It's all Greek to me.

[Chimp]

Doing a little project on our local cemetery. I've come across the only foreign burial, in what seems to be some sort of military or army grave.

This is what it says

​

It seems to be a triple grave, although there are only 2 memorials on it. The other burial is

Robert A F Evans
13-10-1915 5-10-2010
​

Anyone read Greek? What does the first one say?

​

 

[Daft Bat]

@Eve - can you help with this?

 

[mugwortismy cat]

All I can say is that i think the first word is 'Elene' or Helen, and the word that looks like Eton does seem to say Eton

Elene th kaapaxidoe
Eton 75

Is my sad attempt to turn Greek alphabet into English alphabet, but no idea how to go further

(Unless the first word is Hellene meaning Greek/Greece )

 

[AnnB]

OK - I've had a go using Google translate -
Helen Kalpaxidou Years 75
Still looks Greek to me........

 

[AnnB]

Bloomin' 'ec - I've just looked the name up and a lady of that name with those dates had her death registered in Bromley, Greater London in the March quarter of 1969

Actually, the death registration does give her age as 75, so it looks like whoever carved the gravestone was the one who made the mistake?

 

[Daft Bat]

Helen Kalpaxidou Years 75

I thought that as well, but the 75 does not make sense with the dates of 1898 to 1969. That comes to just 71...

 

[AnnB]

I thought that as well, but the 75 does not make sense with the dates of 1898 to 1969. That comes to just 71...

Perhaps the Greeks aren't too good at maths

 

[Chimp]

Perhaps the Greeks aren't too good at maths

 

[Blackmogs]

Perhaps the Greeks aren't too good at maths

that is exactly why I like this place

 

[mugwortismy cat]

Perhaps the Greeks aren't too good at maths

But they are very good at algebra . And geometry

 

[Chimp]

But they are very good at algebra . And geometry

 

[arthurk]

If she was 75 when she died, that would be consistent with her being born on 13 March 1893 (not 1898). Did the mason misread the instructions and put the wrong year in? This may not be the Greeks' fault...

 

[Daft Bat]

Good point, Arthur. That has happened more than once!

 

[Chimp]

oooop's (very bad word) sorry I mistranscribed it wrong (on here) In my little book the date is 13-3-1893

 

[Daft Bat]

oooop's (very bad word) sorry I mistranscribed it wrong (on here) In my little book the date is 13-3-1893

Mystery solved.

 

[Chimp]

Nearly, who was she and why was she buried here?

 

[arthurk]

While we're still on this one, from the limited amount of Greek I know (or once knew), I think a double "AA" is unlikely in the surname, and I suspect one of these letters might be "Λ" (L), as in the forename. That would give "KALP..." or "KLAP..." - I think the former may be more likely, but I'm not 100% sure of this.

 

[Chimp]

Here is what the original transcribers got

EAENH 8. KAATTA S IOOY ETQN 75
13—3—1893 — 4—1—1969

They probably didn't know how to enter the Greek characters

 

[arthurk]

Any possibility that she was Robert Evans' mother? From FreeBMD, his mother was named Clee (Dec qtr 1915, Knighton, 11b 189), leading to the marriage of Thomas F Evans and Elsie K Clee (Dec qtr 1913, Knighton, 11b 223). I'll leave you to look further, and maybe to comment on Clee as a possible local family.

But it occurred to me that someone with that Greek name wanting to anglicise and/or simplify it might possibly end up with Elsie K Clee.

 

[Chimp]

The Clee family are from around here. One of my neighbours was a Clee (was, because she passed last year)

The Robert Evans seems to have something like pilots wings under his name with something written within it (can't make it out though)