239016 Mjr. Cyril Francis Larn MC, MID.British Army 47th Battalion Machine Gun Corps from:Norwich Major Cyril Larn was my father. Prior to joining up as a volunteer he worked as an accountant trainee with the Norwich Union. In 1914 he joined the Norfolk Regiment Cycle Corp, serving with time in Norfolk until his 18th birthday when he joined up as a private, presumably with the Norfolk Light Infantry. In 1915 he transferred to the Machine Gun Corp, was made a Lieutenant, and fought at Ypres and both Battles of the Somme. It was at the Second Battle, now a Major, Commanding Officer of the 47th Battalion, that he was awarded a Military Cross.
Suffering from severe shell shock he was in and out of military hospitals, remaining in the Army as a senior Machine Gun Instructor at Grantham, until 1923, when he left the service.
He married in 1924, to Pansy Vincent, from Berghapton, Norfolk, had two children, and started a cherry farm at a village called Aplington. He continued to have mental problems and was in and out of nursing homes and mental hospitals until June 1932 when he took his own life by hanging.
Because suicide was a crime at the time 'Against God and the Crown' my mother was refused permission to bury him in Alpington churchyard. In desperation she sought a meeting with the Bishop of Norwich and pleaded with him for permission. He refused whereupon she broke down and went down on her knees, sobbing. The Bishop eventually relented and said, "Alright Mrs Larn you have my permission to bury your husband in the churchyard but, the grave must be round the back where no one can see the grave, and I will not allow a headstone."
The family got round the headstone by installing a marble kerb round the grave plot on which his name still shows, but no mention of his military rank or Military Cross for exceptional bravery.
Thank God the world has moved on since then.
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