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Brandwood End Cemetery

Hi Colin, Thanks for the link the website is excellent we will have to pay them a visit. Moma P
 
Both my Gran and Great Gran are buried at Brandwood End, my wife and myself went to visit last year, and we both agreed what a lovely place it still is, sounds strange for a cemetery but thats what we felt.
 
I have recently discovered family buried at Brandwood End which I mentioned previously. The staff have been very helpful, showing me whereabouts they may be buried, they are public graves and have no markers to identify them. They now have a wall where you can purchase a tile to place on it with an inscription in memory of those loved ones departed and known to buried in public graves.
 
when you look up the death for someone buried in this cemetery does it give you plot/grave number and a map so you can find where they are located? As the Sunderland one where we live does.
 
samw1984 said:
when you look up the death for someone buried in this cemetery does it give you plot/grave number and a map so you can find where they are located? As the Sunderland one where we live does.
Click to expand...

Yes, if you go to the office in the cemetery they will give you this map.
 
I have a lot of amily buried at Brandwood End including both of my parents, my Mom passed over a few weeks ago. The day after the funeral we went to have another look at the floers, a man walked up to us and asked us to sign a petition I think his name was Alan Jones. Its ridiculous what they are doing there in the name of health and safety, it really upset me and I returned home very upset.

The problem was highlighted on BBC Midlands to-day last week.
 
Wendy said:
Hi Colin, Thanks for the link the website is excellent we will have to pay them a visit. Moma P
Click to expand...
Hi Wendy, I went to Brandwood End back in the summer for my sister in law Barbaras funeral, it look a bit
run down and in a muddle to me, my brother Ray is also buried there, they lived in the house where I was
bought up in Cleeve Road Yardley Wood, Bernard
 
Cemeteries can look run down especially if family no longer visit. The cemetery is looked after by the council but graves are the responsability of the family. The problem with items placed on graves is as they are outside they soon become tatty and don't look nice. You can only place items on the grave and not around it. This is because people visiting graves can trip over things left around. I have seen a wire from artificial flowers sticking out of the ground. That could cause a nasty injury. It is also very difficult to cut the grass in a cemetery especially when small items are around. I know it seems to be popular to leave items on a grave. We all have to remember graveyards and cemeteries are quite dangerous places to walk around off the paths some of the gravestones are very old and can become unsafe also the ground can be very uneaven.
 
Would anyone have the plan of Brandwood End Cemetery (as on post #6) without any of it coloured in?

I have looked on the website and the link to the Cemetery Plan is not working
Thank you :):)
 
Hi Pollypops

If you can find Brandwood End Cemetery on Wikipaedia, then click the link for Find A Grave (underneath the picture) There's a map of the Cemetery.

rosie.
 
Thanks rosie - I didn't think of looking on there - the only thing is it won't enlarge without going blurred.
 
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I was there today for a funeral, and was told the office there is now closed and moved to Kings Norton Cemetery.

Colin
 
Sorry Polly,

Just tried to scan in the page from the Betreavement Services handbook - but scanner is switched - PC says it's ready - but nuffin' happens when I press the scan button - have tried it a dozen times - will call help desk tomorrow.

What section were you after?

Brian
 
Hi Brian,
Thanks for trying to help :) I have just downloaded the map from post #6, opened it in paint and have managed to "paint" over the coloured in bits.

I have found a grave for someone in section B22 - on the bit that sticks out on the right on the map - fortunately for them it looks like a small section.

Do you know the condition of the graves in that section Brian?

Polly :):)
 
Hi Polly,

Did a litter pick there a few weeks ago, but it all looked the same - tatty hedgerows around the outsidwe full of brambles and litter that had got stuick!
AS you small section - should be easy to find..

Try www.fbec.org - Friends of Brandwood - that might be able to answer directly.

Brian
 
Sounds a bit neglected - like a lot of cemeteries nowadays. I contacted the friends by email to get the grave number/section. I knew the dates of deaths and burial dates (husband and wife, same grave) so they did the search free of charge. I have never been there but hopefully I will be able to find it fairly easily - fingers crossed!
What a shame I didn't know the location a few weeks ago - you could have had a quick look while you were there - I know you like looking for graves lol
 
Like all cemeteries, a bit neglected - just the grass strimmed where they can.
Only half a dozen turned up for the clean up/litter pick.
You each had a bag and a pair of grips and did what you wanted!
I went left and just walked the perimeter filling up 2 bags with trapped litter - because it's a working cemetery,. there are lots of wrappings from flowers as qwell as the usual snack litter!

