Restored Memorial surrounded by relatives ©FNRC Restored Memorial surrounded by relatives

The Allee Appeal

Successful appeal by the Friends and Newbury Weekly News see memorial restored.

It’s over a year since the Newbury Weekly News kindly printed an appeal by the Friends of the Newtown Road Cemetery for relations of J.W.T. Allee who’d tragically lost his life whilst bravely saving his father from being run over in 1920.  The beautiful and unusual gravestone was in a sorry state so the Friends were attempting to reconnect in order to facilitate some restoration work.

Below is a photograph of how it had deteriorated in nearly a hundred years since being set up, and this is the picture the NWN kindly printed in the appeal.

We’re happy to report the call was taken up at first by relative Michael Stevenson and then gradually other family members, including a modern day Jonathan Allee, and funds were raised - as indeed was the column!

And so it came about that recently relations convened at the cemetery (many of whom had not met before or were even aware of each other!) to raise a glass in memory of heroic JWT, to see how they fitted into the family tree, and to reminisce.  A photo of the assembled family and the restored grave also appears below.

So Newbury Weekly News, many thanks.

P.S.
Details of the accident and its repercussions were fully reported by the Newbury Weekly News at the time:  these make fascinating reading, have been transcribed by the Friends, and may be viewed on http://www.fnrcnewbury.org.uk/persondetails.asp?PersonID=2341

P.P.S.   
The ‘broken column’ design is deliberate and is frequently used to symbolise a life cut short.