A Grave in Rushden
Tragedy of Soldier Whose London Home was Bombed

A military funeral at Rushden last Friday summed up a series of tragic circumstances arising from the war.

People who saw a coffin pass, accompanied by a guard of soldiers, on its way to the cemetery, knew nothing of the man who had died. He was Rifleman William Stocker, of a famous regiment, and he had been shot by accident while writing to his mother in a tent which formed part of a military camp.

Pte. Stocker was a Londoner, but his home, like many others in Dockland, had been obliterated by Nazi bombs. His father continued to work in London, but efforts to get in touch with him after the tragedy all failed. The mother and other relatives had found refuge in Rushden with Mr. Fred Bird, secretary of the Windmill Club, and his wife, by whose offer the funeral was held from their house.

And so, enfolded by the Union Jack, the coffin was carried to a grave in Rushden. The little company of mourners, joined by the riflemen comprised Mrs Stocker (the mother), Mr Fred Stocker (brother), Miss Ivy Stocker (sister), Mrs Bird (friend) and Mr James Gray (friend).

A day later the father arrived from London and learned that Pte. Stocker was dead and in his grave.