John Henry Bonham (May 31, 1948 - Sept 25, 1980)

Saturday, Sept 25th, was the 30th anniversary of John Bonham’s death. While many of us listened to recordings, watched Zeppelin DVD’s, had a drink in his honour or held a concert, some fans went to John Bonham’s grave site to pay respects.

One fan, Dawn, who posts online under the name Badge Holder, wrote of her visit and posted it on For Badgeholders Only (FBO), the Led Zeppelin mailing list. She solemnified the occasion with such dignity that I requested permission to repost it here:

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to let you all know that I went to pay my respects at Bonzo's
grave today. I had never been to Rushock before, but suffice to say - thank
God for sat-nav. I'll try to paint a little verbal picture of the place,
for the benefit of those who have never been.

Rushock is a tiny village in the middle of some of the most beautiful
countryside that England has to offer. I drove down several miles of
narrow, winding country lanes bordered by high hedgerows. Several sections
were single-track and with blind bends, I was driving very carefully, as
there was no way of knowing if another car was coming the opposite way.
Thank goodness that didn't happen, as one of us would have been faced with a
lengthy, tricky reversing manoeuvre to execute - I'd probably have ended up
in a hedge or a ditch somewhere. It did also make me think of Bonzo roaring
down those country lanes that you see in TSRTS.

The church and the village hall next door are at the top of a hill. It's
typical of a well-kept English village and there were lots of parish
notices on the noticeboards. The church was open, although there was no-one
from the church around there as far as I could see. I walked inside and
noticed a strong smell of floor polish. The church is very small, very
simple and beautifully kept. A blue carpet runs the length of the aisle,
with dark wooden pews either side and there's a stained glass window at the
far end.

I then went outside into the churchyard. It's been a beautiful day today -
warm with bright sunshine, a perfect end-of-summer day in England. I
spotted Bonzo's grave immediately, all the drumsticks are still there along
with some beautiful floral tributes, messages, badges, CDs and all manner of
Zep-related paraphernalia. There was a beautiful all-white floral
arrangement of lilies, carnations and some other flowers which I don't know
the name of (sorry, I'm no horticulturalist!) - from Dave Lewis and all at
TBL. Then I noticed the flowers from Bonzo's family. I don't mind
admitting that I stood there and the tears poured down my face - just
thinking of all that Bonzo gave to us all through his music and how tragic
it was that he was gone too soon. The love that so many people still feel
for him was plain to see, and I just found it so moving.

There were a few other people around who were almost certainly Zeppelin fans
- so if any of you are reading this, yes, I was that woman in the black
jeans and Zep T shirt, crying and sniffling.

I said some prayers for Bonzo and thanked him for all that he did and all
that he left us with - such incredible, life changing music. I said all of
this from myself, but also on behalf of our FBO family. I hope you're all
okay with that. I feel really lucky to have been able to go to Rushock
today, it really is a beautiful place.

Dawn