Every town and village across the UK, Europe and much of the world have memorials, cemeteries and graves dedicated to those who died during the last two world wars – and Sidmouth (and its villages) is no exception.
What is perhaps more exceptional about towns such as Sidmouth is that these seaside resorts on the south coast of England were for a long time the favoured places of retirement for those who had served in the overseas services of the army, navy and civil service.
As John McCarthy states in a piece from 2015 on the India connection and burials in Sidmouth Cemetery, “it is now largely forgotten that Sidmouth was a favoured retirement and holiday destination for officers returning from India.”
The Cherishing Sidmouth Cemeteries web-pages have already referred to John’s work in the pages on discovering graves at Sidmouth Cemetery – and the volunteers of CSC working party have been very busy over the last eighteen months in clearing several graves, including those of two fearless army chaplains who retired to Sidmouth, as covered in another piece by John McCarthy.
Over the last decade, John has carried out substantial research into the lives and deaths of those who served in the military – both those who are buried in Sidmouth and those who came from Sidmouth but who are buried in cemeteries abroad – and in his fascinating piece on how 1917 was a bleak year for Sidmouth service personnel, John also observes that several of these cemeteries are sadly neglected.
This is not the case, fortunately, in Sidmouth. Not only are the CSC volunteers doing their best to clear the graves of brambles and to record by photograph these important parts of Sidmouth’s heritage – but John McCarthy has carried out significant research of the military graves at Sidmouth Cemetery.
In a recent interview, John says that he became interested in this field of history due to the story behind a house in his neighbourhood which was built by Colonel Charles James William Grant on his retirement to Sidmouth in the 1930s – the only recipient of the Victoria Cross buried in East Devon and whose grave in Sidmouth Cemetery “had fallen into serious disrepair [and whose] restoration was undertaken by the Sidmouth branch of the Royal British Legion“. [And, indeed, the Punjab Regiment in today’s India, the Indian Army’s oldest infantry regiment dating back to 1761, acknowledges the service of Col Grant.]
Charles James William Grant VC – victoriacrossonline.co.uk
John McCarthy has now very generously given permission to the VGS Cherishing Sidmouth Cemeteries project to provide a link to his subsequent very considerable research – which has resulted in the British Military History in Sidmouth Cemetery – 2025.
As John states in his introduction:
Sidmouth Cemetery opened in 1879. This compilation of burials at the cemetery includes:-
A Roll of Honour relating to the two world wars, comprising:- 23 burials commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC); and 3 other burials not commemorated by the CWGC but which are honoured on the Sidmouth War Memorial.
A list of other individuals who at some time in their lives had a connection with the armed forces or merchant navy. This comprises a selection of 147 burials in the older parts of the cemetery over the period 1883-1974. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list and is based on the best information currently available on the individuals included.
The research on which this is based is continuing. Feedback is welcome.
The VGS is very grateful to John McCarthy and hopes, by publishing this document online, that it will be accessed out of interest and with a view to further research.
…