FLOWER - Person Sheet
FLOWER - Person Sheet
NameRichard James Caswell 
Birth11 Aug 1923, Calne
Death1 Mar 2001, Chippenham Hospital
FatherRichard Jack Caswell (1900-1965)
MotherAlice Kathleen Granger (-1960)
Spouses
Birth7 Aug 1923, Dudley
Death29 Dec 2000
Burial13 Jan 2001
FatherJoseph Kennedy (1899-1958)
MotherNelly Beatrice Southall (1902-1927)
Marriage20 Feb 1945, Calne
2Dora
Notes for Richard James Caswell
Born at The Green Calne
Served an apprenticeship at Maundrells, Calne.
Served in the Royal Navy . Engine Room Artificer. Chief Petty Officer.
Served in submarines in the Ceylon area during the 2nd World War.
Was aboard HMS Sibyl submarine when it relieved Singapore at the end of
WW2. The White Ensign that flew on the ship that day is in the families possession.
Worked for Harris's factory as a fitter & turner in the maintenance s hop.
Worked for Westinghouse Brake & Signal Co Chippenham, as a prototype
engineer. Built prototype 'barrier machine' used at railway crossings.
Enjoyed all types of fishing, made much of his own equipment.
Rode a motorcycle reg # RV3376 and later had an Ariel Square Four.
'Made' his own 1st car, rebuilding an old Standard 12. 1st person in area
to own a TV.
For many years he played golf until his shoulders ached too much from arthritis.
Before retiring, he worked as a maintenance mechanic at a local electronics
company, and was with his life long friends Pete Wilson & Roy Miles.
Used to make numerous visits to the Avebury Bakery, and knew his Aunt
Alice & Mary well.
EMail from Andrea Caswell to her brother Michael
Mar 1 2001
Just got back from Chippenham to see Dad and collect Rich. He is devastated as he thinks his Gramp died because he helped him get out of bed. It seems that Dad tore the neck brace off and was struggling for air as he sat up and when Rich and the nurse helped him into the chair he had a seizure. The nurse immediately called the doctors and they tried in vain to resuscitate him. Rich kept blaming himself, sobbing that he shouldn't have helped him up. I told him it wasn't his fault or anyone else's. We talked the other day saying that we didn't think he was going to be able to go home as he was so poorly and then dismissed it assuring ourselves he would get better after the transfusion. Rich held his hand and said "Gramps still has his watch on" so I took it off and gave it to him telling him that his Gramps would have wanted him to have it. My thoughts at the moment are with Richard. He didn't deserve that, even though he has done many stupid things in his life. He will carry that for ever. The nurse told me that due to the fact Dad has recently had surgery there will have to be another autopsy. I have to go to Chippenham again tomorrow to fetch his belongings. Again there is going to be a delay before we can lay Dad to rest. Why can't these things be straightforward for us? Love you Mikey Look forward to a hug.
The following was read out at the funeral at St James Church Avebury by his son.
Over 2 thousand years ago, the British Warlord and Celtic warrior Cassivell fought the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, and beat him off. A few years later, Caesar returned with more men and technology, and conquered this land. Cassivel retreated to the west along the wooden Celtic roads that lead here, the final resting place of Celtic kings and warriors.
Over a thousand years ago, the Caswells owned a castle not 30 miles from here in Curbridge, near Whitney. The Doomsday book records Caswell Castle as being ‘abandoned’ in 1088. The remains of the castle stand to this day.
Only 300 years after that, we find William Caswell, rector of Witney church and owner of Caswell Farm near Whitney, the site of Caswell Castle, living in Yatesbury and trading in wool. He was surely responsible for starting the considerable fortune that was amassed ( and later lost) by this family in the 16 & 1700s.
Since then, the Caswells have inhabited this area to the present day, and from hereabouts, have spread their genes to all corners of the world.
Who are they, these Caswells?
You only have to look at Jim Caswell to realize this.
Dad was never afraid of technology, and he handed this down to all this descendants
In 1953, he was the first person in our street to purchase a television. I vividly remember all the neighbors peering in through the windows and cramming our front room to watch the Coronation.
