Category: Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery

Annual Catholic Blessing of the Graves.

A number of visitors to the cemetery have contacted us about the notices on the trees concerning the event below. Can we emphasise that this has nothing to do with the Annual Remembrance Service which will happen on Sunday 10th November at 10.50am. The ‘Blessing’  does also occur every November as part of ‘All Souls’ events.

On Sunday the 3rd November (2pm), 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. Please 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 any staff present and demand that ‘you’ are the exception!

 

 

Welcome back British Army 202(Midlands Field Hospital) volunteers.

The Friends were pleased to welcome back on site 20 members of the Armed Forces 202 Field Hospital under the command of Major Harry Wallace.

They came on a mission to uncover 4 specific Commonwealth War Graves that had become totally enveloped by shrubbery and to clean and weed a large number of others.

Luckily for us they felt they had some more of their precious time to share so spent a further few hours clearing the metre high self set Holly area on one of the sections.(There are still at least 2 more similar areas in the cemetery)

Whilst in the cemetery ‘202’ also made time to visit, and place Poppy Crosses on, our small War Grave area and beneath our screen walls.

                                        

I am sure, if you visit, the improvement after the removal of the holly will be obvious- but here are some before and after photographs.

Ivy is notoriously hard to remove and these areas have now been cut back, revealing many graves that have been hidden for several years.

 

 

 

 

This is just a small portion of the area that they cleared !

 

 

Our thanks to them all for their enthusiasm and ‘can do’ attitude. Lets hope we can welcome them again to Brandwood End.

 

 

Another ‘brick in the wall’!

Not quite a ‘brick’ but certainly- in the wall…of the chapels.

We have Mark Brady of STONESET MEMORIAL MASONS to thank for bringing this foundation stone back to its original condition. Over the last 121 years the writing had become indistinct and difficult to read. Mark undertook this work as a ‘labour of love’ and I am sure you will agree that it now cuts a dash on the chapel wall.

 

Remembrance Service -10th November 2019

This years Remembrance Service in Brandwood End will take place on Sunday 10th November.

Please arrive in time for a 10.50am start. The Service usually concludes by 11.15am.

The main service will commence at the Cross of Sacrifice on the main drive and conclude at the WW1 War Memorial (Also on the main drive)

We look forward to welcoming you all.

Enjoyable Tree Walk, despite the weather!

Despite the damp and drizzle over 16 folks turned up to The Lodge at 11am yesterday to join BCC Park Ranger Dean Paul’s excellent 2 hour plus ‘tree and cemetery walk’.

Combining his extensive knowledge of Brandwood Cemetery from his previous role as a member of the ground maintenance/grave team with his current role as a City Park Ranger for South Birmingham, Dean covered an wide range of fascinating and instructive topics.   I am sure that everyone who attended found the whole experience hugely instructive and worthwhile.

Spotted on the walk was this industrious Squirrel’s dinner table!

Our thanks to Dean for his time. He hopes to do a further ‘walk’ when we have some Autumn colour so watch this site for the date.

Small block of War Graves, on view again.

A few years ago we planted a new small hedged area creating a boundary around a small block of War Graves. Of late we have received a number of requests to reduce the height of this hedge so the Headstones remain in view and ‘part of’ the surrounding graves. I think you will agree that this 50% reduction in height has achieved that objective and we will try and maintain this low height in future. Thanks again to BCC Grounds Maintenance staff for their work, and for visitors to the cemetery for their thoughts and suggestions.

Despite rigorous efforts we are still struggling to understand why these 8 graves stand apart, when the remaining 340+ lie scattered throughout the cemetery. We are also intrigued by the inscription on one that states ‘buried elsewhere in this cemetery’. We know all there is to know about the occupants but not why they have this resting place. They appear to have no connection to each other!

Civilian Garden Autumn Hedge Maintenance

Our thanks go out, yet again, to Birmingham Council Grounds Maintenance staff that carry out the horticultural maintenance at Brandwood End (Grass cutting etc).They have carried out a fantastic Autumn cut on the hedge surrounding the Civilian Garden area. This hedge was planted a number of years ago by pupils of St Albans school and has been so successful that we need their professional assistance to keep it in check! Thank you Paul and team.

Victorian’s vision for Brandwood’s trees

The amazing photographs below were taken by one of our facebook supporters and  I think they shows the amazing number and variation of trees in Brandwood End Cemetery…close to 1700 individual trees, planted following a grid template by the great landscape designer ‘Louden’.

We must remember that when these trees were planted, around 1899, they would have been very small saplings and the people who planted them knew they would never personally enjoy the scene they were creating!

We must also remember our significant avenue of Redwoods…..

Scouts help with Litter collection.

We were very pleased to welcome members of the 96th Birmingham Scout Group, who helped with our September Litter Pick.

They were joined by some of our usual supporters and it was great to see that we have some new ‘younger’ enthusiasts- or litter pickers in training!

Generally the cemetery was clear of obvious litter but we did manage 14 sacks of flower paper and shredded artificial flowers (Under hedges and behind grave stones). Can we remind you again to remove flower paper if possible and, if using artificial flowers, please make sure they are well secured not just popped in the display vases. The wind will blow these items away from the grave and animals (and grass cutting equipment) will shred them.

Whilst some of our members litter picked a few of us gave the top of the two hedges surrounding the Civilian Garden and the War Grave area a bit of a snip to smarten them up. They should have a good cut back as soon as they become dormant in the winter.

Our thanks again to everyone and we hope to see many of you again in December.

Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods visits Brandwood End

It’s taken 3 attempts by Councillor Sharon Thompson to meet with Bereavement Service staff and the Friends in Brandwood End to view the work on the Chapels and the drainage improvements, as her diary is always jam packed with pressing issues and meetings- but today she made it and I am sure she will agree that every one of us enjoyed her time in Brandwood End.

Local Councillors, Lisa Trickett and Mike Leddy,took the opportunity to view this amazing building and along with Councillor Thompson it was agreed that such a magnificent space should be put to use…..but how?

This was also an opportunity to thank Bereavement Service staff, both office and ground maintenance, for going above and beyond to clear the interior and spruce up the exterior of these magnificent buildings.

Whilst on site Councillor Thompson had an extensive ‘walk about’ that took in both graves and the natural tree heritage that Brandwood End offers. It was also an opportunity to see the extensive work that has been done to reduce the risk of flooding to adjacent housing. We thank everyone for their time…..and their enthusiasm. (Especially Councillor Thompson, who seemed as fired up about Brandwood End as we are!)