Category Archives: History

South Hill Remembers W. Buckingham


Sapper Vernon William Buckingham died aged 21 The Royal Engineers Uncle of Jill Reynolds & Shirley Shears.

BIRTH 1918 Cornwall Unitary Authority, Cornwall, England

DEATH 22 Feb 1940 (aged 21) Kent, England

BURIAL Golberdon Methodist Burial Ground

Golberdon, Cornwall Unitary Authority, Cornwall, England  Show Map

PLOT N.E. corner of burial ground. Grave A. 2.

Only Son of George and Beatrice Ann Buckingham, of Golberdon.

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South Hill Remembers T. Drew


Private Thomas Drew died aged 29 The Somerset Light Infantry

Son of William Henry a tailor (originally from Guernsey) and Elizabeth (of Calstock) living in Miners Row, St Ive.

Thomas Lewis John Drew

  • Born at Miners cottage, St Ive in 1886, to William Henry and Elizabeth Ann.
  • He enlisted in Callington where he joined the Prince Albert’s (Somerset Light Infantry), 9th (Reserve) Battalion. Service number: 22326
  • 9th Battalion was formed at Plymouth as a service battalion of the Fourth New Army (K4) as part of the 98th Brigade of the 33rd Division then moved to St. Austell, Cornwall.
  • He died in Poole, Dorset on 30/3/1916 and is buried there. No record of him being married.

Source: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7685174

The 1891 census shows William & Elizabeth with 7 children, including Thomas, ages ranging from 12 – 2years old (Samual, Robina, Mable, Ann, Thomas 5 yrs, Alice, Joseph) (Mabel died just 13 years old. Born 1883 died 1896)

His Dad remarried when Elizabeth died aged 36. Born 1858 died Feb. 17th 1894. Buried Mission church. Pensilva. Thomas was 8 years old when his mum died.

1901 census shows Step Mother Annie/Fanny aged 30. Born 1871 St. Ive died 1950 aged 79 buried Mission church, Pensilva (William was 53) Thomas aged 15 plus Alice, Harry & Edward living at home.

1911 census shows William & wife Annie now married 13 years with 4 children of their own (Harry, Edward, Stewart, Howard) and Thomas aged 24 a labourer living at home in St. Ive.

Dad William Henry born 1848 died 1934 aged 86 buried Mission church, Pensilva

Sources from Callington Heritage Museum. Find my Past and census records.

South Hill Remembers W. G. Landry


Private William Gordon Landry died aged 24

The Essex Regiment

Son of William & Elizabeth Landry, Trevigro

BIRTH unknown

DEATH 12 Oct 1916

MEMORIAL SITE* Thiepval Memorial

Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. Contains the names of 72,000 soldiers with no known grave, 90% died between July and November 1916.

* A structure erected in honor of someone whose remains lie elsewhere.

South Hill Remembers W. N. Stephens


Private William Nicholas Stephens Aged 28 The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry

Born 1888 son of Stephen and Harriet Stephens, of 1 Pear Tree Row, Callington.

(Pear tree bungalows Well Street.)

Died: Monday 18 September 1916 (aged 28)

ETAPLES MILITARY CEMETERY, PAS DE CALAIS, FRANCE

Enlisted at Dartmouth, Devon

Died of wounds, Flanders, Interred Etaples Military Cemetery, France

Parish War Memorial and Callington War Memorial

Callington – Cornwall War History (cornwallfhs.com)

BROTHER Maurice also fell Born 1892 died 27 May 1919 Aged 27

1st/5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment,

interred Cologne Southern Cemetery, Germany.

Callington War Book
Callington Book

South Hill Remembers J.G. Doney


Private John Garfield Doney The London Regiment. Son of William & Martha Doney, Wagmuggle. (Enlisted Liskeard Formerly 24375, 9th D.C.L.I.)

Life story: John Garfield Doney | Lives of the First World War (iwm.org.uk)

SIBLING: Emma Doney Born 1888

SIBLING: William E Doney  Born 1893

John Garfield Born  South Hill, Cornwall APRIL 1895

EMPLOYMENT: Waggoner St Ive 2nd APRIL 1901

Living: St Ive, their own address 2nd APRIL 1911

SERVICE: British Army Private

  • Served in both the D.C.L.I. (service number: 24375) and then Private 6390 the London Regiment, 1st/7th (City of London) Battalion.
  • Died whilst serving in the London Regiment on 15/9/1916

Sources: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1668383

Killed in Action Flanders, France Source:7337738Source:1668383 15th Sep 1916 aged 21

Head stone inscription Golberdon

In loving memory of William Doney
the beloved husband of Martha
who died at Wagmuggle South Hill

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Queen Elizabeth II 1926 – 2022


1926: Princess Elizabeth was born on April 21, at 17 Bruton St, Mayfair, London, and christened on May 29 that year in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, her full name being Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. The first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

1933: Her lifelong love of corgis began with “Dookie”, the first corgi owned by her family.

1936: At 10-years-old, Elizabeth became heir apparent when her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated on Dec. 11, and her father became King George VI. She was 10 years old.

