A mass grave has been discovered in a British cemetery just months after a ‘landfill for babies’ was found at the same site.
In September, a mass grave holding the bodies of 145 stillborn infants, 128 babies and young children and 29 adults was found in an unmarked 12ft by 12ft plot in Royton Cemetery, Oldham.
That gravesite was situated on the south-eastern side of the cemetery but on Sunday a second mass grave was discovered on the northside.
It is not yet known how many bodies were buried in the recently discovered grave, which Oldham Council say will be marked with a permanent memorial.
A candlelit vigil was held yesterday at the site to remember those that were buried in the grave. The families of the affected were in attendance.
Stillborn children are those which are born without any sign of life, usually after around 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Until the 1980s, parents of stillborn babies were kept in the dark about the fate of their deceased children. Many were taken away without the parents knowing their burial site, typically in mass graves akin to those found in Oldham.
Parents were routinely told that their child was buried alongside a ‘nice person’ on the same day as their birth.
One woman, who had been looking for her twin brothers for half a century, discovered that they were buried within walking distance of her home when the first Oldham mass grave came to light.
Sarah, whose name has been changed for her privacy, had been searching for her twin brothers since their burial in 1962.
She said she was ‘elated’ to finally find them.
Sarah added: ‘I live near the cemetery and I used to walk through it with my mother all the time and we had no idea they were buried there.
‘I was elated to find my brothers but had no idea how emotional I would get and burst into tears.
‘And to discover it’s a landfill for babies we had were there any others and they said yes in the same cemetery.’
Local councillors Maggie Hurley and Jada Hughes commented: ‘It’s a stark injustice that parents were denied the fundamental right to bury their babies, a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.
‘The 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.’
Oldham Council are yet to comment on the second site, but have acknowledged that they are now aware of it.
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