This years Service of Remembrance will take place at Brandwood End Cemetery on Sunday 13th November. 10.50am at the Cross of Sacrifice on the Main Drive.
Service of Remembrance
Category: Remembrance
Civilian Garden of Remembrance officially unveiled.
We all breathed a sigh of relief to see that the weather was dry this morning for the Friends to welcome over 20 people to the ‘official’ unveiling of our Civilian Garden of Remembrance. Our thanks to Councillor Eva Phillips who made a short speech about the uncertainties in the World today and the value of peace internationally. We all hope that we may see a time when there is no need for ‘civilian dead’ to be laid to rest following conflict.
Eva then cut the ribbon and declared that the garden refurbishment was now officially completed.
Our thanks to our anonymous donor, who meant that we were able to engage horticulturalist Darren Rudge with a team of his ‘Homebase’ students to complete the work. I am sure all our visitors today agree that the garden looks a picture!
Afterwards we all made our way to the Lodge and enjoyed a leisurely cup of tea and some excellent home made cake (thank you Coral!)
Well done Darren and his team!
Mini Ashes Graves at Brandwood End
Many regular visitors to Brandwood End have wondered exactly what was going on as ‘shallow graves’ appeared, in a decorative pattern, on the corner of the main drive, near the chapels.
The mystery is solved! Bereavement Services have decided to install some small ‘Mini Ashes Graves’ along each side of the square. For more details please see the BCC notice board on the main drive opposite the lodge. This will be their first appearance in Brandwood End but they already have a place in many other cemeteries.
Please contact Kings Norton Cemetery for more details and prices on:
0121 303 5583
Completion of the ‘Civilian Garden’ refurbishment
Those of you that follow our blog will know that back in June the Friends engaged ‘Darren Rudge Landscape Designs’ and some of his students to refresh and partly redesign the Civilian Garden of Remembrance flower beds. The beds had become overgrown and following a donation we were in a position to carry out work to reduce future day to day maintenance by our small team of volunteer gardeners. You will see from the photographs below that the results are magnificent, but we would like to invite you to join us at an official unveiling on Saturday September 24th at 10am, followed by tea and cake.
Birmingham Big Bus- World War 1 Tour
FBEC are not involved in the event below but the Birmingham Big Bus Tour staff join FBEC on Birmingham Heritage Forum, so we are happy to point you in their direction.
This is the year when we remember the Battle of the Somme. Birmingham has a fascinating story to tell with its involvement in the First World War. Starting at the iconic Town Hall you will hear about Neville Chamberlain’s rousing inspirational speech and the massive recruiting parade in Victoria Square. On the route we will visit sites to learn about Zeppelins and Armaments; the Quakers and conscientious objectors; War hospitals taking over the University of Birmingham and Highbury Hall; the Hall of Memory built to commemorate the 12, 320 Birmingham citizens who died and the 35,000 who were wounded during the War; the massive involvement of the Jewellery Quarter and Cadbury’s; the women’s stories including the 15,000 migrant women working in the factories and the plight of the Belgian refugees.
Date: Sunday 24th July 2016
Time: 6pm
Meeting point: end of Colmore Row/corner of Waterloo Street, Victoria Square next to the Council House
Cost: Tickets £12 per person – please contact Sue by email at enquiries@birmingham-tours.co.uk
Come and join the Big Bus Guides to commemorate Birmingham’s contribution to the First World War.
Work on the Civilian Garden of Remembrance
FBEC have been lucky enough to receive a donation from one of our members that has enabled us to revitalise the Civilian Garden of Remembrance in the Cemetery. Our main concern was that the beds had become over full and hard to maintain and that the quality of the soil needed improvement. The work was beyond our members abilities but we were able to engage ‘Rudge and Wood’ who are based at Winterbourne Botanical Gardens to undertake this project with some of their students.
It started like this…….and is nearly complete, so it looks like this…
It should be complete by the end of the week and we hope to hold an official unveiling in the near future so watch this space. Our thanks to Darren and his team and you can see more photographs of them at work on our facebook page.
Spring in our Civilian Garden
On a visit to the Civilian Garden of Remembrance in Brandwod End today we noticed these beautifully delicate Narcissi. They truly brighten the space!
Remembrance Sunday at Brandwood End- 2015
Our thanks to everyone that supported this annual event organised by FBEC. This year close to 70 people turned out in windy and damp conditions to remember those that have given their lives in battle.
Our thanks to Rev David Fairbotham, local Councillors and all the organisations that laid wreaths but our special thanks to the Standard Bearer from The British Legion (Kings Heath Branch), our brilliant Buglers (Ludo and Oliver) who always do us proud, and of course local residents and supporters. This year our numbers were close to 70 !
Our thanks as well to Bereavement Services staff who come along on their day off to make sure cars don’t drive through the event !
Annual Remembrance Service in Brandwood End Cemetery
This years SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE will take place on SUNDAY 8TH NOVEMBER at the Cross of Sacrifice on the Main Drive (10.50am for 11.00am start)
Please try and support this annual event to remember those that have been lost in the name of Peace. We will be supported by the Flag Bearer and Chairman of the West Midlands British Legion, Local Councillors and local Organisations.
Placing of Poppy Crosses
If you happen to pass through Brandwood End Cemetery this week, you may well see members of the Friends and volunteers placing some 350 + poppy crosses. Each War Grave in Brandwood End is marked every year by the placing of a poppy cross on it. A large grid ‘poppy cross cemetery’ is also formed on the grassland adjacent to the Cross of Sacrifice on the Main Drive- to give an impression of the large numbers of those buried within Brandwood End who have lost their lives in wars around the globe.
Please pause for a moment after Remembrance Sunday to read the information placed near the ‘poppy cemetery’.
Remembrance Sunday information is to follow this article.