FBEC has been in existence for 10 years now, and the time has come for our 2015 AGM.
We welcome everyone with an interest in Brandwood End Cemetery to our short AGM which will be held at:
St Bede’s Church (Corner of Bryndale Avenue and Doversley Road) 7.30-8pm
Thursday 16th April 2015
Come along and hear what has been happening in the last year and what is planned for 2015/16- We welcome your support.
The Friends of Brandwood End always like to promote awareness of other local sites. Billesley Common is a marvellous area of woodland and open space that lies within walking distance of the cemetery. Even if you can’t make this event we would recommend you take the walk.
Those of you that follow our blog may remember some time ago that Barrie Simpson (FBEC Committee member) was assisting Paul Ford from Wyrleyblog to try and trace the grave of a WW1 servicemen, Thomas James. After a long search Barrie was able to inform Paul that a grave had been located!
With Paul’s permission The Friends contacted the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Barrie, as well as being a member of The Friends committee, is also a CWGC Volunteer and, under the ‘Adopt a Grave’ scheme , he has adopted all 200+ CWGC graves and was most anxious to assist Paul’s splendid research. It was hoped that the end result might be the erection of a CWGC headstone for this Coal Miner from Great Wryley.
The evidence was duly submitted, by Barrie, to the Ministry of Defence for consideration by the ‘War Grave Adjudication Team’. The response below has now been received.
‘Dear Mr Simpson,
We have recently been instructed by the relevant Service Authority that Private Thomas William James qualifies for commemoration as a Commonwealth war casualty.’
Barrie adds that:
‘Now, I move on to the next phase of pestering the City Bereavements Department to provide with me the letter that there is no known owner of the grave so I can begin the final phase to get a CWGC headstone erected on Thomas’ grave before November 2015.’ His grave will be recognised, along with 200+ others, by the Friends and the placing of a Poppy Cross in November 2015.
Both Paul Ford (Wyrleyblog) and Barrie Simpson (FBEC) spent many hours of work on this search and there is a very interesting article detailing this- to be found via this link
Spring should be on the way when we hold our next litter pick on Saturday 7th March. Please come along and help. We have the litter pick tools and the black bags ready…..all we need are the people! We meet at the Lodge near the Woodthorpe Road entrance at 10am. Suitable footwear and gloves are advisable.
As mentioned in the article below, the clearance of ‘self set’ trees growing on, or close to graves has now started. If you are familiar with the cemetery you can see, from the photographs below, what a difference it will make. Many graves that have been hidden for years have been exposed and the view across the section has now been opened up. This work will also mean that the tree lined avenues will now appear more defined.
If you look carefully in the photograph you will see the size of some of the felled trees that have obscured (piled to the right) both graves and views. None of the felled trees were part of the original planting.
This open view across the cemetery hasn’t been seen for many years.
Hopefully this will also mean that family members may be able to trace graves they thought were lost forever, and consider their restoration.
Bereavement Services have arranged with the Tree Officer for the removal of some of the ‘self set’ trees that have grown to unacceptable heights on graves. Many of these trees have damaged graves but also they often prevent access to adjacent graves. It is hoped that their removal will open up the vistas across the cemetery and restore the original planting plans. This tree removal project is a trial in one section, but if successful it will hopefully spread (over time) throughout the whole cemetery.
For some time now the calls of Green Parakeets have been heard in the cemetery but no major sightings reported. This morning I can report that a flock of over a dozen of these colourful and noisy birds flew through the cemetery. They paid a visit to the trees surrounding the nearby Brandwood Pool and then returned to the area of the main drive before heading off towards the canal!
Whilst they make a colourful sight it is to be hoped that they don’t intimidate the other birds that regularly use Brandwood End, especially the Spotted and Green Woodpeckers!
We are sure regular visitors to the Cemetery will have heard and seen the tree work that has been going on. A number of mature trees have had to be removed as they were either damaged or diseased and represented a risk to the public.
It is so sad to see such majestic trees felled but many of them are at least as old as the Cemetery- so 120 years and some were part of the original hedgerows in the farmers fields. Nothing lasts for ever and fungi are often a sign of a trees demise.
The Friends are keen to help with the maintenance of tree stock numbers and species in Brandwood End but any introduction of trees into the cemetery needs to be carefully planned with Bereavement Services and the local Tree Officer to maintain its original design.
A new bench has made an appearance in Brandwood End Cemetery. The Friends have no idea who provided it, but it sits near the Cross of Sacrifice on the main Drive and its design suggests a link to the Great war. 
This is the time of year where the damp weather means its fungi season in the Cemetery. You can always find lots of ground fungi but Carola
, a member of our committee, spotted and photographed this specimen of tree fungi!
Next time you are in Brandwood End try looking up……you would be amazed what you can find.
As well as varied birds sitting quietly in the trees you can also see the remnants of their nests and several squirrel dray’s. Views across the cemetery are very different when the trees are devoid of leaves but our many evergreen trees mean that there is always a splash of colour.
Those of us that are lucky enough to live close to the cemetery can recommend a walk there in any season and any weather as nature always provides something to see.