St Alban's Church Yard, Forest Town

St Albans Church Forest Town, near Mansfield was dedicated in 1911. A burial ground surrounds it on three sides. The cenotaph commemorating men from Forest Town who died in WW1 & WW2, is near the main gate.

The churchyard was extended in 1929 and the extended burial ground is reached from the North East corner, at the rear of the church.

While the original churchyard has prominent rows of WW1 Commonwealth War Graves,  plus Pte H Wilson, seperate from the main rows & Ada Elizabeth Young VAD near the Cenotaph,(See page ‘St Albans Churchyard’) a walk round both of the burial grounds reveal other standard and non-standard War Graves. Additionally there are headstones which mention military personal killed in action. Below are those discovered so far.

Original Churchyard

W.O. Stanley CLARKE, RAF died 1944 is commemorated on a family head stone in the burial ground to the East of the church.

He lies in the Bucharest War Cemetery, Romania (Information Commonwealth War Graves Commission).

WILKINSON Frederick Henry 41661 1st/4th Bn., Kings Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) died 25the August 1918 aged 19, son of John & Amelia Wilkinson of Forest Town, interred in Pernes British Cemetery, France. He is commemorated on the family headstone of Rhodes and Wilkinson.  

Extended Churchyard

This burial ground is divided into sections

NAYLOR Robert(non standard memorial)lies in the west section

In/Loving memory/of our dear son/driver Robert Edwin Naylor R.A.S.C./ who gave his life for his country Sept. 28th 1940 aged 21 years/ ‘In Heavenly Love Abiding’/ also his father James Edwin Naylor,/ Died Oct. 8th 1966 aged 71 years.

WARD(standard war grave headstone) middle sectionWARD , Trooper, WILLIAM, 7931842. Inns of Court Regiment. Royal Armoured Corps. 15th April 1943. Age 22. Son of Thomas and Florence Ward; husband of Marjorie Winifred Ward, of Forest Town.  Sec. B. Grave 1137.

WARD & SKILLING two memorial stones side by side.

SKILLING Jesse & Hedley both killed while on war service Dec 16th 1944, they are commemorated on a family memorial stone. centre section. They lie in Schoonselhof Cemetery, Antwerpen, Belgium (Information Commonwealth War Graves Commission).

OATES Kenneth (non standard memorials) middle section

Memorial stone reads:

(On the right kerb stone) In Remembrance of our dear son F/O Kenneth Oates killed on active service Aug 16th 1944 aged 23 years. (At the foot) The supreme sacrifice.

Naylor Robert - Extended Churchyard
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Naylor Robert Edwin, full view - Extended Churchyard
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Oates, full view -Extended Churchyard
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Oates, close up - Extended Churchyard
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Oates, Close up - Extended Churchyard
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Skilling Brothers and W Ward - Extended Churchyard
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Jessie & Hedley Skilling - Extended Churchyard
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7931482 Trooper W Ward - Extended Churchyard
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W.O. Stanley Clarke. RAF - original Churchyard
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Rhodes Wilkinson Grave
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Frederick Henry Wilkinson, near the bottom of this memorial - original Churchyard
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War Graves - original Churchyard
Cenotaph with the war grave of Ada Elizabeth Young in the background - near the gate in the original Churchyard

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