The Fireman's Wedding Tragedy

1929 Gillingham, England

 Great Uncle George Mitchell is dressed as a clown for the Fire Brigade

A very sad piece of our family history.  We had this photo of my mother's Uncle George and knew that he died in a fire that had been accidentally set.  We did not know the rest of the tragic story.  My sister, Mitzi, has been researching our family history on Ancestry.com and received the following email yesterday:

I have noticed that you have George Mitchell in your family tree. I am not related to George but am very interested in finding family contacts for him. George's given name was Royal George Mitchell and he was also known as Ronald. George perished in 1929 in the Gillingham Park Fete Tragedy, better known as the "Firemans Wedding" in Gillingham, Kent, England. The full details of this tragedy can be found at:

www.firemanswedding.com

His personal page is found at:

http://www.firemanswedding.com/royal-george-mitchell.html

I have traced him to your family tree through the 1911 Census which lists his name as Royal George - giving the correct names of his siblings and his parents. When I placed that information into Ancestry this morning it connected me with your tree.

It is a urgent matter which I need to find family contacts as there is to be a memorial erected this summer coming in the Gillingham Park where this tragedy happened. It is desirable to have a contact who can approve the spelling of his name and such on this memorial. Council is asking that they hear back from the family members before February 14th. Also there is going to be an unveiling (or grand opening) of this memorial in the park this summer and we would love to have family members on hand to represent the men and children who died that day.

The grand finale of the Gillingham Park Fete was to have been a demonstration of the skill of the local Fire Brigade.  Something went tragically wrong and the structure caught fire trapping nine boys taking part in the demonstration.  The firemen rushed to try to rescue them and all of them died in the fire.  The links above tell the entire story of the tragic event.


Link to the page about the woman who is instrumental in bringing about the memorial this summer.
http://www.firemanswedding.com/lori-oschefski.html

 

 

Birthday Girl!

New Years Eve 1998

 Miss Goofy

 

And pals

 

The leader of the band!

 

 New Year's Eve 2008

New Year's Eve 2008

Purple Heart Awarded 1943

As I am going through boxes of old photos I have found some interesting photos and letters from both sides of the family.  This letter awarded Jon's father with a Purple Heart in WWII.  We did not know where his tank was blown up other than it was in Italy.  The letter states it happened near Pietravariano.

Information from Martin Blumeson

U.S. Army in WWII

Salerno to Cassino

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Salerno/USA-MTO-Salerno-13.html 

The 3rd Division jumped off on 31 October. Attacking northwest from the Roccaromana area immediately west of Dragoni, two regiments moving abreast crossed the small valley carrying the lateral road that connects Raviscanina and Highway 6. Having cut the road, the 15th Infantry and the 30th Infantry took two hill masses dominating the hamlet of Pietravairano.
Because this advance had been relatively easy, General Truscott secured permission to advance on both sides of Highway 6 to the Mignano gap.¹⁶ Against a surprising absence of opposition, the 7th Infantry crossed Highway 6 and cut the Roccamonfina-Mignano road. By 3 November the regiment had gained the wooded height of Friello Hill west of Highway 6, where the troops found many mines and booby traps but few Germans. The 15th Infantry, also moving quickly, attacked up Highway 6, sending a battalion to seize the high ground above Presenzano. By 3 November, the 15th Infantry was at the southern edge of Mignano on the east side of Highway 6.

The Germans:  Kesselring had asked Vietinghoff to hold the Allied forces away from the Bernhard Line until 1 November, when the fortifications were expected to be completed, and Vietinghoff had performed this ticklish operation with skill,

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In the process his troops had destroyed bridges, culverts, tunnels, railroad tracks, engines, and wagons in the area they had evacuated; they had laid some 45,000 mines forward of the Bernhard Line and an additional 30,000 on its immediate approaches.

This link is a map showing Pietravairano.

http://www.maplandia.com/italy/campania/caserta/pietravairano/irano/

Mailman Delivers Baby 1957

 This is the note that Mrs. Freeman wrote to my grandfather.  His mail route was to farms and ranches in rural Nebraska.

 "Citation" given to my grandfather.

 

Newspaper article in the Burwell Tribune.

Old Photo Fun