A MASS grave of babies’ bodies has been uncovered in a UK town just yards away from the remains of almost 300 tragic infants.
In September, mass graves were discovered in Royton Cemetery, Oldham, Greater Manchester, holding the bodies of hundreds of babies and children.
The initially found grave lies along the cemetery’s southeastern wall and holds the bodies of 145 babies, 128 children, and 29 adults.
Now, a second grave has been located on the northern wall of the site, behind the chapel building.
It has yet to be confirmed how many bodies are buried at the site, which will be marked with a permanent memorial, like other graves, according to Oldham Council.
Yesterday evening, a candlelit vigil was held to remember those buried in the graves and was attended by the families affected as well as members of the wider community.
The newly confirmed grave was marked by family members and Councillor Maggie Hurley with flowers and candles.
The graves had been created as part of a common practice which saw stillborn babies taken from their mothers, after being told their children would be buried with a “nice person” in an adult grave.
Instead, babies were placed into cardboard boxes and buried in unmarked mass graves.
Parents of stillborn babies or those dying shortly after birth were not consulted about funeral arrangements before the mid-1980s, according to Sands, a stillbirth and neonatal death charity.
The organisation said: “Before then, parents were not usually involved and many were not told what happened to their baby’s body.”
It added: “Some parents who have tried to trace the grave or cremation record of a baby who died some time ago have been successful.”
In many cases, the charity explained, stillborn babies were buried in a shared grave with other babies.
Sands said there was a “general belief, both amongst professionals and society as a whole, that it was best to carry on as though nothing had happened”.
It continued: “You may have been discouraged from talking about or remembering your baby and discouraged from expressing grief.”
The initial grave had been discovered by a woman looking for her brothers, with one stillborn and the other dying within five hours of his birth in 1962.
The final resting place measures just 12x12ft.
Out of all the remains discovered, 146 were of stillborn babies and 128 babies and young children, according to councillors Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes, who revealed the grim find in a statement.
The councillors said: “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.”
They added the woman who found the grave was left “in tears” following the discovery, which left her “feeling a profound sense of loss and injustice”.
She needed emotional and practical help to cope with the trauma of her find, they said.
