Month: October 2018

Poppy Cross for every War Grave

The Friends have now started their annual project to place a Poppy Cross on every War Grave in the cemetery. Some are easily spotted as they have CWWGC headstone, all of which have an identical profile.

This photo shows one of our members highlighting a Labour Corps grave as part of a national project to remember lesser known groups of combatants.

We have 350+ Poppies to place and the bulk of them are not as easily found as they are remembered in family graves.

Today we were assisted by committee members and family supporters but our special thanks to members of BARRA who worked on one of the hardest sections- as the area was very uneven and deep in leaves! http://www.birminghamairraids.co.uk/

Our thanks to those that have come along to help us this year. Their input has made such a difference and we are well on the way to completing this task in time for Remembrance Sunday. So far the weather has been kind ! Please do    consider joining The Friends, local Councillors, Neighbourhood Police Officers, The Royal British Legion and many others organisations at our Service of Remembrance on Sunday November 11th, (10.50am)

Blessing of the graves at Brandwood End Cemetery

On Sunday the 4th November, Brandwood End Cemetery will be crowded with people attending the Blessing of the Graves. PLEASE WALK INTO THE CEMETERY if at all possible as the number of cars mean that there is nowhere to park. Staff must keep the main drive free of parked cars (as far as the chapels) for safety reasons and also to allow access to Clergy.

Please don’t be one of the people that argue with them and demand that ‘you’ are the exception!

At last….. temporary roof is being installed!

When I arrived back from holiday this afternoon I could hear the strange sound of ‘nail guns’  coming from the cemetery , so I dashed straight round in the hope that the roof trusses (that were delivered a couple of weeks ago) may be in position….and they were!

The Roofers are working hard installing the timber frame and then hopefully it will be boarded, felted and a outer surface applied.

Can we stress that this is a temporary roof and in place to protect the structure of the building, not to renovate it.

Never the less, this is a day that the Friends have been working towards for over 10 years as it represents a step in the right direction, to prevent the dereliction of this building reaching a state that would make it uneconomic to renovate.

We still have a number of major stumbling blocks before we can agree that the initial aims of our group, to see the chapels renovated and in use, are realised.  One of these is a viable solution as to how this building, if renovated, can earn its keep in the future.  The chapels, as they were, are no longer required for use alongside funerals but restrictions on access make their use for many suggestions not acceptable.

Birmingham City Council and the Friends will continue to try and find a solution to these issues as we are all in agreement that the loss of such a beautiful building would be a crime.