A woman who helped discover a mass grave containing hundreds of dead babies – including her twin brothers – has revealed that the cemetery is one she walks through ‘all the time.’
The unmarked resting place was discovered in Royton Cemetery, in Oldham, and contains over 300 bodies including the remains of 145 stillborn infants, 128 babies and young children and 29 adults.
Sarah, whose name has been changed to protect her anonymity, had been attempting to find the burial site of her twin brother’s who died in 1962 when her search led her to uncover they had been buried in a cemetery minutes away from her home.
Speaking exclusively to , Sarah tragically revealed that her mother was buried in the same cemetery without knowing her twins were buried nearby.
She said: ‘I live near the cemetery and I use to walk through it with my mother all the time and we had no idea they were buried there.
‘I get upset speaking about it because my mother died and is buried in the same cemetery but she never knew they were there.’
For years Sarah had been attempting to find out what had happened to her brothers and described how the lack of any formal records led her to go on a ‘merry-go-round’ speaking to different officials from organisations including Oldham Council.
Sarah said: ‘I started doing ancestry and I found that my two brothers were not on any records so I contacted the local council to find out why? I went on a merry-go-round speaking to the council and the coroners.’
Eventually, after hearing about Gina Jacob’s story – a mother from The Wirral who found her child buried in a Birkenhead cemetery 53 years after he was stillborn – she reached out to Ms Jacobs for help.
Ms Jacobs helped the grieving sister find the records which were not available online and instead were kept in a large leather bound book.
‘The message about the grave was very matter of fact and said they were buried in this grave,’ Sarah said.
‘I asked “Is it just them in the grave” and they replied: “there are 300 others”.’ she added.
Sarah said: ‘I was elated to have found my brothers but I had no idea how emotional I would get and I burst into tears.
‘And to discover it’s like a landfill for babies we had to ask were there any others and they said yes in the same cemetery.’
Since the story broke, families who believe their loved ones might have been buried there have seen leaving floral tributes at the unmarked grave.
Sarah has confirmed that Ms Jacobs has been in touch with other families in the area.
It was common practise before the 1980s for stillborn babies use to be taken away from parents without any further detail of where they were buried.
Bereaved parents were instead told by medical staff that their child was buried alongside a ‘nice person’ that same day. However, babies were often instead interred in mass graves.
Over the past 20 years, the mass graves of babies have been found across the UK.
Now, Working alongside local councillors who helped her find the grave and with Ms Jacobs Sarah is hoping to raise awareness about the impact of the former practise.
She said: ‘It’s a real social issue that affects people across the country. Parents like mine would have their kids taken away from them with no mental health support or respect for the baby.
‘My brothers were only a year older and I have one younger brother but I saw growing up how the grief affected my parents without any support.’
The woman added: ‘We accept that this happened and now what we would like is for a proper memorial to be placed on the site and for transparency from Oldham Council to tell families who is buried where.
‘This will hopefully give closure to the families.’
Oldham Council confirmed that: ‘As a matter of urgency we will consider the suggestion being made and what may be appropriate to recognise those buried in Royton by providing a suitable memorial.’
Sarah has also voiced her support for a nationwide inquiry into the former practise.
She said: ‘We also want to understand the process. We know they were taken and we know where they are now but we want to know what was the burial like did they have their last rites read’
‘All we know with my brothers from records is that the grave was reopened to bury the boys together.
‘And we want to know the reason why they did this in the past.’
Local councillors Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes released a statement regarding the ‘heartbreaking’ discovery.
The statement 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. 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.’
The Oldham Times, reported that a council meeting on Wednesday September 11 will discuss plans to erect a memorial to the buried children. Records and documents will also be digitalised for families to easily access them.
In a statement Arooj Shah, the leader of Oldham Council, told : ‘We understand this news will be upsetting for a lot of people and our thoughts are with them.
‘As a matter of urgency we will consider the suggestion being made and what may be appropriate to recognise those buried in Royton by providing a suitable memorial.
‘Our staff are here to support any families who think they may be affected.
‘This is not a newly discovered grave.
‘Sadly, the burying of people, including babies and children, in unmarked graves happened in graveyards all around the country years ago.
‘Thankfully, things have changed and improved over the years. The Government now pay for the funerals of stillborn babies and anyone up to the age of 18 if necessary. Public graves are no longer used.
‘Today, when a request is made for burial in a public grave, the arrangements are usually made by the relevant hospital via a funeral director. Often the hospital chaplaincy organises the burial or cremation of the individual.
‘The council cemeteries staff also works with the funeral director and carry out the expressed wishes. The hospital and ourselves keep records of the burial, which can be located by families whenever they want.
‘Alternatively, the family can make their own arrangements for burial in an individual grave plot via a funeral director and would install their own memorial.’