It's easy to find - just off the Alcester road.

However no office staff - pipes upstairs burst in the winter, poured through ceiling. easier now to move staff to new Kings Norton Cemetery, and sell off the place as a private house like all other Lodge buildings. Doubt if staff will ever come back. Just ground staff left there - operated by phone etc!

Another cvut back achieved due to lack of building mtce!
 
I find it heartbreaking to see the beautiful red brick chapel looking so sad and neglected, surey there is something that can be done??
 
Dear all,
I have got a small team of pupils working on creating a data base of all those buried at Brandwood End. This is following a request by the Friends. I have photographed about 3 registersso far taking me up to about 1914. We are working from 1899 and at the moment we are nearing the end of 1900, so you can see it's slow progress. We are entering names, age, date of burial and residence. There is also a section for comment, which is the exciting bit because eventually it will be possible for members of the public to put details of the people buried. It will be housed on the school website at www.swanshurst.org and I will let you you know when it is up and running. In the meantime if you know thatyou have a relative who was buried there during that period of time, let me know and I will add details.
History (aka Doug)
 
That sounds a brilliant project Doug. I visited Brandwood End cemetery in September - I had never been before and I couldn't believe how big it was. I was looking for a grave on behalf of someone else. I think I found it but sadly there is no headstone so I can't be certain. The grave was of a couple buried in 1941 and 1950 so it is much more recent than the ones you are working on at the moment.
Good luck with the data base - I am looking forward to seeing it when it is up and running.
Polly
 
Hi Polly,
I will have to go before Christmas to check on names we couldn't read. If you let me know the names I'll see what I can do.
Best wishes,
Doug
 
HI Doug,

Great News indeed. TheBMSG&H have done Key Hill, Warstone lane, handsworth & are just finishing Witton.
Their aim is to get all Cemeteries computerised and available.
Have you or will you be liaising with them?
They will be moving onto another cemetery soon - don't want you clashing, when Co-operation is possible?

Brian
 
Hi Brian,
The Friends of Brandwood spoke to them but there were no plans for Brandwood and so we are safe to go ahead. It will take time but it will be very exciting when it is up and running.
Best wishes,
Doug
 
Hi Doug,
I understood they were about to move on to another cemetery but hadn't decided which to do next - It's worth speaking to them directly to share info, experience, etc.

Have you any plans to update the BARRA list of Air Raid victims by finding where they are all buried?
That wouldm be a useful addition to the site!
Brian
 
Hi Brain,
Good call on where they were buried because this can be lfited from the CWGC information but the priority is the Fire Book at the moment. As to the other group I am fairly certain that they didn't have any plans for Brandwood. Our site will be unique in the sense that we want to flesh out the details with comments from people. This is it in it's early state:
 
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But the civilian casualties that BARRA recall are on CWGC site surely?
Last year BARRA openly stated that there were no Air raid Victims in Warstone lane Cemetery - but there are!
It would be nice for a vilunteer to sift throuigh your/BARRA ww2 Air Raisd lists and see if they show up in the cemeteries that have been computerised so far
i.e. Handsworth, Key Hill, Warstone Lane Witton (soon) & now Brandwood.

Brian
 
Hi Brian,
I will do the chasing for you. I have seen a cemetery list somewhere with victims names on and it wasn't the CWGC. I will look at the latter for you but need time because of the effort needed to get BEC started and also BARRA 3, which is the firebook. I'll put postings on here to let people know where we have got to etc.
Best wishes,
Doug
 
There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive list of where individual Civilian War Dead are buried, as Brian suggests it would make a useful addition to Doug's database if those details could be added, as and when they become available.
There is a list of those killed during air raids on Birmingham on the CWGC site

https://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_reports.aspx?cemetery=4004772&mode=1

The other site I use lists War Graves by cemetery, but does not include civilians

https://twgpp.org/results.php?sname=&fname=&cemetery=warstone+lane&country=&force=&nationality=

Colin
 
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