CHILLING FIND
Oldham mass grave discovered with bodies of babies and children found among remains of 300
The grave is not the only one of its kind in the cemetery, with another three of a similar size
A MASS grave has been discovered in Oldham with babies and children among the 300 bodies found there.
The grave in Royton Cemetery was found by a woman looking for her brothers, with one stillborn and the other dying within five hours of his birth in 1962.
7
7
7
7
The final resting place measures just 12x12ft.
Out of all the remains discovered, 146 were of stillborn babies and 128 babies and young children, according to councillors Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes, who revealed the grim find in a statement.
Up until the mid-1980s, stillborn babes were often taken from families with no consultation with their parents, who would not know where they were taken.
The councillors said: "It's a stark injustice that parents were denied the fundamental right to bury their babies - a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.
Read More in UK News
"This situation should stir our collective sense of fairness and empathy."
They added the woman who found the grave was left “in tears” following the discovery, which left her "feeling a profound sense of loss and injustice”.
She needed emotional and practical help to cope with the trauma of her find, they said.
The grave is not the only one of its kind in Royton Cemetery, with another three of a similar size, the councillors said.
Most read in The Sun
Of the 303 bodies found, they added there were only 147 names online, with 156 names missing.
The councillors said: "We also asked about the other cemeteries across the borough, and we were informed that there is missing information for these cemeteries as well.
"The staff are currently in the process of rectifying this by cross-referencing all available records and updating the online database."
Graveyards full with loved ones unable to be buried unless a spot has been booked in advance, town’s bosses warn
They have put forward a motion to Oldham Council to "recognise the injustice" that has taken place, the reports.
The statement read: “How many babies are laying in Royton Cemetery in mass graves, their identities unknown to their grieving relatives?
“It’s a stark injustice that parents were denied the fundamental right to bury their babies, a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.
"This situation should stir our collective sense of fairness and empathy.
“We cannot change what has happened, but we can ensure that the babies born sleeping are named, recognised, and never forgotten.”
What used to happen to the bodies of stillborn babies?
Up until around 40 years ago, often parents of stillborn babies and babies who died shortly after birth were not told what happened to their child’s body.
In a 2015 journal, the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management said many of these babies were buried in an unconsecrated area because the toddler would not have been baptised, with the parents being “urged to forget”.
Until the mid-1980s, stillborn babies were often taken from families without the parents being consulted, who would not know where they were being taken.
The stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands says parents of stillborn babies, or those who died shortly after birth were not consulted about any arrangements for their funeral.
It added that in many cases, stillborn babies were buried in shared graves along with bother babies.
Parents of stillborn babies or those dying shortly after birth were not consulted about funeral arrangements before the mid-1980s, according to Sands, a stillbirth and neonatal death charity.
The organisation said: "Before then, parents were not usually involved and many were not told what happened to their baby's body."
It added: "Some parents who have tried to trace the grave or cremation record of a baby who died some time ago have been successful."
In many cases, the charity explained, stillborn babies were buried in a shared grave with other babies.
Sands said there was a ";general belief, both amongst professionals and society as a whole, that it was best to carry on as though nothing had happened".
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"You may have been discouraged from talking about or remembering your baby and discouraged from expressing grief," they added.
The two independent councillors said the woman who made the discovery had set out to locate the resting place for her brothers after reading about Gina Jacobs, who found her son, who was stillborn in 1969, in a mass grave at a cemetery in Wirral in 2022.
7
7
7
Topics