At a time of success in retaining the Ashes, it is appropriate to think back to how all this started, and in that context The Cricket Society has taken the lead in the restoration of the grave of the Honourable Ivo Bligh, who first brought back the Ashes urn to England.
The grave, wherein also buried is his wife, the former Miss Florence Morphy of Melbourne, one of the ladies involved in the creation of the Ashes legend, has laid forgotten, unnoticed and in a state of deterioration for many years in Cobham Churchyard, near Gravesend in Kent.
With funds from the Society, including a generous donation from one of its celebrity supporters, along with other generous contributions from the MCC and the Kent County Cricket Supporters’ Club, the Cricket Society is happy to announce that work on the restoration of the grave will take place in the Spring, with a re-dedication to take place hopefully in late May.
The grave is a unique memorial in sporting history with its association with the creation of the Ashes legend and in that both individuals buried there were intimately involved in the story. It truly marks “the end of the beginning” of one of the most famous contests in world sport and it is hoped that visitors to nearby Cobham Hall, where the Ashes urn rested until it passed to Lord’s in 1927, will also remember to pay their respects here.
Any enquiries to:- Howard Milton
The story has been covered in the Gravesend Reporter
The story has also been covered in The Times Newspaper on 16th May 2011. An online version can be accessed here but a subscription is required to view it.