Exeter
Home Up Exeter London Nelson_BC Niagara Falls Orkney Parkhill Walkerton

This Page Last Updated on Friday July 18, 2008

 

EXETER CEMETERY

The Exeter Cemetery was the first one visited in this project, as that is the town where I grew up and where my Grandfather George Van Wyck Laughton 1897 is buried (as is his wife Mary Elizabeth), along with the ashes of my parents Charles Van Wyck Laughton 1919 and Maureen Montgomery Kennedy 1921.

I am not sure why Grandfather Laughton was buried in Exeter, as he never lived there nor does he have any association with Exeter. As a young child I know of my grandparents living in Toronto and when they retired they moved to London, Ontario.  I suspect that my grandparents were buried in Exeter as that was expedient for my father as that was where we had grown up and where my fathers law practice was based.  As my parents are also now interned in the Exeter Cemetery, at the same location, that may have been the long term plan.

You will note that on the stone of Grandfather Laughton the wording is LAUGHTON and then "George Van Wyck, M.C.".  The "M.C." stands for "Military Cross", as distinction that he gallantly earned and was awarded by the King of England during the First World War. This is another story and is detailed on a separate web site for "My Hero", G. V. Laughton, M.C. in the Great War". Grandfather Laughton received his Military Cross for bravery at the infamous battle of Vimy Ridge, as an officer of the British Army in the 26th Northumberland Fusiliers.  As such, he is interned in the veterans section of the Exeter Cemetery.

Although I have not seen the revised markings on the stone since the internment of my father and mother, I suspect that my father will have arranged for his to say "Charles Van Wyck, Q.C.". The "Q.C." stands for "Queens Counsel" which is not a military award but rather a recognition of service to the legal profession.

You can access any of the larger images of those that follow by "clicking" on the image.


Exeter Cemetery - Google Earth Projection


Exeter Cemetery Map

 The area of Exeter, Ontario is not yet mapped in high resolution by Google Earth and thus it is not possible to show a detailed satellite image of the area.

The cemetery is located on Highway 83 (Dashwood Road) south of Exeter, leading towards Dashwood.

The marker shown is for the GPS location of the cemetery provided by Google Earth which is , as follows:

42o21'37.12"N  81o30'14.99"W

On the map of the cemetery, the burial site is in the 2nd row from the top on the far left, where there is a small "x" marked. If you are driving to the location, take Highway 83 south of Exeter toward Dashwood or Grand Bend. The plot is in "DIV 6" and is the 2nd row and 2nd monument. You will notice a number of standard CEF veteran (military) grave markers in this area.

In a separate project, I have recorded a number of the Great War Soldiers of Exeter, Ontario which  you can read about on the Exeter Soldiers Blog.

 
This is the grave stone of my grandfather, George Van Wyck Laughton1897, as it appeared in September 2004.

For reference, George was one of the sons of John Hugh Laughton 1829 who is buried in the Parkhill Cemetery, along with many of the other members of the family. As George was raised in Parkhill it probably would have made more sense for him to have been buried in the Laughton plot in Parkhill, particularly since he died before his sister Louise or his sister-in-law Myra. Exeter may also have been chosen as his wife "Mary Elizabeth McDonnell" originated from Hensall, Ontario, just to the north of Exeter.

 
The location of the LAUGHTON stone in the Exeter cemetery is noted in this photograph. The small green box to the left of the Laughton stone was for the internment of my father "Charles Van Wyck Laughton" on September 11, 2004. My mother "Maureen Montgomery Kenned" was previously cremated and interned at the same location, but there were no markings at that time.

I have not been back to the site since, but I must return to find out what the inscription reads and to obtain an updated photograph.
 

Copyright 2004 - 2009 Richard Van Wyck Laughton
on behalf of the Laughton Families
http://www.richardlaughton.com     http://rlaughton.googlepages.com/     http://laughton.tel

Now Available on the Telnic Network by Name.Year
http://ancestors.laughton.tel/

HOME PAGE     REGISTER FOR UPDATES