Village of Waterdown (1854).pdf |
The Gravestones of Alexander Brown and Merren Grierson
Reprinted from Heritage Papers no. 54 & 55 of The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society
One of the thrills experienced by many visitors to the Waterdown Library is a chance to see the Waterdown Library Ghost at work! Yes, Waterdown does have its very own ghost, a friendly, mischievous and very knowing phantom who is the source of several incidents that appear to defy explanation . . .
In 1978 the former East Flamborough Township Hall on Mill Street North underwent extensive renovations. During this work to the interior, an elevator was installed to enable wheelchairs and senior citizens to visit the second floor. Ever since the installation the elevator has taken unexplained trips on its own. In the beginning, the library staff thought there was something wrong, so the elevator company who had been responsible for the installation was requested to examine the machinery. But both the manufacturers and the inspectors reported that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the wiring or mechanics of the elevator . . .
The two white marble tombstones [mounted next to the elevator] commemorate Alexander Brown and his wife Merren Grierson. The actual wording on the monument to Merren Grierson reveals an error that may explain why these stones are not in the Union Cemetery of Waterdown. The spelling of her Christian name is given as Merion rather than Merren.
The two library monuments, almost certainly the first stones to be engraved, were "discovered" on Sunday, May 21st, 1978, by Mr. & Mrs. William R. Donkin while out for an evening stroll. The couple noticed the headstones on a Nelson Street property that was being prepared for the construction of four new homes. Originally this property had been the home of John Burkholder, caretaker of Waterdown Union Cemetery. The lettering on in inscriptions was still legible, probably because the stones had been laid face down to form a sidewalk to the outhouse on the Burkholder property. How the stones arrived on the Nelson Street property may never be known, possibly Mr. Burkholder rescued them when they were replaced by the present monument to the Brown family.
On the following day the Donkins happened to meet Mrs. Ellene Kennedy on Main Street and told her about their discovery. Fascinated by this news, Mrs. Kennedy went to the Flamborough Review Office and asked John Bosveld, the Editor and Publisher, if his two sons could collect the two old tombstones in their van and take them to the Municipal Offices for safekeeping.
The tombstones stayed at the Municipal Offices for several months. During this time, arrangements were made by the Waterdown Centennial Committee and The Waterdown-East Flamborough Society . . . to have them placed on an interior wall of the Former East Flamborough Township Hall . . .
[People believe it is the ghost of Merren Grierson that haunts the library - brought there by the tombstone that displays her mispelt name]
One of the thrills experienced by many visitors to the Waterdown Library is a chance to see the Waterdown Library Ghost at work! Yes, Waterdown does have its very own ghost, a friendly, mischievous and very knowing phantom who is the source of several incidents that appear to defy explanation . . .
In 1978 the former East Flamborough Township Hall on Mill Street North underwent extensive renovations. During this work to the interior, an elevator was installed to enable wheelchairs and senior citizens to visit the second floor. Ever since the installation the elevator has taken unexplained trips on its own. In the beginning, the library staff thought there was something wrong, so the elevator company who had been responsible for the installation was requested to examine the machinery. But both the manufacturers and the inspectors reported that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the wiring or mechanics of the elevator . . .
The two white marble tombstones [mounted next to the elevator] commemorate Alexander Brown and his wife Merren Grierson. The actual wording on the monument to Merren Grierson reveals an error that may explain why these stones are not in the Union Cemetery of Waterdown. The spelling of her Christian name is given as Merion rather than Merren.
The two library monuments, almost certainly the first stones to be engraved, were "discovered" on Sunday, May 21st, 1978, by Mr. & Mrs. William R. Donkin while out for an evening stroll. The couple noticed the headstones on a Nelson Street property that was being prepared for the construction of four new homes. Originally this property had been the home of John Burkholder, caretaker of Waterdown Union Cemetery. The lettering on in inscriptions was still legible, probably because the stones had been laid face down to form a sidewalk to the outhouse on the Burkholder property. How the stones arrived on the Nelson Street property may never be known, possibly Mr. Burkholder rescued them when they were replaced by the present monument to the Brown family.
On the following day the Donkins happened to meet Mrs. Ellene Kennedy on Main Street and told her about their discovery. Fascinated by this news, Mrs. Kennedy went to the Flamborough Review Office and asked John Bosveld, the Editor and Publisher, if his two sons could collect the two old tombstones in their van and take them to the Municipal Offices for safekeeping.
The tombstones stayed at the Municipal Offices for several months. During this time, arrangements were made by the Waterdown Centennial Committee and The Waterdown-East Flamborough Society . . . to have them placed on an interior wall of the Former East Flamborough Township Hall . . .