He was driving his own car, long before most others had one. He restored this old Standard 12 himself, rebuilding the engine in his shed, and scraping in the white metal bearings by hand.
He was always able to explain to me how things work. He’d help me put things back together, when I’d taken them apart ‘just to see how they worked’. He didn’t teach me to put away his tools though, and was always cussing me when he’d run over a good chisel or spanner with his lawnmower.
At 72 he surprised us all and bought a computer. He mastered the basics in a few months.
I asked him once to teach me un-armed combat- and he refused. Instead, he armed me with two things, a fishing rod, to teach me patience, and a pen, which, as my adversaries have found, is mightier than any sword.
My father was, in many ways, a quiet man.
All he wanted from life was fun. He had a WICKED sense of humor, was as honest as the day is long, and was generally a peaceful person who kept his business to himself. A proud and conscientious man. Yet he was also a warrior! His chariot was - a submarine!
On the day of the relief of Singapore from the Japanese, HMS Sybil was the first British submarine to surface in Singapore harbour. That day, the White Ensign flew on the flagstaff of the ship. At dusk, the flag was lowered and stowed in a locker.
My father was the Chief Petty Officer on HMS Sybil, and, in a moment of ‘silliness or euphoria’ he went to the locker, and took the flag for himself, believing it had some significance.
.
During my childhood, I often saw this flag and wished we had a flagpole to fly it on, but that was not to be in England.
A few years ago, my Dad gave me the flag, and I flew it on numerous occasions on my flagpole in the USA - just for the hell of it.
Eventually, I sold the flag to a man in Singapore, (I gave the money to my Dad) and now the flag will be displayed for the enjoyment of the people of Singapore on special occasions.
The point here is that Dad thought he had committed a ‘terrible crime against his King and country’ and was really worried that the authorities would arrest him for swiping this flag over 50 years ago. It took a lot of persuading to convince him that he’d done a good thing and had preserved a unique piece of history for the people of Singapore!
Many years ago, my Dad told me of how he became a diving instructor in the Navy.
He was in charge of the diving tank in Portsmouth. A huge tower, several hundred feet deep, full of water, with hatches at different depths.
Sub-mariners would enter a hatch, with their breathing gear on, and the hatch would be flooded. They would then escape to the surface. When the ‘establishment’ thought you had the qualities to become an instructor, they would place you in the lowest hatch, and then, when the hatch was flooded, they would watch the breathing bag on your chest to see when you had breathed out. At soon as they saw you were on ‘empty’, they’d pull the breathing gear from you, and kick you out into the tower. By the time a diver had reached the surface, he had swallowed gallons of water, and was dragged unceremoniously to the waters edge, where he was pumped out.
This was the initiation ceremony my father passed. He became a Royal Navy Diving Instructor.
And yet, only last year, when he visited us, we suggested to him that he swim in our pool, and he said, “I can’t go swimming, because I can’t float!” I have a feeling it was more the water temperature he was afraid of.
I recently asked Dad why he quit the Royal Navy so early, because he was SO PROUD of being a Sub-mariner. I loved it as a small child, because Navy brats were something special, and everyone lavished much attention upon me. But when we moved to Calne, and he took on a comparatively dull engineering job at Harris’s, the family’s income was drastically reduced, as was the attention on me. Its no wonder I could never stand the place.
He explained that he quit the Navy because he was so scared after an incident on HMS Akron. The sub went into a dive, and things went wrong, the nose tilted down, and it headed for the bottom of the North Sea, out of control. Everyone was in chaos, including the captain, but Dad told me he figured out what was wrong, and scrambled about the sinking ship, blowing valves here and there, without any orders to do so. Obviously the ship surfaced, rather unceremoniously.
But it scared him badly. (I think he felt some great discomfort in actually admitting this to me) And so, shortly after, he left the Navy for a quiet, rural life, where he could be with his friends and family, to play golf, snooker, cricket, and go fishing. He wasn’t ambitious, --- far from it, ---- but now I understand why.
