Category: Environment

Who Lies Beneath?

‘WHO LIES BENEATH? If you recognise any of the unusual surnames below then just maybe one of your family relatives was a victim of the bombing in WW2 and buried within our Civilian Garden of Remembrance. Come along to the Garden between 11am and 2pm on Saturday 14th September to find out more.
Battista, Bramham, Courtnell, Everitt, Granner, Hollyoake, Lovedee, Shamsudi and many more. There are over 50 whose names we know but sadly- quite a few we don’t.
If you know you have family buried in this beautiful Civilian Garden we would love to know more about them if you feel you can share.

Lots of events ahead in Brandwood End Cemetery.

UP AND COMING DATES IN THE FBEC DIARY WHERE WE WELCOME YOUR SUPPORT

  • SATURDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER. Litter Pick 10am-11.30am Meet opposite the Lodge on the main Drive.
  • WEDNESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER As part of Heritage Open Week, Ian Binnie will lead a free walk around 8 graves of those killed in 1944 and from the Kings Heath area. Meet by the Lodge at 2pm
  • SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER ‘Who lies beneath? The Friends Open Day. As part of Heritage Open Week we will be giving visitors an insight into who is buried in the Civilian Garden and how they came to be there. See Notice boards and Social Media.11am-2pm in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance
  • SATURDAY 12TH OCTOBER, Grave Gardeners Session 11am-2pm, Meet by the Lodge. It is also the start of the Poppy Placing Project prior to Remembrance. If you want to be involved in the Poppy Placing then please e mail us at friendsofbec@gmail.com
  • SATURDAY 9TH NOVEMBER Grave Gardeners Session 11am-2pm meet by the Cross of Sacrifice
  • SUNDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 45AM Annual Service of Remembrance at the Cross of Sacrifice.
  • SUNDAY 1ST DECEMBER Litter Pick 10am-11.30am meet opposite the Lodge on the main drive.
  • SATURDAY 14TH DECEMBER Grave Gardeners Session 11am-2pm Meet by the Lodge

The Friends will have been working in the cemetery for 20 years on the 21stJuly 2025. We will be organising all the above events but also undertaking many other cemetery projects alongside. If you would like to get involved in helping with our research or keeping the cemetery to look cared for then contact us at friendsofbec@gmail.com      or come along to one of our sessions.

Volunteers support gardening project.

Eleven volunteers turned out on August 10th to help FBEC committee members continue their Grave Gardeners project. Lots done again but always plenty to do. Several graves can now be seen where previously all you could see was shrubbery. The pile to the left was removed to uncover these graves. You can see that there are more to reveal further along.

Our thanks again to Ray and Sue Howell for continuing their work in the Civilian Garden. They give a lot of their time to keep it looking as beautiful as it does.

 

Some areas resurfaced at last

Brandwood End Cemetery has been buzzing with activity this week as some long awaited potholes have been filled. We are pleased to say that the areas around the Cross of Sacrifice and also the WW1 Memorial have had large sections re tarmaced. Looks like they had some left as some of the areas heading towards the Broad Lane gate have also been patched. It’s certainly only a small amount of what is needed but it is a start and in these cash strapped times we welcome anything! I should add that the areas repaired could have caused significant damage to pedestrians…. And vehicles so I am sure that’s why they have managed to fund the work.

Tree work continues.

Tree husbandry in Brandwood End has actually been funded this year(it isn’t every year and this will be the last we see of it for a while, I suspect!) the downside is that we will see a number of diseased trees disappearing from our beautiful landscape. They have been earmarked for some time but work has now ramped up with contractors working in the cemetery most days. Most recent losses are a very large tree near Broad Lane entrance which was diseased and a beautiful Labernum on A3FC which was pretty much hollow above waist height. Sad but necessary.

Summer Tree Walk

The Friends recently relaunched their refreshed Tree Walk leaflet and on Saturday 20th July at 11am,   Malcolm Jacques will be leading a walk around the trees highlighted.

This will be a ‘stroll’ and most of the areas will accessible to wheelchair users but we warn that the roadways are uneven. All will be welcome but can we ask that any under 16year olds be accompanied by an adult. We would suggest suitable footwear for uneven ground.

If you would like to reserve a place can we ask you to e mail us on friendsofbec@gmail.com,

Busy June for the Friends.

June has ended up being a really busy month for the Friends.  The started off with a Gardening session trying to clear some annoying Mares Tail weeds. I have to say, even we were surprised at the difference a few hours work by half a dozen people made. Thank you Volunteers.

We followed that up with a mornings litter picking and 12 volunteers managed a bag each. We are so pleased to see that the actual litter is mainly flower paper and not ‘dropped’ litter. Can we remind you again to take the paper off any flowers that you leave on loved ones graves. Well done everyone.

We still have several other events to attend, supporting other local groups and lots of preparation for our own July events! Watch this space……

Tree Husbandry in Brandwood End

Over the next few weeks and months you may hear the hum of chain saws and notice the felling of some mature trees in the cemetery. We are all sad to see any tree removed but they all have a limited life. That could be determined by the species of tree or by outside influences such as fungal infections, beetle infestations, disease and weather.

Most of the mature trees in Brandwood End  were planted over 125 years ago and some predate that. Unfortunately- or fortunately, as a public space the trees are regularly checked by the Tree Officer to make sure that none are at risk of falling and causing damage to graves or worse still….people. The Trees Officer spoke to the Friends some time ago, as the recent survey had highlighted quite a few trees needing attention, and where possible they will be trimmed etc but some are beyond those measures and will have to be removed.  This is necessary work and whilst it is sad to see trees removed we are pleased to see that they are being surveyed on a regular basis. (Those that ask about budgets, this is a Health and Safety issue and funding must always be available for that.)

Allied to this project we are discussing possible use of some of the timber removed for ECO projects and also looking a raising funding to replace those trees lost and so maintain a good tree stock for future generations.

Please take care if Tree Surgeons are working in the cemetery. Its interesting to watch but not from too close!