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Witton Cemetery Memorials

i parked my car next to these three graves and was saddend when i read the inscription but reflected on my good fortune that i was here to read it.any of you proper camera men know why the foreground in a lot of the pics were very dark against the the sky ,i had to use 2 cameras,are there any settings i should be using as i just whack everything on auto and blaze away(keep it simple
 
The Headstone of Archie Hunter the Aston Villa captain, the first Villa man to lift the FA Cup......He was also the Pulblican at The Royal Exchange six ways Aston when he died...
 
Thanks for the photos Dollyferret. You really don't realize until you are in certain part of the Cemetery how high up you are. I know it is very noisy these days and that's the difference from many decades ago when it was very park like and no noise at all. My friend Margaret and I spent hours in the cemetery as children. She lived in Yerbury Grove which is close to the Ridgeway.

One of the three men killed in the air crash was the brother of a girl I attended Marsh Hill school with, Jean Crump.

I didn't realize until I researched it that there were three Chapels in Witton Cemetery
at one time and that one was a Catholic chapel.
 
I haven't been to Witton cemetery since my gran Worrall was buried there in the 40's, although I passed by often when walking down Moore Lane. The church is a little gem, thanks for the photo's Pete. :)
 
It's so sad, I guess with shifting ground then head stones will fall down, and there is no funding for maintenance. My grandparents are buried at St John's Church Perry Barr, and I couldn't even see their head stone last time I was there, as the grass was never cut and the stone had obviously fallen down. I'd really like to see it put back and I'd pay to have it done, but when I saw the overgrown state of the church yard it really seemed an impossible task, Maybe I ought to have persued it.
 
It's very upsetting to see the neglect and vandalism that has taken place at Witton Cemetery and the Jewish Cemetery there also. If you go around the back of Aston Parish Church it's the same story and Erdington Parish Church also. The churches just don't have the money or manpower to keep up their graveyards and I suppose it's the same with the City re Witton. Di is noting the St. John's at Perry Barr is having the same up keep problems with it's church yard. It seems that this is huge problem in many areas in Britain. I visited this church yard just outside of Highbury in London at Stoke Newington a couple of years ago where the grave of the founder of the the Salvation Army is buried. His grave is kept up by the local history group but the rest of the churchyard is so neglected it is heartbreaking especially in the summer when the grass is so high that you can't make out hardly any of the old graves except the ones that are very tall. The church is abandoned now so the future is grim.

My Canadian cousin David put this picture of a church yard near Bristol
where one or two famous people are buried on his blog yesterday since he was visiting England. It is just a wreck and heart breaking to see.
Some attempts are being made to clean it up though
 
Health and Safety

I have heard a few reports about the Memorial Testing that is going on at Witton Cemetery and Lodge Hill. This can be quite distressing if you are unaware of it. This testing is being done all over the UK and has to be done under Health and Safety Law. If you find a gravestone has been banded and supported it has been tested and has not passed the safety test. It is then the responsability of the plot owner to make the memorial safe. As with all these things get at least three quotes from reputable stone mason's as the cowboys are about. If you are unsure contact Birmingham Bereavement Services and ask for advice. The reason for this is children have been killed and injured through falling headstones. Yes I know they should not play in cemeteries and graveyards, but in this modern world where everyone wants to sue everyone these laws have to be put in place. I think this work is done much more sensitively now than when it first started unfortunatly memorials can be damaged in the testing process. If you are worried I would contact a stone mason and ask if you can have your family grave checked. I have nothing personally to do with this. I have just been involved with a cemetery group, who have been through all this
 
Maintaining graves and memorial stones is a big problem for local authorities, who I understand now get no support from central government, and have to raise all their finance from local rates. Different local authorities had different policies, according to the council members, officers, and the attitudes of the local population. Although I was never responsible for this kind of service, I sat for 15 years through six-weekly meetings of Lambeth Council, at which the ins and outs were discussed.
My feeling was that council officers had more feeling than the politicians had for the problem of neglected memorials, when at that time there was some central government support.
The real issue seemed to me to be that no-one had any interest in the vast majority of the memorials, and resented public money being spent on them.
The Lambeth compromise was to remove all the stones from the original site and place them around the edges of the cemetery, grassing over the site of the graves. Occasionally there were problems with individuals claiming an interest in a particular memorial, but there was rarely any willingness to pay for anything themselves.
Sorry if I sound hard - I write this with sympathy for the descendants and respect for the departed.
Peter
 
Well that's put some light on the subject Peter, often wondered why they are all neglected, or should i say most, i remember some years ago when my grandfather died, they removed the headstone on his mothers grave for burial, but thay had to be paid to put it back.
I now realise the importance for some people to go back to the grave where they still have contact with their beloved.
A sad state of our future.
 
St Johns Church

St Johns Church Perry Barr in the over grown grave yard is buried one Tommy Ball Aston Villa centre half of the 19 20s
Who was murdered by George Stagg a former police man and i think landlord of the Church Tavern Stagg shot him twice.Ball and Stagg were neighbours and lived in Brick Kiln lane

The last time i was there was at Jonny Burnett's funeral service Jonny was a friend and great trumpet player and leader of Burnett's Jazz Bandits that was about 4or5 years ago.

I went to look at Balls grave.i had seen it first 15 years ago there were 4 small foot balls on each corner and one large foot ball in the centre which was from Aston Villa,sadly some vandalism had taken place.
Perhaps some one can take a photo and post it on here

Moss
 
Witton Cemetery Air Crash Graves

These three graves have interested me for a long time; they are near to the chapel and stand out from the others.

