A last minute visit by four employees of Deutsche Bank meant that we were able to clear an area at the back of Section 14 yesterday. Our thanks to Steven and Malcolm, who help organise the areas cleared and cheer the volunteers on, and also to Gill who helps provide refreshments (Always arriving with extra biscuits)
Before and after photographs show how hard they worked
A day to reflect as well as celebrate. Here are a two items that may interest you all.
Our Grave Gardeners group spent a morning getting the Civilian Garden ready for the summer. All that was needed was a light cut back of shrubs and a lot of weeding but all looking spic and span now.
We have many Polish graves in Brandwood End. This article covers their important role to the allies in WW2
The start of an in important week to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 but also to remember those that lost their lives, both military and civilian, during the course of the war. We hope to post some interesting stories of those in Brandwood End.
The Friends have designed 4 measured and timed walks in the cemetery to suit all fitness levels.. You can run, jog , walk or amble. Whichever suits you (times are geared for walkers)
To see where they lead and how long they take, click on this link.
Enjoy the trees, monuments, bird song and peace that Brandwood End Cemetery offers.
During Heritage Open Week in September we will be holding an event that will add an additional dimension to one of these walks. Watch this space.
As part of our 20th Anniversary celebrations we are undertaking a project to photograph all the gravestones in Section 16 as we are concerned at the speed with which they are deteriorating. Each headstone/memorial will be photographed and inscriptions recorded for future generations who may be seeking relatives. If you want to assist please e mail us at friendsofbec@gmail.com and one of our committee members will be in touch. We hope to extend this to other sections of the cemetery.
This is the final reminder that the Friends are holding their annual AGM at 10.30am tomorrow, Thursday 10th April. The venue is the Conference Room at St Dunstans RC Church in Kingsfield Rd Kings Heath.
To find out what we have done in the last year and what we have planned for the next year, our 20th, then come and join us . We will also have refreshments…..and cake afterwards.
One or two people were concerned as the ashes memorial plots had nearly all been purchased. The good news is that another area has now been developed.
Gardening Volunteers from FBEC had a fantastic morning in the sunshine with Laura and her helpers from Fruit and Nut Village. They kindly donated 5 trees,( 3 Hazels and 2 Walnuts) to kick off our 20th Anniversary Tree Planting project. Our aim is to try and plant an minimum of 15 trees in the cemetery to replace 21 lost in recent storms. The tree stock has been depleted by over 150 in the last few years due to storms, disease and general age and as most of the cemetery was planted up over 125 years ago we can expect to lose many more in the next few years. We have raised over £4000 already but need to get to £6000 to complete the project next Autumn.
If you would like to see some of our planting photographs from today then follow this link.