I was very fortunate to have Dad visit me in the USA last summer when I learned about all of this. For the first time, I really began to understand him. I only wish we’d been given a little more time together. We had planned for him to stay with us for the entire summer next year to attend his two eldest grandsons weddings (they and their fiancés have traveled here from Canada to honor him).
I was planning a great fishing trip for him on Lake Ontario this summer, Andi told me he was really looking forward to it.
It is with a heavy heart that, today; I take on the responsibility of becoming the Head of this branch of the Caswell family. I pray that the all the forces present in Avebury give me the strength to look after my father’s daughter and his grandchildren, and keep them from harms way.
And finally, we must mention all the people charged with his care over the past few months.
Dyer, Harris, Tordevan, Slade and nursing staff of Chippenham Community and Royal United Hospitals. Without their efforts, we wouldn’t be here today!
I am sure that the lack of care, and all the efforts my father made to look after my mother over the past few years, have accelerated my fathers passing. It was almost as if Dad managed to override his ailing health, as he labored after caring for my mother. But when she passed, the relief from the toil just overtook him, and he rapidly deteriorated.
But, maybe my Dad just couldn’t live without his sweetheart. He recently told me she was the prettiest woman in Wiltshire!
Shortly, my fathers’ remains will be placed beside those of my mother, who departed this life only 11 weeks and one day ago. They will lie in the ancestral grave of my 4th great grandfather Joseph Caswell, in Avebury ---- with its protective circle, ---- its Celtic past ----- and Christian present.
What more fitting, final resting place, could there be, for an English warrior!
HMS Sibyl
Submarine of the S class
Navy: The Royal Navy </allies/warships/listing.html?navy=HMS>
Type: Submarine </allies/warships/types.html?type=Submarine>
Class: </allies/warships/class.html?ID=52>
Penant:
Built by: Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.)
Ordered:
Laid down: 31 Dec, 1940
Launched: 29 Apr, 1942
Commissioned: 16 Aug, 1942
End service:
History: Ex HMS P.217. Special Ops. Sometimes referred to as Sybil(?). Commanded by Lt. E.J.D. Turner, DSC, sailed 8-Nov-42 for a rendezvous on the south coast of France. Picked up four staff officers and officials, including one woman, of General Giraud\'s staff. Took them to Algiers on 11-Nov. See also Seraph. Later in Eastern Fleet (Lt. H.R. Murray).
.
Served an apprenticeship at Maundrells, Calne.
Served in the Royal Navy . Engine Room Artificer. Chief Petty Officer.
Served in submarines in the Ceylon area during the 2nd World War.
Was aboard HMS Sibyl submarine when it relieved Singapore at the end of
WW2. The White Ensign that flew on the ship that day is in the families possession.
Worked for Harris's factory as a fitter & turner in the maintenance s hop.
Worked for Westinghouse Brake & Signal Co Chippenham, as a prototype
engineer. Built prototype 'barrier machine' used at railway crossings.
Enjoyed all types of fishing, made much of his own equipment.
Rode a motorcycle reg # RV3376 and later had an Ariel Square Four.
'Made' his own 1st car, rebuilding an old Standard 12. 1st person in area
to own a TV.
For many years he played golf until his shoulders ached too much from arthritis.
Before retiring, he worked as a maintenance mechanic at a local electronics
company, and was with his life long friends Pete Wilson & Roy Miles.
Used to make numerous visits to the Avebury Bakery, and knew his Aunt
Alice & Mary well.
EMail from Andrea Caswell to her brother Michael
Mar 1 2001
Just got back from Chippenham to see Dad and collect Rich. He is devastated as he thinks his Gramp died because he helped him get out of bed. It seems that Dad tore the neck brace off and was struggling for air as he sat up and when Rich and the nurse helped him into the chair he had a seizure. The nurse immediately called the doctors and they tried in vain to resuscitate him. Rich kept blaming himself, sobbing that he shouldn't have helped him up. I told him it wasn't his fault or anyone else's. We talked the other day saying that we didn't think he was going to be able to go home as he was so poorly and then dismissed it assuring ourselves he would get better after the transfusion. Rich held his hand and said "Gramps still has his watch on" so I took it off and gave it to him telling him that his Gramps would have wanted him to have it. My thoughts at the moment are with Richard. He didn't deserve that, even though he has done many stupid things in his life. He will carry that for ever. The nurse told me that due to the fact Dad has recently had surgery there will have to be another autopsy. I have to go to Chippenham again tomorrow to fetch his belongings. Again there is going to be a delay before we can lay Dad to rest. Why can't these things be straightforward for us? Love you Mikey Look forward to a hug.
