Memorial Title

Capt J Maclean (Maj G H Maclean MC)

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a WW1 war memorial to Capt Jock Maclean (Maj George H Maclean MC) comprising an addition to a gravestone in the churchyard of the Church of St Oswald, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Images

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Further images may be available on request.

Locations

Last known location:
Graveyard
Church of St Oswald
Mayfield Rd
Ashbourne
Derbyshire

Nearest postcode:
DE6 1EJ

NGR:
SK 17588 46394 ±5m
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Location details:
The church is on the south side of the road. The gravestone is about 30m southwest of the church, just by the side of the informal path.

Type

Overall type: Addition to gravestone

Overall condition: Fair. The inscription is legible although some lettering is missing.

Description:

An addition to the wording on a family gravestone. The limestone memorial comprises a latin cross on a four-stepped base accompanied by oblong kerbs. The inscription is inlaid in upright capital block lettering on the 6 and 3 o'clock faces of the base and on the upper surface of the kerbs.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Cross	Limestone	1070	530	115	Fair
Base	Limestone	600	800	660	Fair
Kerbs	Limestone	130	1020	2140	Fair
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

6 o'clock face of base:

Conflicts and people named:
Conflict	First World War (1914-1919)	Totals
Action or event	Not stated
Number died	1	1
Number served and returned	0	0
Total names	1	1

IN
LOVING MEMORY
OF
JOHN HUGH MACLEAN
DIED SEPTEMBER 13, 1908
AGED 57 YEARS.
ALSO OF ELSIE, HIS WIFE
WHO DIED ON EASTER DAY 1945.

3 o'clock face of base:

ALSO OF
JOCK, HIS SON
CAPT. EGYPTIAN ARMY,
DIED AT AKOBO,
AUGUST 29, 1920

North kerb:

[O] HAPPY [HARBOUR] OF THE SAINTS,

West kerb:

O SWEET AND PLEASANT SOIL,

South kerb:

IN THEE NO SORROW MAY BE FOUND

East kerb:

NO GRIEF, NO CARE, NO TOIL

[Some lettering missing or damaged.]

Administration

Custodian: Presumed to be the Maclean family.

Local authorities:
From WW1: Ashbourne Parish Council; Ashbourne Urban District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1974: Ashbourne Town Council; Derbyshire Dales District Council; Derbyshire County Council.

History and Conservation

November 1968: The Ashbourne Conservation area was first designated. The memorial lies within it.

10th August, 2009: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson.

2nd October, 2019: The memorial was resurveyed by Roy Branson and Alan Willmot. The cross had a safety warning attached to it but the memorial was otherwise in fair condition although some lettering was missing and a sheen of algae was developing over most of the stonework.

References

Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal; 24th September, 1920; p8: an extensive but concise obituary.

Comments

Jock Maclean's real name was George Hugh Maclean. After a long career in the Natal Mounted Police and the British Army he became an Acting Captain in 1918 and was later attached as a Major (Bimbashi) to the 10th Sudanese Battalion of the Egyption Army at Omdurman.

The inscription on the kerbs is from the hymn "Jerusalem, My Happy Home".

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