[People believe it is the ghost of Merren Grierson that haunts the library - brought there by the tombstone that displays her mispelt name]
Leo Clarke (Victoria Cross Winner), 1892-1918
As told by Leo's nephew (also named Leo Clarke):
He was born in Waterdown, Ontario. When the war broke out, my grandfather told the boys – Leo and Charlie, my dad – "Before you join up, you have to come home [the family home was in Winnipeg] first," because Leo had gone with a survey crew in northern Alberta, and dad was working in Regina. Dad arrived home first and joined up with the 2nd Battalion here in Winnipeg, and then Leo, when he joined up, he joined up with a different group. Then, when he got over to France, he asked for a transfer to get in with his brother, which ultimately he wrangled one way or another. |
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Then they both ended up in the 2nd Battalion, in a group called… what they referred to as "The Bombers." They very seldom carried any rifles – they carried grenades – and they'd be sent in ahead of the normal advance to, as dad used to put it, "soften them up."
When they were over at the Battle of the Somme, they had to go ahead and clear the enemy out of the trench so the whole battalion could advance. Dad took a group of men and he went to the right, and Leo took a group and went to the left. Dad didn't run into too much opposition, but Leo ran into quite a bit. All his group were killed except for one other man – his Sergeant. His enemy advanced and came through. Leo had used up his grenades. He had bought himself a .45 automatic for a pistol which he carried, and as the enemy advanced and came after them… dad wrote it down here; he said there was a lot of hand-to-hand fighting, which Leo was quite adept at. Although they were badly outnumbered and their grenades were all spent, Leo was about the only one that wasn't hurt at that point, other than a wound on the knee, which wasn't that serious that he couldn't keep on going. There were five Germans apparently that came after Leo. He shot them and he beat one up, and kept one for a prisoner. Later on, he heard that he'd been recommended for [the VC] for killing twenty-two Germans and two officers. He said, "the Colonel came up and congratulated me," and then he'd heard that he'd been recommended the VC.
Later on, there were some officers who came over and they were standing at the top of the trench, overlooking and trying to see what the Germans were doing and where they were positioned. They were warned that the reflection on the binoculars they had could tip off the Germans as to where they were located. It was ignored at the time, and the shelling started. Dad went into one little cubby hole and Leo was further down the trench – he went into another – and one shell landed beside Leo. Dad got out, he was alright, and he ran down to find Leo. Finally, when he took the earth off the top, Leo smiled up at him and said, "I knew you'd find me, Charlie!" It was the next day, when dad was marching, a motorcyclist and called out to him, and he said, "Charlie, I'm afraid your brother died." Dad said it was the longest and toughest day of his life.
There is a plaque commemorating Leo Clarke's life outside the Waterdown Legion. The strreet where Clarke lived in Winnipeg was renamed in 1925 to Valour Road to commemorate the three VC recipients that lived there - Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland. Check out a youtube video on Valour Road here.
When they were over at the Battle of the Somme, they had to go ahead and clear the enemy out of the trench so the whole battalion could advance. Dad took a group of men and he went to the right, and Leo took a group and went to the left. Dad didn't run into too much opposition, but Leo ran into quite a bit. All his group were killed except for one other man – his Sergeant. His enemy advanced and came through. Leo had used up his grenades. He had bought himself a .45 automatic for a pistol which he carried, and as the enemy advanced and came after them… dad wrote it down here; he said there was a lot of hand-to-hand fighting, which Leo was quite adept at. Although they were badly outnumbered and their grenades were all spent, Leo was about the only one that wasn't hurt at that point, other than a wound on the knee, which wasn't that serious that he couldn't keep on going. There were five Germans apparently that came after Leo. He shot them and he beat one up, and kept one for a prisoner. Later on, he heard that he'd been recommended for [the VC] for killing twenty-two Germans and two officers. He said, "the Colonel came up and congratulated me," and then he'd heard that he'd been recommended the VC.
Later on, there were some officers who came over and they were standing at the top of the trench, overlooking and trying to see what the Germans were doing and where they were positioned. They were warned that the reflection on the binoculars they had could tip off the Germans as to where they were located. It was ignored at the time, and the shelling started. Dad went into one little cubby hole and Leo was further down the trench – he went into another – and one shell landed beside Leo. Dad got out, he was alright, and he ran down to find Leo. Finally, when he took the earth off the top, Leo smiled up at him and said, "I knew you'd find me, Charlie!" It was the next day, when dad was marching, a motorcyclist and called out to him, and he said, "Charlie, I'm afraid your brother died." Dad said it was the longest and toughest day of his life.
There is a plaque commemorating Leo Clarke's life outside the Waterdown Legion. The strreet where Clarke lived in Winnipeg was renamed in 1925 to Valour Road to commemorate the three VC recipients that lived there - Corporal Leo Clarke, Sergeant-Major Frederick William Hall, and Lieutenant Robert Shankland. Check out a youtube video on Valour Road here.