The following was read out at the funeral at St James Church Avebury by his son.
Over 2 thousand years ago, the British Warlord and Celtic warrior Cassivell fought the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, and beat him off. A few years later, Caesar returned with more men and technology, and conquered this land. Cassivel retreated to the west along the wooden Celtic roads that lead here, the final resting place of Celtic kings and warriors.
Over a thousand years ago, the Caswells owned a castle not 30 miles from here in Curbridge, near Whitney. The Doomsday book records Caswell Castle as being ‘abandoned’ in 1088. The remains of the castle stand to this day.
Only 300 years after that, we find William Caswell, rector of Witney church and owner of Caswell Farm near Whitney, the site of Caswell Castle, living in Yatesbury and trading in wool. He was surely responsible for starting the considerable fortune that was amassed ( and later lost) by this family in the 16 & 1700s.
Since then, the Caswells have inhabited this area to the present day, and from hereabouts, have spread their genes to all corners of the world.
Who are they, these Caswells?
You only have to look at Jim Caswell to realize this.
Dad was never afraid of technology, and he handed this down to all this descendants
In 1953, he was the first person in our street to purchase a television. I vividly remember all the neighbors peering in through the windows and cramming our front room to watch the Coronation.
He was driving his own car, long before most others had one. He restored this old Standard 12 himself, rebuilding the engine in his shed, and scraping in the white metal bearings by hand.
He was always able to explain to me how things work. He’d help me put things back together, when I’d taken them apart ‘just to see how they worked’. He didn’t teach me to put away his tools though, and was always cussing me when he’d run over a good chisel or spanner with his lawnmower.
At 72 he surprised us all and bought a computer. He mastered the basics in a few months.
I asked him once to teach me un-armed combat- and he refused. Instead, he armed me with two things, a fishing rod, to teach me patience, and a pen, which, as my adversaries have found, is mightier than any sword.
My father was, in many ways, a quiet man.
All he wanted from life was fun. He had a WICKED sense of humor, was as honest as the day is long, and was generally a peaceful person who kept his business to himself. A proud and conscientious man. Yet he was also a warrior! His chariot was - a submarine!
On the day of the relief of Singapore from the Japanese, HMS Sybil was the first British submarine to surface in Singapore harbour. That day, the White Ensign flew on the flagstaff of the ship. At dusk, the flag was lowered and stowed in a locker.
My father was the Chief Petty Officer on HMS Sybil, and, in a moment of ‘silliness or euphoria’ he went to the locker, and took the flag for himself, believing it had some significance.
.
During my childhood, I often saw this flag and wished we had a flagpole to fly it on, but that was not to be in England.
A few years ago, my Dad gave me the flag, and I flew it on numerous occasions on my flagpole in the USA - just for the hell of it.
Eventually, I sold the flag to a man in Singapore, (I gave the money to my Dad) and now the flag will be displayed for the enjoyment of the people of Singapore on special occasions.
The point here is that Dad thought he had committed a ‘terrible crime against his King and country’ and was really worried that the authorities would arrest him for swiping this flag over 50 years ago. It took a lot of persuading to convince him that he’d done a good thing and had preserved a unique piece of history for the people of Singapore!
Many years ago, my Dad told me of how he became a diving instructor in the Navy.
He was in charge of the diving tank in Portsmouth. A huge tower, several hundred feet deep, full of water, with hatches at different depths.
