Gravestones of my Great Grandparents Holmes and their daughter found in the Old Cemetery, Grahamstown. Plots 80, 81, 82 (Presbyterian section). Thank you Fleur Way-Jones, Albany Museum. Condition not bad. Headstone crosses toppled over but respectfully arranged below headstones. Will return with gardening tools to tidy up a bit for Great Granny. Perhaps a little ceremony on 15th May to mark 98th anniversary of Great Aunt Bertha’s tragic death.
Incidentally, also found their home address. 2 Wolseley Street, Grahamstown. Just above Kingswood. Reasonably sure the address of Carara’s pickled pepper bottling plant. For the record, the Holmes’ are delighted the site is being used for international export of Eastern Cape produce and a significant employer in Grahamstown.
In Loving Memory
Bertha Mildred Holmes
Born 2nd October 1892
Died 15th May 1920
Deeply Regretted.
In Loving Memory
James Holmes
Died 16th May 1928
In his 68th year.
At rest.
In Loving Memory
Of our Dear Mother
Martha Jane Holmes
(Née Banks)
Wife of James Holmes
Born 24th Aug 1863
Died at Grahamstown 16th Sept 1940.
GRAEME HOLMES
Before moving back to Grahamstown in Oct 2017, Graeme was a bank executive based in the big smoke and craziness of Joburg. He has 20 years’ experience in the Payments Industry. He is a Chartered Accountant, has a Masters in Management by Research (MMR) from Wits Business School, and attended an Advanced Management Programme (AMP) offered by INSEAD (The Business School for the World!) in France.
Graeme is the founder of The Grahamstown Project. It’s simple. He says, “Grahamstown is a microcosm of South Africa. If we can’t get this place to function properly then the whole country is stuffed. Many of the troubles we experience as a country today have their roots here in Grahamstown. it is here where black and white people first engaged in conflict on the African continent. It is here where 9 wars of dispossession over 100 years took place and virtually destroyed the amaXhosa nation. But we are where we are. I don’t have a British passport and the boat-trip back to where my ancestors came from is exorbitantly expensive. Furthermore, this is my home. I am a son of Africa. We must work together to redress the injustices of the past and move as one into a brighter future.”
Graeme is an avid historian, writer, vlogger and public speaker. Like and follow the Facebook page. Join him on a tour. Contact him. He would love that.