John’s Death
This whole website – so far, full of joyous expectation and fun is leading to this one final point in time – his death.
He fell ill on December 6th, 1928, died on Saturday December 15th and was buried the next day, Sunday. He died of a combination of malaria and jaundice.
Earlier several of his friends had noticed he had not been fit for some time, with a troubling throat infection. They thought he had been working too hard and needed his leave. They also noticed his anxieties about the death of his father earlier in the year and the increased need for more financial support for his family (See Condolence Letters). Nevertheless his death caught everyone by surprise. He was buried in Barrackpore cemetery. A bugler from the Duke of Connaught’s Light Infantry played the Last Post. All the staff of McLeods attended, as well as the whole community of his friends from Barrackpore.
John’s life was no more remarkable than any other of those young men who died in the Great War, ten or more years before.
The only remarkable thing is that his nephew chose to create this website from his possessions that have come down to us. If there had been no letters and no photographs, there would have been no website.
In contrast John’s father, William James Anton, has only left behind one postcard with his writing on it and a few photographs (See Appendix). John’s father is only remarkable because of his financial rise and then his fall.
His nephew was told by the same Uncle Peter (mentioned in the Introduction), “You only need to know one thing about your grandfather – he was a nice kind man.”, and John’s nephew had to be content with that. But, his grandfather was gullible too, which may have contributed to his fall – a Bank Manager full of Scots probity caught out – but that’s another story.
There is reason to believe that this is the entrance gate of Barrackpore Cemetery, based on the cross above the gate. In the righthand photo, the double row of palm trees with a path between would appear to match those in the background in the righthand photo of floral tributes below.
The Grave
These are all the photos that are left. They are all shown here.
The original floral tribute at the funeral. Other graves are shown in the background.
Were the flowers brought later when the gravestone was erected or were they brought from time to time by friends who still remembered him?
The last photo (on the right) shows a grave looking so forlorn and neglected without any flowers, in a seemingly deserted corner of an empty cemetery – the final resting place of a full and hopeful life.
Farewell Uncle Jack