Sub-mariners would enter a hatch, with their breathing gear on, and the hatch would be flooded. They would then escape to the surface. When the ‘establishment’ thought you had the qualities to become an instructor, they would place you in the lowest hatch, and then, when the hatch was flooded, they would watch the breathing bag on your chest to see when you had breathed out. At soon as they saw you were on ‘empty’, they’d pull the breathing gear from you, and kick you out into the tower. By the time a diver had reached the surface, he had swallowed gallons of water, and was dragged unceremoniously to the waters edge, where he was pumped out.
This was the initiation ceremony my father passed. He became a Royal Navy Diving Instructor.
And yet, only last year, when he visited us, we suggested to him that he swim in our pool, and he said, “I can’t go swimming, because I can’t float!” I have a feeling it was more the water temperature he was afraid of.
I recently asked Dad why he quit the Royal Navy so early, because he was SO PROUD of being a Sub-mariner. I loved it as a small child, because Navy brats were something special, and everyone lavished much attention upon me. But when we moved to Calne, and he took on a comparatively dull engineering job at Harris’s, the family’s income was drastically reduced, as was the attention on me. Its no wonder I could never stand the place.
He explained that he quit the Navy because he was so scared after an incident on HMS Akron. The sub went into a dive, and things went wrong, the nose tilted down, and it headed for the bottom of the North Sea, out of control. Everyone was in chaos, including the captain, but Dad told me he figured out what was wrong, and scrambled about the sinking ship, blowing valves here and there, without any orders to do so. Obviously the ship surfaced, rather unceremoniously.
But it scared him badly. (I think he felt some great discomfort in actually admitting this to me) And so, shortly after, he left the Navy for a quiet, rural life, where he could be with his friends and family, to play golf, snooker, cricket, and go fishing. He wasn’t ambitious, --- far from it, ---- but now I understand why.
I was very fortunate to have Dad visit me in the USA last summer when I learned about all of this. For the first time, I really began to understand him. I only wish we’d been given a little more time together. We had planned for him to stay with us for the entire summer next year to attend his two eldest grandsons weddings (they and their fiancés have traveled here from Canada to honor him).
I was planning a great fishing trip for him on Lake Ontario this summer, Andi told me he was really looking forward to it.
It is with a heavy heart that, today; I take on the responsibility of becoming the Head of this branch of the Caswell family. I pray that the all the forces present in Avebury give me the strength to look after my father’s daughter and his grandchildren, and keep them from harms way.
And finally, we must mention all the people charged with his care over the past few months.
Dyer, Harris, Tordevan, Slade and nursing staff of Chippenham Community and Royal United Hospitals. Without their efforts, we wouldn’t be here today!
I am sure that the lack of care, and all the efforts my father made to look after my mother over the past few years, have accelerated my fathers passing. It was almost as if Dad managed to override his ailing health, as he labored after caring for my mother. But when she passed, the relief from the toil just overtook him, and he rapidly deteriorated.
But, maybe my Dad just couldn’t live without his sweetheart. He recently told me she was the prettiest woman in Wiltshire!
Shortly, my fathers’ remains will be placed beside those of my mother, who departed this life only 11 weeks and one day ago. They will lie in the ancestral grave of my 4th great grandfather Joseph Caswell, in Avebury ---- with its protective circle, ---- its Celtic past ----- and Christian present.
What more fitting, final resting place, could there be, for an English warrior!
HMS Sibyl
Submarine of the S class
Navy: The Royal Navy </allies/warships/listing.html?navy=HMS>
Type: Submarine </allies/warships/types.html?type=Submarine>
Class: </allies/warships/class.html?ID=52>
Penant:
Built by: Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.)
Ordered:
Laid down: 31 Dec, 1940
Launched: 29 Apr, 1942
Commissioned: 16 Aug, 1942
End service:
History: Ex HMS P.217. Special Ops. Sometimes referred to as Sybil(?). Commanded by Lt. E.J.D. Turner, DSC, sailed 8-Nov-42 for a rendezvous on the south coast of France. Picked up four staff officers and officials, including one woman, of General Giraud\'s staff. Took them to Algiers on 11-Nov. See also Seraph. Later in Eastern Fleet (Lt. H.R. Murray).
.