1940: The 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC’s Children’s Hour addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities.

1942: The Princess’s first public engagement. She inspects the soldiers of the Grenadier Guards on her 16th birthday. During the Second World War she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret mingled incognito with the celebrating crowds in the streets of London. Elizabeth later said in a rare interview, “We asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised … I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief.”

1947: Elizabeth marries Royal Navy lieutenant, Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, at Westminster Abbey on November 20. They met at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth she was 21 when their engagement was officially announced on 9 July

1948: Prince Charles is born at Buckingham Palace.

1949: Princess Elizabeth visits Callington (photo below)

1950: Princess Anne is born at Clarence House.

1952: Queen Elizabeth II ascends to the throne after the death of her father. She is in Kenya on a royal tour when she receives the news.

1953: Aged 27, she is crowned on June 2 at Westminster Abbey, the first ever coronation to be televised. When she ascended the throne, Josef Stalin, Mao Zedong and Harry Truman were leading the Soviet Union, China and the United States, while Winston Churchill was the British prime minister.

1960: Prince Andrew is born at Buckingham Palace.

1964: Prince Edward is born at Buckingham Palace.

1977: The Queen celebrates her Silver Jubilee, marking 25 years on the throne.

1981: Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

On September 14, shots are fired as the Queen participates in the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony. It turns out they were blanks, fired by a teenager.

1982: Prince William is born and is next in line to the throne following his father the Prince of Wales. On 9 July, In a serious lapse of security, she is woken by an intruder, Michael Fagan, who is in her bedroom at Buckingham Palace.

1987: The involvement of younger members of the royal family in the charity game show It’s a Royal Knockout …

1989: The unmasking of Anthony Blunt, former Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, as a communist spy; AND the assassination of her relative Lord Mountbatten by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

1992: The Queen’s son Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah separate, her daughter Princess Anne divorces her husband Capt. Mark Philips, her heir Prince Charles formally separates from his wife Diana, and a significant portion of Windsor Castle is destroyed by fire. At the end of the year, Elizabeth sued The Sun newspaper for breach of copyright when it published the text of her annual Christmas message two days before it was broadcast. The newspaper was forced to pay her legal fees and donated £200,000 to charity.

1997: Princess Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris, alongside Dodi Al-Fayed.

1999: The Queen opens the newly-created National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament.

2002: The Queen marks her Golden Jubilee, with 50 years spent on the throne.

Her sister Margaret, dies in February and the Queen Mother just over a month later, aged 101.

2005: Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles.

2007: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their Diamond wedding anniversary.

2011: Prince William marries Kate Middleton in a widely televised ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

2012: The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years on the throne. She helps stage a stunt jumping from a helicopter alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond for the opening of the London Olympics.

2013: Prince George, 3rd in line to the throne, is born to William and Kate.

2015: The Queen becomes the longest-reigning monarch, surpassing the 63 years that her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria spent on the throne to become the country’s longest-reigning monarch in a line dating back to Norman King William the Conqueror in 1066.

2020: Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announce their intention to step back from royal duties. They move to Canada and then to America.

2021: Prince Philip died on 9 April after 73 years of marriage, making Elizabeth the first British monarch to reign as a widow or widower since Queen Victoria. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions she sat alone during the funeral service.

2022: She celebrated her Platinum Jubilee – the 70th anniversary of her accession – on Feb. 6 For the Jubilee concert, she took part in a sketch with Paddington Bear, that opened the event outside Buckingham Palace.

On 6 September 2022, she appointed her 15th British prime minister, Liz Truss, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the first and only time she did not receive a new prime minister at Buckingham Palace. No other sovereign has seen so many prime ministers. During her reign, there have been 14 U.S. presidents, all of whom she has met bar Lyndon Johnson.

Sept 8th Elizabeth died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire. Succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.

Sept 19th State Funeral at Westminster Abbey and burial at Windsor Castle.

She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit those nations and started official royal walkabouts in 1970. Her many historic visits and meetings include state visits to China in 1986, Russia in 1994, India in 1997 and the Republic of Ireland in 2011, and meetings with five popes. She toured the Commonwealth and was the most widely travelled head of state. People will remember her for all sorts of reasons, her sense of duty as our Queen, her sense of humour, her garden parties, her issues with her family members and her love of horses and corgis.

The Queens Funeral Service Sept. 19th 2022


On Monday 19th September 10am

The hall will be open and showing the Queens funeral service on the big screen TV.

We invite the community to come and meet and have some coffee and cake.

Please invite others that may not see this invitation so people don’t have to be on their own and can watch with others if they choose to. This maybe a difficult time for some and is part of everyone’s history.

Please come and support each other and share your memories following the service, the hall will remain open into the afternoon for you to drop in.

If you cant come please still spread the word.to others.

St Sampson’s church will set up a table and bring the book of condolences for people to write in and Judith Ayres will say a few words before the service which starts at 11am.

We look forward to seeing you there.

From Nick Easton and the Hall Committee.