On a sunny Monday morning, 21-year-old Wilfred Bill Clinton and a middle-aged mason, Narasimha, armed with two big sticks, make their way through a dense thicket, mindful of potential encounters with snakes and other creepy-crawlies hidden beneath the dry leaves on the ground. Thorns scrape their bodies as they valiantly cut through the underbrush and tap the stones on their way with sticks to ensure a path free of camouflaged dangers.
This arduous task holds a profound purpose — to locate a grave that could bring comfort to a 74-year-old Irish woman, Sheila Shanley, who lives in the heritage town of Trim in County Meath, North Ireland. Her grand uncle, a British soldier who died 108 years ago, rested at what is now known as the Church of South India (CSI) Cemetery in Trimulgherry, a buzzing locality in Telangana’s Secunderabad.
Shanley, living thousands of miles away, has spent over four decades tirelessly searching online for any trace of her grandmother’s brother, Rifleman Michael Joseph Leonard, but his final resting place remained elusive. Hope rekindled when Shanley stumbled upon a news feature titled ‘Resting with Dignity a Century On’, published in The Hindu on December 16, 2019.
The feature highlighted the 94 graves of British soldiers and officers, all commemorated in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Among them, Michael, who passed away on May 1, 1915, found his eternal abode in Cemetery No. 12 at Trimulgherry. Shanley, who came across the feature online in October this year, clung to these bare details and yearned for at least a photograph of the grave.
An e-mail from Shanley to this correspondent three weeks ago sparked a concerted effort to pinpoint the exact resting place of Michael within the cemetery. The help of D. Sudesh Kumar, a member of CSI-Medak Diocese’s communication group, was enlisted.
Clinton, custodian of the Trimulgherry cemetery, and Narasimha, the mason, willingly offered their assistance, notwithstanding the potential dangers lurking within the now-abandoned Cemetery No. 5, diagonally opposite Cemetery No. 12. The duo had attempted to locate the grave twice but in vain after the request from Kumar. On November 13, the duo hacked through the wilderness, each step carrying the weight of Shanley’s decades-long quest for closure a third time.
“We have to be careful; the place is infested with snakes,” says Clinton, before adding, “As custodians, it’s our duty to venture into the now-closed cemetery and inspect the condition of the British graves from time to time. Every year, officials from the CWG Commission in Pune come to inspect and photograph these graves, to ensure that necessary repairs are carried out.”
The cemetery, nearly two centuries old, abut Indian Army installations and lie in a high-security zone. Originally reserved exclusively for British Army personnel and their families, they house not only the graves of soldiers but also of infants who were merely months old at the time of their death.
Walking gingerly along a narrow pathway, Clinton heads deep into the cemetery, finally pointing towards a broken headstone in a far corner. “This is the grave of the soldier we were searching for,” he announces, having located it based on the number assigned to the grave.
He uncovers the grave beneath a carpet of dried leaves, revealing a broken headstone, a poignant marker of Michael’s final resting place. “It is not easy to find the graves as they are covered by bushes and are sometimes topped with mud. But we are able to locate them with the help of the numbers assigned,” says Clinton. He and Narasimha had made two unsuccessful attempts in the previous week to trace the grave. But they got lucky the third time round on November 13 .
“The plot number is 23, and the grave number is inscribed L-269A,” confirms Kumar.
Upon learning about the discovery, Shanley, who is in Ireland, is overcome with gratitude. “I am rather emotional to see that you have found great uncle’s gravestone,” exclaims the septuagenarian. “I live in a small town called Trim, which is where my great uncle lived until he joined the British Army. It is a coincidence that the place where he died also starts with ‘Trim’,” she adds.
Plea for closure
Sheer determination had fuelled her quest over the years. “I am researching my family history, and I know that my late grandmother’s brother is buried at Trimulgherry Cantonment Cemetery. I was wondering if you would know if there would be a photograph of the grave. I do not have any photograph of him, but he was Rifleman Michael Joseph Leonard,” Shanley had written in her e-mail to this correspondent.
“I am now in my 70s and before I die, I would love to see a photograph of his grave. If you know of any kind person who would take one for me, please. It would mean so much to me, and I would really appreciate it,” she continued.
She shared fragments of her grand uncle’s life, stating that he was born as the second child of Christopher Leonard and Julia Caffrey at Graigs, Navan, County Meath, Ireland, on October 18, 1889. He had four half-siblings as his father had remarried. Joining the Royal Inniskilling Regiment, Michael likely enlisted in Dublin, Ireland.
Shanley says she knows very little about her grand uncle, but family history records indicate that, when Michael was eight, his mother Julia was taken to what was then the Mullingar Asylum in County Westmeath, Ireland, on November 13, 1897.
