I contacted The Rector of St. Thomas’s Church - The Rev. Canon Gillian V. Wharton – to see if I could find out more and she sent me this reply: “Please let me assure you that we have not forgotten Florence Balfour Olphert in our parishes. One of our parishioners, Michael Lee, researched each of the forty-one men and one woman from our parishes who died as a result of World War 1. On the Sunday nearest the 100th anniversary of their deaths, we had a biographical note with a photo (if available) of each person, and we remembered them. On Sunday 15 January 2017, we remembered Florence Balfour Olphert - please see attached service sheet (latter part).
On each Remembrance Sunday in November and on the National Day of Commemoration, she is remembered by name with the others from our parishes who died in World War One. She is not forgotten.”
Kind regards,
Gillian
The Rev'd Canon Gillian V. Wharton
Rector of Booterstown and Carysfort with Mount Merrion, Diocese of Dublin, Ireland.
Clerical Honorary Secretary of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland.
The Rev’d Wharton forwarded my message to Historian Michael Lee, official historian of Mount Merrion, who sent me the following: “I have researched extensively 42 names from three war memorials in a Booterstown parish. My project for the period 1914-1918 was to research and write short biogs and to include a photo if possible in the service sheet, for the nearest Sunday to the 100th anniversary of each of their deaths. All were mentioned and prayed for on the appropriate Sunday. Florence was of course included in the commemorations. The St. John’s Ambulance sent a representative to the church on the 100 anniversary Sunday nearest her death and it was a very moving occasion. Florence died of a fever and was buried in the family plot in Mt Jerome Cemetery in Dublin. I have attached photos for you.”
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| Florence's Grave |
