Introduction.....Following the success of Tour 2 on 25th July which exceeded 10 miles qualifying for a whole page on my website that should be it until the next long trip out. Well, just 2 days after that trip I go out on one of my intermediate trips allowing for fair spacing between longer ones. Mid-morning on the 27th and I’m cycling on a loop that should hardly take an hour. It shouldn’t be worth mentioning but there is one site of interest I’d like to visit and it succeeds in changing the whole focus of the day with a tragic discovery. The historical information derived from such a short visit has compelled me to devote a separate page to it on my website. As the trip doesn’t meet my set criteria, I will treat it as a one-off but a story must be told due it’s regional significance as well as local.
Route.....A route south along the Great Western Way, the route of a railway track around the western part of the city closed in the 1960’s, is quite familiar to me by now. It leads towards Grafton Village which warrants little of interest except for the views of Dinedor and Aconbury. Negotiating this route, I pass through the village and head for the A49 Ross Road. It’s down a small dip and then riding along a local road towards Bullinghope Village. The selected site of interest lies on the outskirts of the village.
Discovery.....St Peter’s Church is not that old and there shouldn’t be much here to write home about. Of more interest seems to be the site of the old church which fell into disrepair just a little further along into the village. As with other churches though, I resolve to wander around the churchyard and my attention is immediately drawn to a CWGC military grave then to a second. They will provide me with a date of death and I should be able to work out how they come to be here. Even though there is a personal story to tell, it’s not unusual for accidents to happen while in service. All I need to is record it and that should be the end of my visit. Well, not quite! I’m already intrigued by the date 27th July 1942 if only due to the fact that this is the date of my visit exactly 79 years later. Then I notice the civilian grave next to the CWGC one; same family name, same date. Then I know there’s been a tragedy and a wartime one at that. It’s been a bit of a mystery so far but I’m closer to know what happened here. Almost certain confirmation comes from the inscription on the civilian grave with the mention of tragedy at Rotherwas. Final matching of the date will have to wait till I return to base as I have not quite finished at Bullinghope yet.
The 2nd military grave I have not referred to yet is destined to remain a mystery for the time being at least. A 22-year-old solder of the Herefordshire Regiment as the grave is marked (actually this regiment had been merged into the Shropshire Light Infantry forming the 2nd Battalion) died on the night of the 25th/26th July 1942. This is just the day before the raid but there is nothing noted in the CWGC records to associate this death with a raid. It would be a coincidence but the only way to find out is to obtain a copy of the death certificate but I really must move on.
Ruins.....As mentioned, there is the site of the old church further into the village. It lies in the spacious grounds of the former vicarage which is now a high-class residence valued at £580,000 in 2017. What a wonderful piece of history lying in your front garden! At the old church site there is more than just a footprint. The walls still stand up to about half its original height. Thankfully, unless I secured permission, I can see much of the structure from the road. At one corner the stonework has separated. If the foundations were not secure then that would explain its demise. It would be cheaper to start from scratch which is what they obviously did using some of the material from the old building.
Well, that has to be it and with spots of rain in the air, it’s time to head back and reflect on this morning’s discoveries.
Conclusion.....Well, this short trip has certainly opened my eyes as to what can be discovered in and around one's neighbourhood and brings me to question what is the purpose of these trips? I can't lose track of the fact that the primary objective is for me to keep fit and healthy for my age. I could do that just cycling around and around the same track but how much more motivating it is this when days like this happen? I should be able to keep fit and be an amateur historian at the same time. Going forward I know I have a range of 10 miles from which will probably increase. This gives me a good number of options for trips in the future without leaving the county. We will see.
Tragedy at Rotherwas, 27th July 1942
This from the Rotherwas Together Website: On July 27th 1942 a German bomber struck Rotherwas. The plane was part of a well-planned mission with dozens of planes coming across the channel to target the Midlands, the west of England and Wales. A bomb hit a transit shed killing at least 19 workers, a second struck a girder and hit Moorlands, the home of Superintendent Ernest Hursey in Watery Lane. He was killed alongside his wife Bertha, their eldest son Ronald, and their middle son Ernest’s wife, Vera, and her mother, Florence Carter, who were staying with them. Their youngest son, Ken aged 16, was the only survivor. His oldest brother Ernest Hursey was later killed in action serving in the RAF. There are names of 16 other people who lost their lives that day, many more names are still, as yet, unknown.
The two military graves, details from CWGC:
Corporal Ronald Eric Hursey, Service Number 1875001, Died 27/7/1942, Aged 22, Royal Engineers, Son of Police Inspector Ernest James Hursey and Bertha Hursey, of Bullinghope near Hereford, who were killed in the same incident.
Private William Vincent Stephens, Service Number 24105257, Died 25-26/7/1942, Aged 22, 2nd Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry (Herefordshire Regiment), Son of William and Dora Stephens, of Bullinghope near Hereford.
The civilian grave reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF BERTHA MY DEAR MUM AND DAD BERTHA AND ERNEST JAMES HURSEY WHO TRAGICALLY DIED ON 27th JULY 1942 AT ROTHERWAS.
Two other children, Kenneth and Margaret who are now buried at the same site would have had a story to tell. They survived well into the 21st century.
