The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1062464 .pdf
NORTH PARADE 1. 1146 (East Side) No. 74 SK 9136 SW 7/79 II 2. Late C18. or early C19, 3-storey, red brick; slate roof, 3 windows, segmental brick arch, flush framed glazing bars. 6-fielded door, panelled ingoes. Doorcase with pilasters and brackets supporting pediments; roundheaded doorway with fanlight. Scraper.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1102504 .pdf
2 barns. C17, N barn built first. Timber frame on tall sill of narrow red bricks. Dark weatherboarding but red brick infill between externally exposed frame in W half of N wall of N barn and in lower part of E side of W barn. Red brick casing to S gable of W barn. Steep pitched roofs formerly thatched now of corrugated iron with old red tile to projecting E porch of W barn and slate rear slope of roof of same barn. 2 tall barns at right angles enclosing a yard to SE. 5-bays N barn backs onto road, has marks of gabled S porch recently demolished in 2nd bay from E. 4 bays W barn extends to S from W part of S wall of N barn, faces E, and has a gabled projecting porch with dovecote in jettied gable triangle to the 2nd bay from S flanked by lean-to extensions. Step- jowled posts, mid-height rails in-line, long straight tension braces to rail, long straight braces to tie-beams, 2 purlins to each roofslope, the upper clasped by a high collar, short inclined angle struts to position of lower butt-purlins. Face-halved bladed scarf joints in wallplate.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1303628 .pdf
LYTCHETT MINSTER PIT BOTTOM SY 99 SE 4/92 Lych Gate to Saint Aldhelm's Church - II Lych gate at entrance to churchyard. Probably c.1898, and contemporary with Saint Aldhelm's Church - qv by G Crickmay. Timber framed on stone base. Stone slate roof. Trusses with cambered tie beams and arch-braces.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1304041 .pdf
On ground floor: 6-panelled door to No. 15 on left and shop front on right. Shop front is in restrained Art Nouveau style with thin decorative glazing bars in upper parts of window. Black glass panel above with gold lettering and wooden Art Nouveau panels of flower carvings. Original 12-glazed shop door with engraved glass panel.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1304195 .pdf
CARHAM WEST LEARMOUTH NT 83 NE 9/18 Railway Viaduct c.300 yards east- north-east of West Learmouth II
Railway viaduct. 1849 for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Rock faced stone with brick arches. Five high round skew arches with corniced piers and broad flat end pilasters.
The above map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. For a copy of the full scale map, please see the attached PDF - 1305581 .pdf
HIGHNAM HIGHNAM VILLAGE SO 7819-7919 9/50 Church Lodge GV II House. 1851 by H. Woodyer for T. Gambier-Parry. Squared, uncoursed lias, ashlar dressings, tiled roof. Irregular 'T' plan, 1 1/2 storeys, single-storey rear wing. Main front: gable to left, 4-light mullioned window, trefoil heads to lights, row of quatrefoils over: above 2-light window, trefoil heads, ashlar over to hoodmould. Set-back on right with single lancet. Plinth to porch on wing to right, boarded door up 2 stone steps, under arch. On right circular turret, square-headed single-light window; slightly above and to right large, plain projecting stone, similar window above, conical roof with small dormer. Single lancet on right. Large, triangular dormer over porch, 3-light wooden tracery, scalloped barge boards. Lateral chimney to rear behind turret. Left return, lancet on right; irregular chimney-breast, offsets in 2 directions, hipped stone top, rising against right half of central gable: paired, diamond-set flues above. To left, chimney-breast corbelled out at first floor, hipped stone top, diamond-set flues rising against left side of gable, flat-headed lancet in centre. To left 4-light window as front. Built for sacristan for church: forms group with church, school and rectory (q.v.). (D. Verey, Gloucestershire, the Vale and the Forest of Dean, 1970)
On December 4, 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson set sail for Versailles for the World War I peace talks. Wilson was the first U.S. President to travel to Europe while in office. The world was changing.
