The Clergy

Strictly outside the remit of this web site, but mention must be made of the clergy of Cartmel Parish.

The Reverend Godfrey Smith was incumbent during the Great War and provided a most valuable source of information for the men who died and also survived that conflict. He wrote of their comings and goings, their campaigns, trials, tribulations, wounds and their deaths in the monthly Parish Magazine. He wrote of them as friends, neighbours and parishioners and must have endured terrible sadness during those fateful years.

Rev. G. S. Smith

The Reverend Smith's hobby was bookbinding and Cartmel Priory retained bound copies of his Parish Magazines which contained stories of happenings and his opinions at the time.

Here are the first lines of the September 1914 edition, "The time is coming when we must be prepared to face bravely the death of those very dear to us. In a war on the present scale, in comparison with which the South African War was little more than a long-drawn-out episode, few will escape without having news that breaks hearts at ordinary times. We must think very much of the greatness of the Kingdom of God of which we are members, and we must try to feel that even if they are called from this world they are still with us in God's Kingdom, still with us in the home and under the care of the one Father of us all. I know not to whom I address this word, but doubtless it will be to some before many days are past. May God help us to be as brave at home to bear as they were abroad to dare." A long way from the myths of, "It'll all be over by Christmas" and the gung-ho attitudes we are led to believe were the norm at that time.

In January 1919 he was moved to another parish, but retained a house in Cartmel where his daughter, Joyce, born in 1909, retired and lived until her death in 2007.

Here is a link to further writings From the Parish Magazine

The Rev. Smith's replacement was Archdeacon Henry Lafone who came to Cartmel from St. George's, Barrow-in-Furness. Captain Eric William Lafone, his son was killed in 1918, in Italy after rejoining his regiment having suffered from severe wounds inflicted on the Western Front. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government for his bravery on the Somme. A photograph and more details on his life can be found here

Archdeacon Lafone had suffered even more loss previously, in 1917 his brother was killed in Palestine. Major Alexander Malins Lafone was awarded the VC posthumously and is buried at Beersheba, more information and a photograph can be viewed here