When I wrote The Woolworths Girls I wanted one of my main characters, Betty Billington, to have ‘a past’. For most women her age in 1938 they had lost the chance to marry and have a family due to the great loss of men during World War One. In my mind it was the perfect chance to use the memory of my great uncle Charles Sears of A Coy. 12th Btn. Rifle Brigade who perished at Ypres 17th August 1917. He was my grandfather’s older brother amongst many sisters. Aged thirty-one, he hadn’t married or had children so to bring him alive in The Woolworths Girls was the perfect opportunity to keep his name alive. However, with my maiden name being Sears, and wondering if my extended family would approve of using his name, I decided to very slightly change his surname. At the time my grandfather was born the census and other official documents often misspelt Sears and it was shown as Sayers. I used Sayers.

I’ve done extensive research in my family tree and spoken often to Bexley Archives who now cover the area of Erith in Kent where Gt Uncle Charles lived. Apart from a very short obituary listing there was nothing to tell he had lived. His name is on the cenotaph in front of St Augustine Church, Slades Green (Slades was changed to Slade in the 1950s). There is also a memorial at The Manor House, Crayford which bears his name. No photograph, even though many lads had their photograph taken before heading off to war. Perhaps it had been passed to one of his sisters after his parents George and Jane passed away. Perhaps it was never taken, who knows? If you are related George and Jayne Sears/Sayers can you check with your family? I know I’m not alone in longing to own a copy. I imagine him looking like my dad as a resemblance runs through the family, but that is wishful thinking.

Throughout the past years, I’ve been fortunate to write more books in the Woolworths series and eventually it was suggested I wrote the back story to Betty Billington’s life. That meant bringing Charles Sears, or Charlie Sayers as he had become, to life. A daunting task. I thoroughly enjoyed writing The Woolworths Girls Promise and hope you enjoyed reading this story. Again, it made me wish to visit The Commonwealth War Graves at Ypres, in Belgium and see his name engraved on the memorial wall at Tyne Cot.

Recently I had my chance to visit Ypres and pay my respects when along with my husband we took a river cruise from Amsterdam stopping off at Bruges, Ghent, Arnhem, and a visit to see the beautiful tulip displays at Keukenhof. As if to prolong my hope of visiting Tyne Cot it was to be the third stop on our coach tour that day – and we were held up by a national cycle race with roads closed – would we ever get there?

Our first stop was at Hill ’62, Sanctuary Wood where we not only paid our respects at a cemetery but viewed what remained of WW1 trenches alongside a small museum. Colonel Piers Storie-Pugh who had given a talk about this period in history the day before was there to answer all our questions. If you ever get the chance to hear Col. Piers give a talk, please do make the effort to attend as you will not be disappointed.

Next, we visited Hill 60, where we could walk around a small hill that changed hands seven times during the war. We were told the remains of soldiers from many nations still lay beneath the earth where they had died in the trenches. This is the only hill, albeit man made, in the area and was relentlessly fought over. On a day that the sun shone overhead, and birds sang in the trees it must have been so different from those war years.

Finally, we headed to Tyne Cot after another run in with those cyclists. We had just fifteen minutes before we had to head back to our ship. Would I find the panel with C Sears engraved upon it; there were so many… There had been a short shower of rain but as we entered the cemetery the sun came out. I had the details of the panel and started to walk, my husband was ahead of me, and I called out to him not to show me the panel as I wanted to find it by myself; I hadn’t realised until that point how important it was to me to ‘meet’ my Gt Uncle rather than be introduced to him – daft eh?

At last, there it was a short engraving, as C. Sears isn’t as long as many other names, but as the panel dried in the bright sunshine, I could not have been prouder of my relative who lay down his life for his country. There may not be a grave to visit, but to have one’s name here in such a memorable place is an honour and I know his family are very proud.

   

I will return (not on a river tour - that’s another story) to get to know the area more and to look for the field where he fell.

RIP Great Uncle Charles
Son of George and Jane Sears, 45a, Arthur Street, Erith, Kent
Crane Engine Stoker
Who died aged 31, 17th August 1917.

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.  There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
 
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

                                                Rupert Brooke

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