I could find nothing on the internet about the crash but eventually tracked it down. They were in a small four seater plane in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth. I presume they had just gone there on holiday and had taken a pleasure ride. The pilot, a former RAF pilot from Pershore, also died. The plane crashed into someones back garden one Sunday afternoon at 4 pm 9 September 1962.

The plane was a 4 seater Auster

Steve
 
Di.Poppitt said:
I haven't been to Witton cemetery since my gran Worrall was buried there in the 40's, although I passed by often when walking down Moore Lane. The church is a little gem, thanks for the photo's Pete. :)
Click to expand...
Hello Di.Poppitt;:)What was your Grannie Worrall's Name? My Great Granddad, married Sarah Jane Worrall in 1896, in Aston. at the time she was living with her Dad, John Worrall. 6 Court, 5 House, Dartmouth st, Sarah Jane Cook n'ee Worrall died 19 March 1941 age 71.
 
Mossy.....I took this photo a year or two ago.......Tommy Balls grave at St Johns.....
 
Hi Reginald, I don't know a Sarah Jane Worrall, but my gt gt gradfather Samuel and his wife Hannah nee Pountney, had a son John born about 1838. They had 12 children 10 of them were sons and I haven't researched many of them. My grannie who was buried at Witton Cemetary was Beatrice Ellen married to John Samuel Worrall. So there could be a connection.:)

The Worralls nearly all made Pearl Buttons or were Pearl workers.
 
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It is such a shame about the vandalism at all of these graveyards. In today's society unfortunately what hope do we have where there is very little respect for the living............ let alone the dead!
 
question . i have a relative in witton cemetary, and i dont know the exact date of death ,do you think i would be able to still find the grave if i give the name of the person. harley.
 
As I live in the Cambridge area I would love to see a present day image of the
monument erected in loving memory of Archie Hunter 1859-1894. The Old Villans Society erected one over his grave stating 'The famous captain of Aston Villa' by his football comrades and the club, as a lasting tribute to his ability on the field and his sterling worth as a man. I understand it is made
of granite WAK
 
harley said:
question . i have a relative in witton cemetary, and i dont know the exact date of death ,do you think i would be able to still find the grave if i give the name of the person. harley.
Click to expand...

I would think you would have to be extremely lucky for that to happen Harley, it is a huge place, with many hundreds of people buried there. Could you not obtain the death certificate for the relative?

barrie
 
JKC said:
The Headstone of Archie Hunter the Aston Villa captain, the first Villa man to lift the FA Cup......He was also the Pulblican at The Royal Exchange six ways Aston when he died...
Click to expand...


What is the inscription? Is there any reference to the Villa?

keith
 
Hi Special thanks to JKC for the Archie Hunter monument image. The love of the club and sport of football was a truly heart felt passion from a man who
died so young with a grieving brotherhood of players around him. The thoughts I have is that fortunately the graveside is not
in abandonement and holding its own. My sentiments are that with the
millions that are spent in the game today would it not be a proper gesture
that the Club keep upkeep attention to their heroes from the past? It would be a constructive move from the archives department to address this important monument and other like it e.g. Tommy Ball . I hope other Astonians feel as I do Link up soon WAK
 
This is a photo of my nan Pems grave. Also her daughter Phyllis's ashes and Phyllis's husband Arthurs are also there. Photo's. Aunt Phyl nan and Arthur with Phyl. Jean.
 
My parents grave at Witton. The stone reads
TREASURED​
MEMORIES OF​
A BELOVED HUSBAND AND FATHER​
ALFRED INGRAM​
CALLED TO REST 26th JULY 1963​
AGED 66 YEARS​
ALSO A DEVOTED WIFE AND MOTHER​
DORIS HILDA INGRAM​
CALLED TO REST 5th JULY 1980​
AGED 81 YEARS​
REUNITED​
and, my great grandparents Samuel and Emma Ingram's grave and a general view of their grave with my great aunt Ada, an uncle Albert and my grandparents Samuel and Elizabeth also buried there too.
My great great grand mother Maria ne Davis, then Birch then Ingram then Lane is buried near my parents but in an unmarked common grave
 
GeeGeeJean quote;
This is a photo of my nan Pems grave.

My mom was known as Pem, her name was really Emily, but I think Pem is the usual nickname for Emily.

barrie.
 
I think we all to take phot's of our ancestors graves before they detiororate too badly...dont you wish someone had before you when you are searching about? I used to live in Mansfield Rd opposite Mr Snead of Snead and Knibbs. Michelene Snead and I used to play in the street together,and I well remember when her father had a car ...with a running board for us to have a little ride on!!..we used to play through Poveys wood yard...think thats houses now...and onto the canal bank,where we used to find an old piece of something and slide down the bank...one day my brother fell in the canal.!..he would have only been little...we used to have to occupy ourselves as Mum worked
.....any of you lovely people have any phot's or other memories. I think there you to be a VERY old house at the top towards the main road...dont remember how old but I think about 200 years....anybody more info?
 
my first baby was buried in Witton I have never got over the guilt of her having a funeral paid for by the hospital.(1983)she was born in and died in 12 hours later. I always wanted to have her bought to me and buried properly and asked about it,but as she was buried in a communial babies grave this was very unlikely to happen... I so wish thing had been done differently...
 
The same happened to me in 82, but at the time you are in shock and just go along with what the hospital tell you.
 
Like the pictures of your family, Jean. I don't know where my dad is buried - just somewhere in Witton Cemetery. Miriam.
 
Jax 1961 and mariew. I can think of nothing that would hurt so much as losing a new born baby or child - I feel for you both. Miriam.
 
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