CFHS code : AG331, AG332, AG332a
Parish : St Andrew the Great
Inscription : also daughter ELIZABETH HELENA CARMICHAEL d 12.12.1986 aged 101 and In Memory of her husband GILBERT CARMICHAEL died in action on the Somme 21st March 1918 aged 35
Above information amended from Cambridge Family History Society Survey
Lat Lon : 52.203165, 0.13647358 – click here for location
Monuments
These three ground slabs were recorded by CFHS as being on the west wall in the north of the parish area of St Andrew the Great. None of these names appear in the grave register for this parish area so they may only be commemorations or burials of ashes. We are only able to suggest possible burial sites.
Ground slabs 331 & 332a – Kathleen & Elizabeth were sisters and the stones may have originally been placed on their parents’ grave Ablitt which is located 2 rows from the west wall several monuments to the south of the ground slabs. Elizabeth was cremated so it is possible her ashes are buried here. We have not found Elizabeth & Gilbert’s stone
Ground slab AG332 Margaret Helena Bradley – This stone leans against the Davis headstone next to Kathleen’s. It is probable that it should be within the grave set of her husband and son whose kerbstones are 2 rows from the west wall a few yards south from this stone. (Next to the Ablitt kerbstones)
INSCRIPTIONS
AG331
‘Also Kathleen Mildred Watling daughter
laid to rest 22nd Feb. 1968 aged 70 years’
AG332
‘In loving memory of Margaret Helena Bradley
died 13th March 1963 aged 86 years’
AG332a
‘Also daughter Elizabeth Helena Carmichael
died 12th Dec 1987 aged 101’
‘And in memory of her husband Gilbert Carmichael
died in action on the Somme 21st March 1918 aged 35 years’
Gilbert Carmichael (1883–1918) – WW1 Soldier – see also Life Story page
Gilbert was born on 15 November 1883 in Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. He was one of at least five children born to Gilbert Carmichael and Margaret Carmichael (née McMillan). His father and his mother’s father were both lead miners. Gilbert was educated at Penpont Public School, Dumfriesshire between 1888 and 1897 and Wallace Hall Academy, Dumfriesshire between 1897 and 1901. He matriculated at Edinburgh University on 1 October 1902. He obtained his ordinary degree of MA in 1906 having passed Latin, Logic, Natural Philosophy, English, British History, Education and Geology.He also distinguished himself in athletics and gained a “blue” in football. Gilbert married Elizabeth Helena Ablitt in 1914 in Cambridge. They had a daughter: Mary K. (1916–).
Gilbert was a school master. He taught at March Grammar School, Cambridgeshire, Ashville College, Harrogate, Yorkshire (1908 – 1912), and King Edward’s School, Stafford. Finally, on 8 May 1914 he was appointed the History and Latin master at Keighley Grammar School, Yorkshire where he was initially paid £160 per annum rising to £180 per annum by 1916. He took over the position from his elder brother, Andrew McMillan Carmichael. Between 1914 and 1915 he also taught English classes at Keighley Technical Institute. He was credited with the success of the football team whilst at Ashville College. He was called up in 1916 and, like many well-educated men, was quickly commissioned.
Elizabeth Helena Carmichael (née Ablitt) (1885–1986)
Elizabeth was born in 1885 in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire. She was the eldest of the four children of John Ablitt and Selina Ann Ablitt (née Parmenter) and the sister of Kathleen Mildred Watling (née Ablitt). Elizabeth became a milliner. She married Gilbert Carmichael in 1914 in Cambridge. Elizabeth and Gilbert had a daughter: Mary K. (1916–) before Gilbert’s death during the War in 1918.
She lived with her mother, Selina, in Cambridge and then they both moved to Great Cornard. She died at Avondale, Douglas aged 101. The funeral service took place at Great Cornard crematorium on December 16th and presumably her ashes were interred here on December 20th.
Kathleen Mildred Watling (née Ablitt) (1898–1968)
Kathleen was born in 1898 in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. She was the youngest of four children born to John Ablitt and Selina Ann Ablitt (née Parmenter) and the sister of Elizabeth Helena Carmichael (née Ablitt). Kathleen married Charles Thomas Watling in 1920 in Cambridge. They had a daughter: Joan Kathleen (1922–). At the time of Joan’s baptism in 1923 the family were living at 6 Lensfield Road, Cambridge. Charles was working as a publican. Kathleen died on 22 February 1968 in Cambridge.
Sources:
War Graves Photographic Project
www.forces-war-records.co.uk
www.ancestry.co.uk
http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Cambridgeshire/MarchGrammarSchool.html
http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Dumfriesshire/Penpont.html
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Census returns for England: 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911
Census returns for Scotland: 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837–1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837–1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837–1915
England & Wales, Death Index, 1916–2007
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966
UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914–1919
The Keighlian, November 1918
Communications from Selina Mary Bond, granddaughter of Gilbert Carmichael. Information kindly provided by the following institutions: Neale-Wade Academy, March; University of Edinburgh; Ashville College, Harrogate; and Oakbank School, Keighley.
By Emma Easterbrook, Mary Naylor and Ian Bent