An unmarked mass grave with over 300 bodies has been discovered in Oldham, sending shockwaves through the local community. The site, found within Royton Cemetery, includes the remains of 145 stillborn children, 128 infants and young children, and 29 adults, as confirmed by local councillors.
The grim find was made by a woman from Royton who was searching for her twin brothers’ final resting place; they died shortly after being born in 1962. Fears have been raised that this 12×12 burial plot might not be the only one of its kind in the cemetery.
One brother was stillborn, while the other died within five hours of birth. The woman recounted to councillors, who helped in the search, how her parents were never given the chance to bid farewell to their sons.
This distressing discovery comes on the heels of another mass grave unearthed earlier this year in The Wirral. There, 79-year-old Gina Jacobs finally located her stillborn son after a 53-year quest.
Jacobs has been highlighting what she calls the “outrageous lie” perpetuated by hospitals across the UK until the 80s and 90s, reports the Manchester Evening News.
In the last two decades, similar graves holding the remains of stillborn babies have been found in Lancashire, Devon, Middlesbrough, and Huddersfield.
Bereaved parents were often told by medical staff that their child would be buried next to “a nice person” also being interred that day, usually without the opportunity for the parents to say goodbye. In reality, these babies were placed in communal graves.
Councillors Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes from the Royton Independents have expressed their deep distress over the ‘heartbreaking revelation’ of mass graves in Royton Cemetery. In a poignant statement, they announced a motion to Oldham Council to acknowledge the wrongs done.
Their statement declared: “How many babies are laying in Royton Cemetery in mass graves, their identities unknown to their grieving relatives? It’s a stark injustice that parents were denied the fundamental right to bury their babies, a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.
“This situation should stir our collective sense of fairness and empathy. We cannot change what has happened, but we can ensure that the babies born sleeping are named, recognised, and never forgotten.”
The proposed motion, set for debate at the council meeting on Wednesday, September 11, urges the erection of a memorial for these children and calls for better access to burial records, including digitalisation, as well as support for bereaved families.
It is believed that the adults buried alongside the infants received what are known as “pauper’s burials” due to their families’ inability to afford private graves.
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