One of the memorial cards I have had in my collection is to Rose Bourne, a 21 year old young woman who died in 1921 aged just 21 years old. When Rose Bourne was born in January 1900 in Eastbourne, Sussex, her father, Spencer, was 32, and her mother, Jane, was 30. She had four brothers and three sisters. The family lived at 15 Carlton Road in the town. The house still stands, a pretty well tended terraced house, minutes walk away from the seafront. Rose lived with her father Spencer, who on the 1911 census is listed as a refuse destructor. This role appears to literally mean he was responsible for the destruction of the waste after it's collection. Rose was an 11 year old at school on this census and there was no record of any disability for her. She must have been a normal happy young girl, with the fun of living at the seaside and lots of brothers and sisters to play with.

The Wish Tower Eastbourne 1920s
At some point after this census was recorded Rose must have become ill. The family's carefully chosen words on her memorial card give a hint to how much poor Rose must have suffered. 

Memorial Card Rose Bourne Front Memorial Card Rose Bourne Inside 1 Memorial Card Rose Bourne Inside 2 Rose died on the 31st May 1921 and was buried in the family grave at Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne with her mother who only died the year before at the age of 50. It seemed all so sad but searching on Ancestry the large family seem to have produced many descendants to remember Rose. At a time in the country of the great loss of the First World War this family certainly seemed to have their own heartache.