A secluded community reclines near Watford Bridge

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24: Early morning commuters at the ferry terminal at Watford Bridge, fishermen trying their luck dangling lines, or walkers powering themselves to fitness may not be aware of the Watford Island Military Cemetery, tucked away in a secluded pocket just over the bridge on the right heading toward Dockyard.

As you approach the graveyard, just past the water catchment area, you get the sense of entering an old English churchyard.

The short path to the cemetery is well shaded, and soon metal gates are in view which open into a walled graveyard, which appears to be just about holding its own against the invading night blooming cereus and dense stands of mother-in-law’s tongue.

The cemetery is only around 25 yards square, but within its confines is a potted history of Bermuda from the 1850s to the 1890s.

The gravestones record the untimely deaths of soldiers and their families connected with Boaz Island and Ireland Island. Many of the deaths were caused by the yellow fever epidemic in 1864.

Rather than dwell on their deaths, try to imagine the place full of lives lived, no matter how tragically short.

In this secluded spot, if one really tries to immerse oneself in the 1800s, one can get a sense of the lives lived and the travails that accompanied its living.

Try not to think of it as a miserable experience, but rather as a serene place for quiet reflection.

It is a place where the past is almost touchable.

Some people may find in this spot a spiritual connection with the past they never really felt before. It is that kind of setting.

To the historian, this graveyard is a gold mine of stories waiting to be told.

Up to the 20th century, Bermuda was considered a hardship posting for the military. Looking at the grave inscriptions you can see why.

However, this cemetery has had great significance for military personnel stationed here in recent times.

The Queen’s Regiment memorial to 34 of their comrades who died of yellow fever in the 1864 epidemic lay hidden on Boaz Island until volunteers from HMS Hermes, HMS Malabar and staff from Bermuda Public Works Department moved it to its present home in 1980.

Restoration

The Royal Inniskilling Fuseliers, who came to Bermuda on emergency duties in 1968, also played a major role in the restoration of the graveyard.

The graves of soldiers from many different regiments are here including four Grenadier guardsmen who died when the 2nd Battalion was stationed in Bermuda from 1890-91.

Of interest is the grave of Thomas Jeffries, a prisoner, who was honoured in death with a gravestone which reads “much respected by his officers . . . and his fellow prisoners”.

He was the exception as many convicts did not make it to the consecrated ground of the cemetery.

They were buried on the wrong side of the graveyard walls and their remains are covered by the rampant shrubbery.

No matter how detached you are looking around the cemetery it is difficult to leave it emotionally unscathed.

The moving tributes to the children linger, bless them, as well as their names: Arthur, Violet, Florence, Ada, Charles, and ‘Little Bertie’.

Present day Bermuda is really a history of all that it has been.

If you believe we live in difficult times then take a detour to Watford Island Military Cemetery. You will  be in one of the most serene and secluded spots on the island and may well walk away with a slightly different perspective on present day life.