Mass grave of more than 300 bodies including hundreds of babies and children found in Oldham cemetery
6 September 2024, 09:43
A mass grave containing 303 bodies including hundreds of children and babies has been found in a cemetery in Oldham.
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The unmarked resting place was discovered in Royton Cemetery and contains the remains of 145 stillborn infants, 128 babies and young children and 29 adults.
The horrific find was made by a local woman who was searching for the grave of her twin brothers who died shortly after they were born in 1962.
The resting place measures just 12x12ft.
Up until the mid-1980s, stillborn babes were often taken from families with no consultation with their parents, who would not know where they were taken.
Bereaved parents were instead told by medical staff that their child was buried alongside a 'nice person' that same day. However, babies were often instead interred in mass graves.
Local councillors Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes released a statement regarding the "heartbreaking" discovery.
The statement 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.
"We cannot change what has happened, but we can ensure that the babies born sleeping are named, recognised, and never forgotten."
They added the woman who found the grave was left “in tears” following the discovery and left her "feeling a profound sense of loss and injustice”.
She needed emotional and practical help to cope with the trauma of her discovery, they said.
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The grave is not the only one of its kind in Royton Cemetery, with another three of a similar size, the councillors said.
Of the 303 bodies found, they added there were only 147 names online, with 156 names missing - though they say this has been addressed.
"We also asked about the other cemeteries across the borough, and we were informed that there is missing information for these cemeteries as well," they said.
"The staff are currently in the process of rectifying this by cross-referencing all available records and updating the online database."
The grave is not the only one of its kind in Royton Cemetery, with another three of a similar size, the councillors said.
The Oldham Times, reported that a council meeting on Wednesday September 11 will discuss plans to erect a memorial to the buried children. Records and documents will also be digitalised for families to easily access them.
According to Sands, a stillbirth and neonatal death charity, parents of stillborn babies or those dying shortly after birth were not consulted about funeral arrangements.
The charity said: "Before then, parents were not usually involved and many were not told what happened to their baby's body," adding this changed midway through the 1980s.
"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, they added, stillborn babies were buried in a shared grave with other babies.
Sands said there was a "general belief, both among professionals and society as a whole, that it was best to carry on as though nothing had happened".
"You may have been discouraged from talking about or remembering your baby and discouraged from expressing grief," they added.
