On a CD produced by the
Essex Society for Family History entitled "Monumental
Inscriptions. South Essex - Volume I" the grave is numbered 347
and it is described thus:- Kerb with
a cross on triple plinth at west end - Cross broken off and
lying within kerb.
| |
|
| On cross: |
Gone but not
forgotten. |
| Top plinth:
|
ln loving
memory
ELIZABETH LAWLER |
| Middle
plinth: |
who departed
this life 11th January 1916
aged 23 years
Erected as a token of respect by her fellow employees
at Kynock Works
Kynock Town. |
When we first found the grave we thought
that Elizabeth Lawler must have been involved in some sort of
accident at the "works'", perhaps an explosion. The fact her
grave, elaborate and expensive in its day, was "Erected...by her
fellow employees", seems to suggest that something happened
while Elizabeth was at work. It is presumed that as she was
buried in Orsett churchyard she or her family must have resided
in the Parish. There is no mention of her family on the grave.
An elderly [in their 80's] and lifelong resident of the Orsett
area has been asked if they knew of a family named Lawler living
in the district, this drew a blank.
I have searched copies of the Grays
Tilbury Gazette for a period of a few weeks before the stated
death of Elizabeth Lawler, to see if there were any reports of
an accident at the Kynock explosives works that may have caused
her death, with no success. I did think, perhaps wrongly, that
as this was in the middle of World War One an accident at such
an establishment would have been kept secret and would not have
been reported in the newspapers.
She
was buried on 15th January 1916 and the burial register shows
her as being a resident of the Orsett Union workhouse.
Does anybody have a clue as to who the
young lady was and how she met her death?
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