Tag: fbec

Extra Special Litter Pick coming up!

Our next litter pick will be taking place on Sunday 6th March from 10am-12noon- meet at the Lodge on the Main Drive.

This year we will be supporting a special drive to Keep Britain Tidy by registering this event with the ‘Clean for the Queen’ web site to encourage everyone to take care of their local environment. You can see our entry via this link.

Can we remind you that we provide litter pickers and bags but recommend you wear stout foot wear and gloves.

clean_for_the_queen_logo_V4This Sunday Litter Pick will see a very busy Cemetery, as it is Mothering Sunday so please support our event to raise the profile of FBEC.

A new tree in Diamond Woodland

On Saturday the 12th of December you will find members of the committee of the Friends planting a tree in the Diamond Woodland area opposite to the Lodge to commemorate their 10th year as a Friends organisation.

Saturdays get together will be low key as we are having to meet early at 9.30 to carry out this planting, but we will be having an official  event in the slightly warmer spring weather when the tree should be starting to wake. Members or anyone with an interest is welcome to join us on Saturday. We should be on site between 9.30 and 10am.

We will be planting a Alnus incana Aurea  (Golden Alder) in the Diamond Woodland area. This beautiful tree will offer colour and interest all year round.

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Hedge cut for another season…..

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……..                   20150614_095651                                                          20150614_103412

20150614_111804Several 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!

Update on ‘From Brownhills to Brandwood’

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.

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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

 

Vistas opening up!

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.

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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.

Seasons Greetings to all our supporters.

Christmas is almost upon us and the committee of Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery would like to wish all our supporters ‘Seasons Greetings’. Although we seem to have made no progress with the Chapels in 2014, due to the financial constraints being experienced by Birmingham City Council, we have never the less been busy on other projects in the cemetery. Can we thank Bereavement Services staff for their co operation, our project sponsors and all of the volunteers who have worked alongside us. Thank you all again and we look forward, hopefully, to more progress in 2015.

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Last litter pick of 2014!

This will be the last weekend in 2014 that the Friends will be holding a Litter Pick and clean up in the Cemetery. The details are as follows:-

Meet by the Lodge on the main drive. 10am (Usually finished by 11.30am)

Sunday 7th December. Litter pickers and sacks provided but suitable shoes and gloves advisable.

Litter pick March 2014 (21) (800x600)

If Litter Picking is not up your street, we always have plenty of weeding to do under the hedges in the Civilian Garden of Remembrance. You will have to bring your own tools for this task.

 

 

New Road Markings in Brandwood End Cemetery

Those of you that visit the cemetery often will have noticed the sudden appearance of ‘give way’ white road markings at the end of avenues and especially surrounding the Chapel Island.

Speeding inside the cemetery has long been an issue but on a number of occasions recently cars have pulled out of avenues at speed or onto the island area without considering traffic already on that island or main drive. This has resulted in a number of near accidents with cars and pedestrians, so the roads have now been marked to remind people to ‘give way’

Chapels (looking from the War Memorial)

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Please remember that there is a 5 mph speed limit within the cemetery and that there are often pedestrians who may be tending graves close to the edge of roads or walking through the cemetery.

Please reduce your speed and remain vigilant as we would hate to have someone injured whilst visiting their loved one’s grave.

 

A poignant commemoration on Remembrance Sunday

The sun shone down today on the one hundred people who attended the annual Friends of Brandwood End Cemetery Service of Remembrance. Our thanks go to Deacon David Fairbotham for his very thought provoking address.

IMG_7775 (800x600)This year wreaths were laid on behalf of  six local organisations and we would like to thank the Royal British Legion who attended with their Standard Bearer before rushing back for their own Service at midday.

IMG_7776 (800x599)The numbers at this annual event continue to grow and we hope that those that attended felt something of the atmosphere created by Deacon David’s address, the young trumpeters playing of the Last Post and Reveille, the time for reflection and the participation of all the local organisations wishing to show their respects on this special day.

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