The Waterford Parochial Church Council, Hertfordshire, plans to record the names of Goldings boys buried in the churchyard of St Michael & All Angels Waterford. Researching his book, Fred had requested a list of all teenage males buried in the churchyard whose address was given as Goldings.

The PCC provided the information from burial records held by Hertfordshire record office then agreed they would like the names recorded in the church. A local calligrapher May Bennett  has offered to write out the names, which will then, be framed and placed in a suitable position perhaps on a windowsill in the church but one problem remains unsolved. A total of 12 names are recorded but researchers at the After Care Centre have only been able to positively identify, 10 of these as boys who were in Barnardo's care. Please note it was thought at that time the two unidentified boys were the staff children but this proved to be wrong along with the number of known graves.

Goldonian web would like to thank John Cooper who moved to the lane some 18 years ago and has been the church warden for about 15 years. John remembers playing  football for his school team against the Goldings team. John was a wealth of information, of which he recalled  the death of Mr. Brooks the teacher at Goldings, he remembers his son also being killed in a car accident some time later. He also remembered the death of Mr. R. Stackwood.

When I met John he was cutting the grass around the church. John kindly showed me around the church and to show me the memorial that lists the names of the old boys in calligrapher by the late the May Bennett. It hangs between windows 10 and 11 on the north wall directly opposite the main door.

More names for Goldings tribute. Guild Messenger (winter 1997) carried an article about the Barnardo Boys buried in the churchyard at Goldings. Since then, thanks to further information received from Mrs. Margaret Carter, Waterford Parochial Church Council secretary, who has succeeded in identifying all the boys buried there. The complete list is as follows.

GRAVES OF THE BARNARDO BOYS

IN WATERFORD CHURCHYARD

There once was a tradition in the village that the iron crosses in the graveyard marked the graves of the Barnardo boys. However, in 1998, a search in the graveyard by two members of the congregation, John and May Bennett, proved that theory wrong. They found the boys' graves dotted about among those of other parishioners on the east side of the churchyard. The boys' headstones are made of red sandstone and are of similar size, though they are not all exactly the same shape.

There are also a few gravestones of members of staff, including that of Mr. W. Battell, who was killed in the grounds of Goldings during an air raid in 1940. On the inside of the west wall of the church is a brass plaque in memory of  Mr. James Maslin who was the school bursar for many years.