War memorials come in all shapes and sizes. These types of memorial are extremely numerous and can be found in cemeteries and churchyards all over the UK. My regular walk to the nearest Underground station in London takes me through the Margravine Cemetery, sometimes also known as Hammersmith Old Cemetery. Close to the point where three major pathways interconnect is a simple pink granite grave marker with a stepped base.
As with most other gravestones in the cemetery, the cross that the granite base once supported has at some point been removed and placed within the kerbstone framework of the grave itself. Meacock family grave, Margravine Cemetery, Hammersmith.
The grave itself was the resting place of Thomas Durran Meacock, a Hammersmith butcher that died in at the age of 34, and Ellen Sarah Meacock, his widow, who died in , aged In addition, the gravestone commemorates two of their sons that died in the First World War.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission database contains a bit more information, adding his full name, rank, service number, and regiment: Lance Corporal Frederick Fisher Meacock of the 16th Battalion, Australian Infantry [6]. It also records that he is buried in Serre Road Cemetery No. The National Archives of Australia have digitised many Australian service records from the First World War, so it was possible to find out a little bit more about Fred and his war service [7].
Helena Valley is a settlement in the foothills of the Darling Range, not far now from the suburbs of Perth. By that time, Fred had already been appointed Lance Corporal, on the 22th March On the 6th August, the division were in the process of relieving the 2nd Australian Division, in preparation for fresh assaults towards Mouquet Farm on the 8th. Exactly where and how Fred died is unclear, although the Australian trenches β which were in reality often little more than shell holes β were under regular shellfire.
