSHED ARMY CAREER
He had a distinguished Army career. He served in the South African War with the 3rd Essex Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant, and during the Great War was a Lieutenant Colonel on the staff of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
   Just before the Great War he was largely instrumental in forming a Canadian Regiment in Victoria, British Columbia. On the outbreak of war the Colonel of the Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel de Salis brought the Regiment to England, and subsequently to France, where Colonel de Salis was wounded.
   After the war, and immediately prior to his appointment to Kent County Mental Hospital, Colonel de Salis was occupation officer at a military mental hospital at Epsom.
   At one time until ill health compelled his return to England, prior to the South African War, Colonel de Salis was for a number of years a coffee planter in South India.
   The funeral service will be conducted at Kent County Mental Hospital, Barming, on Tuesday at 2.30 p.m."

25.   SMALL SQUARE MARBLE FLOWER HOLDER

IN LOVING MEORY OF
FREDERICK SMITH
DIED MAY 10th 1932
AGED 54 YEARS
"Reunited"

MARY ANN SMITH
DIED MAY 27th 1964
AGED 89 YEARS

Frederick Smith may be the Domestic Gardener at Bearstead, 1911 Census ?

26.   LOW HEADSTONE

EDITH
MARY TURNER
BORN 1870 DIED 1955
"Rest in Peace"

(There are also 2 headstones lying face down and one more which is illegible, also one small square monument which is illegible)


Cemetery Chapel

The Cemetery Chapel with part of the structure missing, and the tiles seemingly stolen from the roof? Rather small, I suppose not many mourners attended for the majority of burials. For others, the main hospital church was probably used for the funeral service The entrance from Oakapple Lane, is on the left.


Staff section of cemetery

The narrow, segregated area on the eastern side, where staff are buried and which contains the majority of monuments.

END

Index of Names from gravestones only

BAILY 2
BAKER 3
BINGHAM 4
BLACKMORE 5
BULLMORE 6

CLARK 7
CRONIN 8

DE SALIS 24
DUNKIN 9
EDWARDS 10

GAMMON 11
GRAY 12, 13

HICKMOTT 14
HULSE 15
HYLAND 16

JARVIS 17

KING 18
LOVETT 19

NAUGHTON 20
NEVE 21

PANNELL 22
PLATER 23

SMITH 25

TURNER 26

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