Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery

Poppy Placing Project begins.

Jane Edwards — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 18:12:33 +0000

Those of you that follow our Facebook page or web site will know that each year in the run up to Remembrance Sunday you may see some of our nine pairs of ‘Poppy Cross Placers’.

We have nine pairs of volunteers that form part of our Poppy Cross Crew.

Each year, between them, they will visit every one of the 350+ War Graves scattered throughout the cemetery and place a Poppy Cross on each. It takes a lot of their time but they come back year after year to support this project organised by the Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery.

The Friends would like to thank them for their help with this worthwhile and emotional project and our fingers are crossed for reasonable weather!

Grave Gardeners plough ahead with more clearance.

Jane Edwards — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 17:44:13 +0000

You may think we seem to be doing a lot of ‘grave clearance’, and we are ! We have a very short window Between September and the end of March to remove any large areas of Holly or Ivy as during nesting season DEFRA have regulations regarding disturbing nesting. This also affects how and when we cut the hedge surrounding the Civilian Garden.

Today, Saturday the 12th, was the turn of our ‘community supporters’- or Grave Gardeners as we call them. They meet once a month generally and help clear self set trees and shrubs as well as keeping hedges in check and the flower beds and tubs weeded. We welcome anyone who may be interested to join us. Our next session will be November 9th. Meet at the Lodge at 11am. You may want to bring your own heavy duty gardening gloves but we do have spare pairs. We also have tools, but again if you prefer to work with your own tools they are very welcome. (Loppers/shears/rakes)

Deutsche Bank visit again to help clear shrubbery

Jane Edwards — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 17:19:34 +0000

Staff from Deutsche Bank turned out again on the 9th to help clear a huge coppice of Holly and Ivy that had overtaken a number of graves making it impossible for family to locate or visit.

The photograph below shows the effort it takes to clear Ivy once it has got hold. Great care has to be taken to prevent damage to lead lettering. Follow this link as it shows the events of the day and a sequence of photographs detailing the progress to reveal this memorial. There were many more as well but this one took almost an hour of two peoples time and determination.

Come and help clear graves.

Jane Edwards — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 15:10:22 +0000

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Nat West Staff battle the rain.

Jane Edwards — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 15:02:32 +0000

Last week we had to cancel the visit from Nat West Staff to help clear graves. As you all may remember, we were suffering from heavy rain and storm conditions -so we were concerned when it appeared things were going the same way with their replacement visit today! We needn’t have worried as three of their staff turned up undaunted and made amazing inroads into clearing the front of Section 8.

I think the difference is evident from the photographs above.? Thank you ladies and thanks to the FBEC volunteers that organised the day.

Open event in Civilian Garden

Jane Edwards — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 14:46:17 +0000

September was an unusually busy month for FBEC with the inclusion of two ‘main’ events for us. We have featured the unveiling of our new Memorial stone but we also had an Open Event for Heritage and were able to tell visitors the stories behind the names on the Memorial.

We were very pleased to welcome the new local Selly Oak MP and Minister for Veterans. Al Carns. He was very interested in the records showing the sites of bomb damage and relating to the deaths of those listed on the new Memorial.

Our thanks to all those interested people who called in to chat.

Pause for Hope.

Jane Edwards — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 22:29:49 +0000

A Pause for Hope service of prayer and music, for all those affected by cancer, will be held in St. Dunstan’s Church High Street Kings Heath on Sunday 20 October at 3.00pm. Supported by Churches Together in Kings Heath, it is an opportunity to remember loved ones, pray for patients, carers, medical professionals, and those searching for the cure to cancer. Car park access via Institute Road. Contact Deacon David Fairbotham Catholic Parish of St. Dunstan and St. Jude Kings Heath and Maypole for more information. 07948379545 or email dcn.david.fairbotham@rcaob.org.uk

Extract from Pause for Hope website www.pauseforhope.org.uk
Pause for Hope services are:
Open. Everyone is welcome and our services are free. There is no need for a ticket and attendees can be of any faith, or none at all.
Ecumenical. Representatives of all denominations lead the congregation in hymns and prayers.
Informative. A short address is given by an invited speaker.
Musical. A selection of music is played. Hymns are sung.
Reflective. Individual candles are lit by members of the congregation for someone with cancer or in memory of someone lost to cancer.
Hopeful. We pray for the day to quickly come when all cancers can be prevented or cured.

A retiring collection is taken for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

WHO LIES BENEATH?

Jane Edwards — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 11:03:35 +0000

Come along to the Civilian Garden of Remembrance this Saturday, 14th,between 11am and 2pm to hear the stories behind the names on our new Memorial.

Matt Felkin will be there with all his air raid records and maps. Not to be missed if you are interested in the impact WW2 had on civilians.

NIQ Volunteers make inroads into Section 8

Jane Edwards — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:24:35 +0000

This is the first time that NIQ have been on site with the Friends and we hope they will return again as they all worked very hard……..and we are pretty sure they all enjoyed themselves! The area that they were working in had a section almost completely covered with large shrubs but NIQ staff worked hard and changed the end of the section completely.

Ian Binnie’s ‘Walk and Talk’

Jane Edwards — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 19:02:22 +0000

Seventeen members of the public joined Ian Binnie on a fascinating walk around the cemetery to visit nine military graves, all of whom died in 1944. It was interesting to learn that several of them had been killed in accidents and not on active service.