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Honouring war heroes

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 As a member of the Friends of Rookwood volunteer gardening group, over the last two Saturday fortnights we have been endeavoring to clean up graves in Sections 3 and 4 of the Old Anglican section which will be highlighted in the forthcoming Military Tour in November - details further on. Some are commemorating those bodies that did not come home after WW1 or those that did and died earlier than perhaps, they should have due to their war injuries. There are others from WW2 and even some American Civil War veterans.  One grave I had worked on a few years back was in dire need of some TLC. The man buried there was a war hero, one most of us have never heard of and this blog honours him today. RALPH NORMAN SPENDELOVE   Ralph was born in Toowong Queensland on the 4th of August 1890 to Benjamin James Spendelove and his second wife Amy Ann Benham. He was the third child in a family of six; two boys and four girls.  Benjamin was from Staffordshire England. He married Emma Heath in April 1883
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Spring has sprung - or at least it's trying to!

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 It's October and Spring has sprung (well it's trying to) and our minds turn to gardens flourishing, spring cleaning and maybe a spot of painting, etc. to spruce the place up! Here are a few people who fit the bill and call Rookwood home. GEORGE KERSLAKE AND NATHANIEL TAUBMAN GEORGE KERSLAKE George's full name was George Henry Tuck (his mother's maiden name) Kerslake and was born @ 1854 in Teignmouth, Devon, England, the eldest son to Robert George Kerslake and Elizabeth (nee Tuck). He was the eldest son of eight. Robert was a gardener and George followed in his footsteps.  George married Hannah Underhay in 1877 and by the 1881 Census he was listed as a market gardener. They made the journey to these shores arriving on the 13th of January 1884 stopping in Adelaide and Melbourne before disembarking in Sydney.  George Kerslake - portrait taken @ 1905 for the Royal Horticultural Society - from Ancestry.com He was employed by Wilheim Von Der Heyde, who with George Todman se
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A beast of a fire in July 1901

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 On the 10th of July 1901, people were astonished to read in their afternoon newspaper edition that a massive fire had broken out at the Hordern's Palace Emporium Haymarket. The main buildings had been destroyed with damages estimated at £1,000,000. The tragic news received was that 5 employees had lost their lives.  *Warning: graphic details are contained herein* THE HORDERN PALACE EMPORIUM FIRE OF 1901 Before I expand on the tragic incident, let me quickly touch on the origins of the firm. It began as a drapery business of Mrs. Ann (Anthony) Hordern in 1823 which eventually moved to Melbourne in 1839 but their sons Anthony II and Lebbeus returned in 1844 to set up their own drapery firm in George Street. The business moved to larger premises in the Haymarket in 1856 and by the time Anthony II's sons, Anthony III and Samuel joined the business in 1869 the firm was called Anthony Hordern & Sons. During the 1870's the company purchased several surrounding buildings and r
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We pay homage to a life cut short as we head towards Police Remembrance Day

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 As we approach Police Remembrance Day, let's take the time to reflect on the dangers of enforcing the law and remember those who have died in the line of duty. Today's blog honours the short Police career of a young 22-year-old man who died just as life was starting for him. LIONEL GEORGE GUISE Lionel was the only son of Lionel Guise (Snr) and his wife in 1916, born in Parkes in the central west of NSW. He joined the NSW Police Force on the 22nd of November 1937 and was sworn in on the 21st January 1938. In early 1939 Lionel was as serving out of Newtown Police Station. Lionel George Guise in Police uniform - from photo on find-a-grave.  On the evening of the 26th of February 1939, Lionel, in plain clothes, and another officer, Sergeant Werner, were patrolling the Newtown area when they received notification of a possible break and enter offence occurring in nearby Marion Street. When attending the scene, the Police stopped their vehicle beside a truck which they were
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A writer of Sydney slums and overseas WW2 conflicts

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 Today's blog is about a poet and war reporter who married a woman born during a time of extreme anguish in her family. It relates to a previous blog that had a shocking event at its core. KENNETH SLESSOR  Kenneth was born Kenneth Adolphe Schloesser in Orange NSW to Robert and Ella. As a young lad, he lived in England for a while and upon return to Australia visited the mines of NSW with his father who was a Jewish Mining engineer whose own father and grandfather had been distinguished musicians in Germany. Robert changed the family surname to "Slessor" on the 14th of November 1914, just after the outbreak of WW1. Kenneth's father encouraged him to appreciate music, food and books and instilled in him a European sense of sophistication. A voracious reader and writer, his first publication was in 1917, a dramatic monologue spoken by a "digger" remembering Sydney Harbour and Manly Beach, appearing in "The Bulletin." Kenneth joined the Sun new
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Now that's what I call leading a "full" life!

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 Over the years I have had the privilege of being the recipient of family information from people who follow me. Every one of those pieces of information contain pure "gold" and I have shared some of the stories of those people on this page. I'll advise of how to find them towards the end of today's blog. A few months back I heard from a woman who was seeking advice as to where her ancestor was buried in Rookwood and advised me that he died at the ripe old age of 107! Well, I had to go down the rabbit hole on that one. The ancestor was found, and this is his story as passed down and reported upon. RICHARD JAMES SMITH Richard was born on the 10th of December 1796 in Wiltshire England to John Smith and his wife Mary nee Bird. He was the fourth child of a total of nine and by the date of his birth two of his siblings had already died. The family were farmers like many other relatives, however some entered the Army and Richard joined them. He enlisted in the 50th Re
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