THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE - Richard Hollingdale Remembered

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

RICHARD HOLLINGDALE REMEMBERED (born 1887 died 1915)

First Published in Along the Furlong in April 2006

Pam Stepney has helped me unravel the story of another little bit of village history and a Findonian of the past, Richard Hollingdale.

Richard was the seventh of nine children. His father (also christened Richard) was an agricultural labourer whose work took the family from Lancing to Coombes and then to Washington (just to the north of Findon) where Richard was born in 1887.

Later the family moved the few miles south to Findon where they lived at Muntham Farm and then Cobden Farm.

Richard eventually joined the 7th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment as a private. During the First World War, he was wounded in action at the age of 28 years and brought back to Aldershot Hospital where he died on 23rd March 1915.

Richard's body was brought to Findon and his interment took place at St. John the Baptist Churchyard. The bearer party was provided by troops stationed in Findon who also lined the path to the church door.

Richard's coffin was draped with the Union Jack. The procession was met at the lych gate by the officiating clergyman the Reverend W. D. Allen and the choir. The service was reported as being very impressive.

It is said that much sympathy was felt for the bereaved parents and family and a large number of inhabitants attended the service to pay their last tribute to the departed soldier. Among the flowers was a very beautiful cross from the officers and men of the deceased's regiment.

Richard's tombstone bears the inscription :-

Had we but seen him yet in life
Watched by his dying bed,
Caught the last flickering of his breath
And touched his dying head,
We think our hearts would not have felt
Such bitterness of grief
But God had willed it otherwise
And now he rests in peace.

Buried with him are his younger brother Charles who died 28th November 1918 aged 28 and their father, Richard, who died on 29th January 1920 at the age of 81. By then the family was living at Rogers Farm.

I have not been able to discover much else about the Hollingdale family, other than the fact that a younger brother, Daniel, was a road sweeper in Findon for many years and lodged at Elder Cottage in Nepcote (opposite the chapel).

Daniel Hollingdale is shown in the photograph below.... although I do not know which gentleman he is!

The photograph shows an agreeable pleasure trip, no doubt well deserved, for the male dominated regulars of the Gun Inn. Obviously none of their wives were invited it appears. The banner they are holding reads "The Findon Gunners". The participants appear to be dressed in their Sunday best and have buttonholes for the important occasion. From the appearance of the accordion player in the second row, a well-timed hearty singsong is in progress.

Unfortunately, the date of this light-hearted jaunt is unknown — and also the destination. Could it be a pile of sand in the foreground, are they at the seaside?

The names of the other gentlemen of yesteryear include Mick Cooper, Jack Long, Old Mr. Long, Harry Walls and a Mr. Foster.

Lawrence May who now lives in Antigua in the West Indies, tells me —

"Daniel was rather a sad character which hardly surprises me now I know the family’s history".

Continue if you would like to read about the Giants Code Named M-N.

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THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.

E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com