Over 150 people attended this years Service of Remembrance. Once again the atmosphere was enhanced by our Bugler but it was lovely to see many organisations represented, many of whom had several members there.
Our thanks to Deacon David Fairbotham, who conducts a short but thought provoking service and to the growing number of people who attend. if you would like to see a few more photographs of this event, please follow this link.
We shall remember them.
Final reminder that the Remembrance Service in Brandwood End Cemetery will start at 10.50am prompt and be followed by 2 minutes silence and the laying of wreaths. Everyone welcome.
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)
The Friends would like to remind everyone that there will be the usual Service of Remembrance on Sunday 11th November in the cemetery. Please arrive before 10.50, when a short Service will be held prior to the 2 minutes silence. This will be followed by the laying of wreaths by a number of organisations at the Cross of Sacrifice and also at the WW1 memorial.
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!
Every year the Friends create a Poppy Cross Cemetery near the Cross of Sacrifice. Each cross represents a War Grave in Brandwood End. Some have Commonwealth War Grave head stones- many are family graves.This week we also start placing a poppy cross on every War Grave. We shall remember them ….
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.
The Friends web site is due to have an update in the near future, so we will be unable to post for a couple of weeks once that update starts. With that in mind we are posting information about this years Service of Remembrance well in advance.
It is 100 years since the end of WW1 this year, so please try and join us on what will be a significant date- 11.11.2018
The Friends have tried several times to get the Victorian Chapels in Brandwood End included in the Victorian Society ‘At Risk’ register and it appears we have at last been successful. As yet we have received no official notification (not sure that we will !) but an article will appear in tomorrows Birmingham Post saying that we have been added, along with a large factory in the Black Country. You can follow the article below, and whilst there are some funding inaccuracies in the reporting, we are really pleased that The Post has decided to highlight this.
At this time we are not sure if this listing will add weight to our constant requests to Birmingham City Council to move forward, alongside the Friends, and apply for grant funding to bring this building back into acceptable condition. This will also involve work to find a sustainable future use- thus ensuring this beautiful buildings future.
The Victorian Society web site also carries this news-
Despite a wet and drizzly morning well over 40 people turned out to support our Heritage Event at Brandwood End. We had a packed morning with 2 grave walks to uncover the history of The Labour Corps , led by our Chairman Julia Griffin.
Luckily for us the weather lately has been very dry so the passage between the graves was relatively easy to negotiate.
Those that decided not to brave the weather were able to browse the wealth of information we had prepared about WW1, the Suffragette Movement and the Labour Corps as well as reading about ‘Frederick Clifford Alabaster’ and ‘William Shakespeare’ both of whom are buried in Brandwood End. Today we were honoured to welcome William’s Grandson, who came to deliver a precious copy of a photograph of his Grandfather and Grandmother. A member of the Alabaster family had also visited us at our 2017 Service of Remembrance.
Another incentive to remain behind were the amazing cakes that had been baked by Dawn, who is in charge of the day to day running of Brandwood End for Bereavement Services Department. Dawn and her staff went way beyond their job descriptions to help facilitate this event, not least of all- giving their time on a Saturday to erect gazebo’s and move tables and chairs.
In between our guided walks, visitors were treated to an insight into the lives of some of our soldiers buried in Brandwood End who died towards the end of the War, or soon after, as a result of wounds or the Spanish Flu. Doug Smith and his team made the selected Soldiers ‘come to life’ for just a short while. An amazingly revealing performance that enthralled everyone, despite the rain.
Our thanks to everyone who supported us today, especially Bereavement Services Department-for their muscle and refreshments!
We must also thank Pam Wallace of Kings Heath British Legion, who provided some of the wealth of information and our Chairman Julia for providing most of the rest! We hope everyone enjoyed our displays and found them as interesting as we did when we were preparing them! Next year…….100 years of Brandwood End Cemetery…..maybe !!
You can see a few more photographs in our album via this link