The Missing Grave

During the transfer of information from the records, it soon became quite clear that the earliest interments were not arranged in any logical sequence but at least the plots were numbered sequentially. Checks were continually made to verify that the names on memorials agreed with information contained in the registers.

However there was a missing grave which was recorded as being in section 'D' that could not be located. The Deputy Town Clerk arranged for the Cemetery staff to meet at the cemetery to try and find this grave which has been recorded as the grave of William and Kathleen Pascoe and Louise and Henry Sherwood.

All the spaces in 'D' section had clearly marked graves or memorials but there seemed to be a sufficient gap between the Morant grave and the path at the top of what is now designated section 'E' that might hide what they were looking for. On closer inspection it was noticed that there was an outline of a possible mound.

The Missing Grave After kicking around a bit around a prominent corner a memorial edge was exposed. This was further exposed to reveal a rectangular stone border. The grass and soil was removed and the sides cleaned up. The ground staff set to work to restore the grave and fill the top with fresh granite chippings.

On one of the sides the inscription for William and Kathleen Pascoe could clearly be seen and the other side was inscribed with the names of Henry and Louise Sherwood. The missing grave had been found! The register revealed that they were interred in 1942.

Subsequent enquiries have revealed that all four were killed when a bomb landed on their caravan in what was then known as Stubbs Grove, (now Stubbs Drove) on 22 June 1942. The Pascoes (William 54 and his wife Kathleen (32) came from Bitterne and were possibly visiting Louise Sherwood then aged 57 (possibly William's sister) and her son Henry who was then just 16. It was once thought that these two were interred in a single coffin but the registers do not show this.