Route.....A route south along the Great Western Way, the route of a railway track around the western part of the city closed in the 1960’s, is quite familiar to me by now. It leads towards Grafton Village which warrants little of interest except for the views of Dinedor and Aconbury. Negotiating this route, I pass through the village and head for the A49 Ross Road. It’s down a small dip and then riding along a local road towards Bullinghope Village. The selected site of interest lies on the outskirts of the village.
Discovery.....St Peter’s Church is not that old and there shouldn’t be much here to write home about. Of more interest seems to be the site of the old church which fell into disrepair just a little further along into the village. As with other churches though, I resolve to wander around the churchyard and my attention is immediately drawn to a CWGC military grave then to a second. They will provide me with a date of death and I should be able to work out how they come to be here. Even though there is a personal story to tell, it’s not unusual for accidents to happen while in service. All I need to is record it and that should be the end of my visit. Well, not quite! I’m already intrigued by the date 27th July 1942 if only due to the fact that this is the date of my visit exactly 79 years later. Then I notice the civilian grave next to the CWGC one; same family name, same date. Then I know there’s been a tragedy and a wartime one at that. It’s been a bit of a mystery so far but I’m closer to know what happened here. Almost certain confirmation comes from the inscription on the civilian grave with the mention of tragedy at Rotherwas. Final matching of the date will have to wait till I return to base as I have not quite finished at Bullinghope yet.
The 2nd military grave I have not referred to yet is destined to remain a mystery for the time being at least. A 22-year-old solder of the Herefordshire Regiment as the grave is marked (actually this regiment had been merged into the Shropshire Light Infantry forming the 2nd Battalion) died on the night of the 25th/26th July 1942. This is just the day before the raid but there is nothing noted in the CWGC records to associate this death with a raid. It would be a coincidence but the only way to find out is to obtain a copy of the death certificate but I really must move on.
Ruins.....As mentioned, there is the site of the old church further into the village. It lies in the spacious grounds of the former vicarage which is now a high-class residence valued at £580,000 in 2017. What a wonderful piece of history lying in your front garden! At the old church site there is more than just a footprint. The walls still stand up to about half its original height. Thankfully, unless I secured permission, I can see much of the structure from the road. At one corner the stonework has separated. If the foundations were not secure then that would explain its demise. It would be cheaper to start from scratch which is what they obviously did using some of the material from the old building.
Well, that has to be it and with spots of rain in the air, it’s time to head back and reflect on this morning’s discoveries.
Conclusion.....Well, this short trip has certainly opened my eyes as to what can be discovered in and around one's neighbourhood and brings me to question what is the purpose of these trips? I can't lose track of the fact that the primary objective is for me to keep fit and healthy for my age. I could do that just cycling around and around the same track but how much more motivating it is this when days like this happen? I should be able to keep fit and be an amateur historian at the same time. Going forward I know I have a range of 10 miles from which will probably increase. This gives me a good number of options for trips in the future without leaving the county. We will see.
Tragedy at Rotherwas, 27th July 1942
This from the Rotherwas Together Website: On July 27th 1942 a German bomber struck Rotherwas. The plane was part of a well-planned mission with dozens of planes coming across the channel to target the Midlands, the west of England and Wales. A bomb hit a transit shed killing at least 19 workers, a second struck a girder and hit Moorlands, the home of Superintendent Ernest Hursey in Watery Lane. He was killed alongside his wife Bertha, their eldest son Ronald, and their middle son Ernest’s wife, Vera, and her mother, Florence Carter, who were staying with them. Their youngest son, Ken aged 16, was the only survivor. His oldest brother Ernest Hursey was later killed in action serving in the RAF. There are names of 16 other people who lost their lives that day, many more names are still, as yet, unknown.
The two military graves, details from CWGC:
Corporal Ronald Eric Hursey, Service Number 1875001, Died 27/7/1942, Aged 22, Royal Engineers, Son of Police Inspector Ernest James Hursey and Bertha Hursey, of Bullinghope near Hereford, who were killed in the same incident.
Private William Vincent Stephens, Service Number 24105257, Died 25-26/7/1942, Aged 22, 2nd Bn King's Shropshire Light Infantry (Herefordshire Regiment), Son of William and Dora Stephens, of Bullinghope near Hereford.
The civilian grave reads: IN LOVING MEMORY OF BERTHA MY DEAR MUM AND DAD BERTHA AND ERNEST JAMES HURSEY WHO TRAGICALLY DIED ON 27th JULY 1942 AT ROTHERWAS.
Two other children, Kenneth and Margaret who are now buried at the same site would have had a story to tell. They survived well into the 21st century.
Grafton Village
View of Dinedor Hill from Grafton
View of Aconbury Hill from Grafton
St Peter's Church, Bullinghope
The CWGC grave of Private Stephens
St Peter's Church, Bullinghope
The CWGC grave of Corporal Hursey and the civilian gravesite of his parents who were all killed in a bombing raid on 27th July 1942
St Peter's Church, Bullinghope
The CWGC grave of Corporal Hursey
St Peter's Church, Bullinghope
The remains of old St Peter's Church in the grounds of the former vicarage, Bullinghope