Plea to help find graves Apr 9 2002 By Vicky Wilks, South London Press(posted 8046 days ago)THE FAMILY of a man who was the only survivor of a bomb blast that killed 50 including both his parents has appealed to south Londoners to help find their graves. It was the height of the Blitz in October 1940, when James Holland, then just 14, took shelter with his parents in a bomb shelter in Kennington Park. Tragically, a massive bomb blast destroyed the shelter and only James and a tiny baby were pulled out of the wreckage alive. James's daughter, Kay Coster, 50, from Cumbria, has checked record books which say nobody survived and she believes if the baby did escape, he or she died shortly afterwards. For the past 50 years, James, now a 75-year-old granddad, has lived with the horror of losing both his parents in such a devastating way but has rarely spoken to his family of the tragedy. His five brothers and sisters, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Frederick and Charles, who all grew up in Fairbairn Road, Brixton, were not in the shelter at the time of the blast and have also rarely spoken of the tragedy. The funeral of James's parents, Frederick and Francis Holland, was organised by James's sister, Margaret, who has since died. None of the surviving family, including James, Kay and Margaret's daughter, who is terminally ill with cancer, knows where the Hollands were buried. James, now of Southampton, is particularly keen to find out so he can visit his parents' graves while he still can. Kay said: "He would dearly love to know where they are buried because no one has ever told him. He is getting old now and wants to visit." In a bid to help him, Kay has contacted many London boroughs but can find no record of the burial. She believes a good friend of the family, who was called Kathy O'Connell, helped to make the funeral arrangements. Kathy would now be aged about 80 and Margaret would love to hear from her or anyone else from the north Brixton area who remembers the Holland family. Anyone who can help Kay and James should call Kay on 01697 746453.
Rob Pateman, Secretary, Friends of Kennington Park, reports that Kay has now located the graves in Streatham Cemetery in Mitcham. Thanks