Our local neighbour, Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve, has two work party events in August.
On the 23rd August they are inviting you to come along and ‘ Bash Balsam’ to help control this invasive weed (10.30-1pm) and then on the 30th they have a general work day with ‘The Reapers’ cutting the wild flower meadow area. (8.30-11am). Contact the Ranger Service to book a place.
Forward notice that the next Litter Pick will be held in the Cemetery on the morning of Saturday 5th September. Please meet at the Lodge House on the main drive at 10am.
This photograph was taken on Saturday 20th June at the end of a most interesting and absorbing KH History Group summer field trip to Brandwood End Cemetery led by Pat Franklin (A member of FBEC) who generously gave her time to talk to the members about the history of the Cemetery and show them some of the WW1 graves and memorials that Brandwood contains.
Several members of FBEC answered our call for help as we brought the hedge in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance back in line!
Many hands make light work…….. 
Several of our members turned up, shears in hand, to help trim the hawthorn hedge that surrounds the garden.
Luckily the weather was in our favour and we managed to do a bit of weeding as well!
Our thanks to everyone who gave up their morning and I think we all agree that the Civilian Garden is looking really good at the moment.
A brief mention to the ladies that take it in turns to weed the beds and paths. Their efforts are obvious!
Six FBEC members enjoyed today’s sunshine as they searched for litter in the Cemetery at our quarterly ‘Litter Pick’. It was good to see that there was very little litter about, but we still managed to gather about 8 bags- mainly flower paper, from under hedges and hidden in shrubbery. Your next chance to join us will be on Saturday 5th September.
I thought today, instead of litter, I would post a few lovely photographs taken during the event.
We were a little shocked by this drastic pruning of a conifer on the main drive but it would appear that it will ultimately be dispatched, but in the mean time it still offers a home to thousands of insects and a great perch for our local Buzzard!
Can we issue a gentle reminder to all our members that the annual membership of FBEC is now due. It remains unchanged at £6 (£3 unwaged). All members should have received their renewal reminders with the AGM notification and this year there is an option to pay by annual standing order. Please contact us on our e mail friendsofbec@gmail.com for more details.
FBEC depend on our membership fees to produce our 2 newsletters each year, postage costs and to print the information we display in our Cemetery notice boards, so we do hope we can count on your continued support.
Anyone who may be considering becoming a supporter of FBEC, please refer to the information on this web site.
Remembering Canon Ernest Edward Maxwell Phair (Buried in Brandwood End) and the 1,201 passengers and crew of RMS Lusitania who drowned when it was sunk by a torpedo from the German U Boat U20 18 km due south of Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse, Cork, Eire, 7th May 1915.
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
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.
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.