“As Michael and his siblings were quite young, they were sent to the Workhouse in Trim, County Meath to be cared for by the Catholic nuns. The boys would have learnt a trade; I think Michael may have been a shoemaker before joining the British Army,” she believes. Michael’s siblings included Bridget, Shanley’s grandmother (born 1888) and Maria Catherine (born 1891).
Michael joined the Royal Inniskillng Fusiliers (R.I. Fusiliers), an infantry unit formed in 1881 and was recruited in the Irish province of Ulster. Working in the Secunderabad Garrison under the British Army, he fell ill and presumably succumbed to ‘phthisis’, a form of tuberculosis, at the Military Hospital on May 1, 1915. He was five months short of 26.
While Shanley basked in the joy of the discovery of her grand uncle’s resting place, there are many other instances where relatives of interred British soldiers and officers are still yearning to find the graves of their dear ones in Trimulgherry cemetery.
Kumar says as and when the CWG Commission in Pune has an enquiry, it is forwarded to him to identify the graves of unsung British soldiers in Trimulgherry cemetery No.5 and No.12. Among them, a similar plea came from Karen Kowallis of the U.K. All that she possessed was a baptism certificate for Alma Juliet King, the daughter of British citizens John King and Ellen Mary King, whose graves are in Secunderabad. “With such scant details, it was very difficult for us to check the records. The request is still pending,” he notes.
Significance of the site
Church archives show that in the heart of Trimulgherry, Secunderabad, CSI Cemetery No. 5 and 12 carry a rich history dating back to the British colonial era. Secunderabad Cantonment was a military stronghold during the Nizam’s rule. Presently, Trimulgherry Cantonment Cemetery, also known as Cemetery No. 12, houses 94 Commonwealth war graves from World War-I.
“From its inception under colonial rule to the present day, CSI Cemetery No. 12 transcends its role as a mere burial ground; it is a living testament to the historical journey of a community, a church, and the countless lives that found eternal repose within its hallowed grounds,” says Kumar.
“From the laying of foundation stones to the marking of the first graves, CSI Cemetery No.12 silently bore witness to the societal tapestry of the colonial era. The meticulous organisation of numbered graves and distinct plots not only served as a final resting place but also reflected a structured representation of the community it faithfully served,” he points out.
Each headstone within the cemetery metamorphosed into a chronicle, narrating the tales of lives lived in the shadows of the Garrison Wesley Church and the colonial presence in Trimulgherry, he adds.
Maintenance challenges
The Cemetery Board struggles with a meagre sum of ₹7,000 per month to tend to the expansive 11.5-acre cemeteries. “It is insufficient to maintain these huge tracts of cemeteries,” lament church elders. Beyond the information available with the CWG Commission in Pune, there is a dearth of historical records, highlighting the need for enhanced preservation efforts.
M.S. Bhanwal, manager of Kirkee War Cemetery, also under the CWG Commission, and responsible for overseeing the maintenance of war graves in five cemeteries in Secunderabad, says the graves of British soldiers and officers date back to the period between 1914 and 1921.
The CWG Commission, an intergovernmental organisation, plays a vital role in marking, recording, and preserving these graves. In Secunderabad, it monitors the condition of graves in Cemetery No. 5 and 12 in Trimulgherry, Mount of Olives Cemetery in Ammuguda (Sainikpuri), Secunderabad Cemetery at Parade Grounds, and two graves in the Catholic Cemetery at Mettuguda. While these cemeteries are maintained by the respective churches, the CWG Commission directly oversees the condition of the graves of soldiers and officers.
“The biggest war graves in Secunderabad are in these two cemeteries. Six graves are untraceable. So, technically, 88 graves are visible. We have information for those six persons interred in these graves, but they are not traceable due to new construction or under mounds of mud. But, we are trying to restore the graves to their original position,” he says.
The Mount of Olives Cemetery houses 18 war graves, Secunderabad Cemetery has 11, and there are two in the Catholic Cemetery at Mettuguda. The CWG Commission’s Pune branch, operating under Kirkee War Cemetery, began directly supervising the war graves in Secunderabad in 2004.
“We periodically inspect the condition of identified war graves and carry out repair work whenever necessary. The major task is to replace the headstones of each grave,” says Bhanwal, assuring the restoration of the broken headstone of Leonard.
Previously crafted in Italy, the headstones are now made in Germany and shipped to India for restoration work. “Some of the cemeteries are not properly maintained and at times, it is not easy to navigate through the thorny bushes and thick vegetation to reach the war graves. We allot a nominal maintenance fund to the respective churches to ensure cleaning and maintenance of the cemeteries,” Bhanwal adds.
Kumar mentions that custodianship of the cemetery has passed through three generations to dedicated caretakers like Clinton, evolving as stewards of remembrance. “Their commitment has ensured that the hallowed grounds retain their sanctity and historical resonance through the passing decades,” he says.
