THE tales of two intrepid Darwen men who crossed continents have been uncovered in the town’s original burial ground by historian Tony Foster.

He told me: “Every gravestone has a story to tell. Some stories are more interesting and fascinating than others. Two such gravestone that tell of deaths in foreign parts can be found in Darwen’s Western Cemetery.”

The first discovery is the tale of Joseph Eccles’s Russian adventures while the second is story of Robert Critchley Haworth’ death in Mexico.

Mr Foster said: “Joseph Eccles was born in Darwen in 1841, the son of Andrew and Martha Eccles, and by the time he was 20 he was working as a millwright. In 1868 he married Margaret Ann Catterall and they had had three children, Joseph Ernest, Lilly Hetty and Mary, all born in Darwen. Shortly after Mary’s birth in 1870 he learnt that they required millwrights in Russia and along with his family he left his hometown. He first arrived in St Petersburg where a son, Edgar Ethelbert ,was born in 1877. A further two children were born in Russia before Joseph died in 1887 at Uglitch some 650Km (400 miles) east of St Petersburg. His wife and children returned to Darwen.

“The other gravestone is that of Robert Critchley Haworth who died April 9, 1923 at Hermosillo, Mexico. What is hard to believe is that his body was brought back to Darwen for burial in the town’s cemetery. Robert was born in 1868 and he married Jane Roberts in 1894 and they had three children. By 1923 he was a successful businessman associated with a number of Darwen and Blackburn cotton businesses – partner of Haworth & Smith Ltd, cotton waste merchants of Cotton Hall Mill, Darwen; director and chairman of James Halliwell (Darwen) Ltd of George Street Mill, Darwen. He was also associated with T Kenyon and Co. Blackburn and the Albert Spinning Co. Darwen.

“On March 10, 1923 he sailed from Liverpool on the SS Celtic with his business partner John Thomas Lonsdale, of Southport, and they arrived in New York nine days later. They were on a two-month commercial venture and from New York they made their way to Nogales, Arizona where they stayed with their friend, Mr Sidebottom. From Arizona both Robert and John spent sometime in Mexico. Whilst in Mexico Robert ate some food that was ‘off’ which resulted in his death. The family wanted his body returned home and it arrived in Darwen, accompanied by Mr Sidebottom, on April 28, 1923 (a distance of nearly 6,000 miles), and he was buried on the following Monday. Over 100 people attended the funeral.”