The world continued to change after World War I with the types of warfare and weapons used. Airplanes were used for the first time during this war. Poisonous gas killed many and destroyed many more.
While Wilson traveled to Versailles, my grandfather was in a hospital in a different part of France recovering from his contact with mustard gas. His world was changing as well.
In reality, we are still seeing the results of that war. While it was supposed to be the War to End all Wars, it was far from it, and it set in place conflicts that would shape the course of the century to come.
In World War I, families who had sons serving in the War would place a banner with a blue star for each son in the window. If the son was lost, a gold star was superimposed over the blue star, leaving a blue border.
World War I Army Captain Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry designed the Blue Star Service Banner. He had two sons serving on the front line in Europe.
The mayor of Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce and the Governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother – their children.
While first used in World War I, the flags were standardized and codified by the end of World War II. In modern usage, an organization may fly a service flag if one of its members is serving active duty. [Wikipedia]
I don’t know if my great-grandmother had a blue star flag in her window in their home in Southwest Virginia. I do know she prayed daily and daily looked down into the valley to see if the train would be bringing her son home.
At “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918 the Allies of World War I and Germany signed an agreement for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, thus bringing this horrible war (and what war isn’t) to a close.
But, my grandfather didn’t see it. Around the first of October he was hit with mustard gas and spent the remainder of the war in a hospital in France.
He returned home with his unit in May of 1919, but his life, and his health, would never be the same.
In 1954 Armistice Day was renamed to Veterans Day, and we continue to honor our Veterans on November 11.
My apologies for not writing the past two weeks. Some, now mostly resolved, medical issues got in the way of our regular schedule. But I’m back now.
The journey towards the completion of my script, Clean Dry Socks: Diary of a Doughboy, continues. The script is in what I believe to be the final editing stage.
Last week, due to some work travel, I had the opportunity to journey to Southwest Virginia and take some time to seek out some inspiration. My trip afforded me the opportunity to travel to the small town of Cedar Bluff, Virginia, my grandfather’s home, and where my mother was born and grew up.
It took me a while to find the right route up to College Hill where the house was and where the old school still stands in ruins, but I found it and made the journey up the narrow, winding road.
Before I turned to drive up the hill, I saw a sign that announced the Cedar Bluff Veteran’s Day parade. I wanted to take a picture, but noted that I would miss the parade since it was scheduled for the following day (Saturday).
When I returned from my trip up to the school, I realized I had my dates wrong. As I parked to take the picture of the sign I looked a block away where a policeman had just stopped traffic and I saw the beginning of the parade.
I don’t believe in coincidence. But, here I was in my grandfather’s hometown, one-hundred years after he was drafted for service in World War I, watching the Veteran’s Day parade.
The significance? Although he did not talk about the war, and although his children were forbideen to talk about their history lessons of the war in his presence, every year he would put on his uniform and march in the Veteran’s Day parade, or as it was then called the Armistice Day parade.
As parades go, this one was far from impressive. A few fire trucks, some marching children, the VFW unit and a few Vietnam veterans.
But I stood watching with tears in my eyes, and knowing this was more confirmation that I must indeed finish and produce this script.
After the parade, and after a few miss-turns I made my way to the cemetery where my grandparents and uncle are buried. It had been some twenty years since last I visited, so finding the grave was a challenge. But I found it.
As I stood there and swept the leaves off of the markers, I knew my grandparents were not there. But I stood there honoring Reese on Veteran’s Day, wanting him to know that I was telling his story, and hoping that I could do it justice.
When the U.S. entered World War I, the war in Europe was at a stalemate. The thought was that the Yankees coming over would take care of things. To a certain extent they did.
To express that sentiment, songs like “Over There” expressed the sentiment of a nation. The 1917 hit song by George M. Cohen helped to galvanize young men to enlist in the fight against the “Hun” in both World Wars.