Memorial service held for 450 babies found in unmarked grave in Royton

A memorial service has taken place to remember almost 500 babies and adults found buried in two unmarked graves.

The "horrendous" burial site, in Royton Cemetery, Oldham, contained the bodies of 303 babies - many who had been stillborn - alongside 27 adults.

Another, with 159 babies was found next to it.

It was discovered in the summer by a woman looking for the final resting place of her twin brothers who died 62 years ago.

The "heartfelt" celebration took place at the town's St Paul's Church and was organised by independent councillor Maggie Hurley.

"The fact that these babies were taken from these mothers - many of them never ever held them - they were taken, they were told to get on with their lives, just forget about it and then put into mass graves like this is a social injustice on a level I can never imagine," she said.

"We hope this service leads the way, that other local authorities will do the same, and highlight this more with government.

"The question has been asked in Westminster and it will be asked again.

"This is about this government, as previous governments to recognise and accept this horrible social injustice, to have a national memorial, but firstly to apologise for this.

"No one is pointing the finger at anybody, this has gone on for 50 years, no one is pointing a finger, but what these relatives and mothers need is acceptance, they need to know where their babies are."

The babies buried in the graves had not been registered by authorities, and it was only when a ledger was uncovered by Oldham Council, following work by Ms Hurley and her fellow councillor Jade Hughes, they were able to publish the records and inform families.

Amanda Cawdron was one of the first to uncover the site while looking for her twin brothers.

"I want to come together with the community and those parents and siblings who recently found their babies in the grave," she said.

"I have two brothers in there, they were born and died in 1962, and it's taken until this last couple of months to actually find them and I think this is a great opportunity to take some time, think about these babies and those that lie with them and to hold close our families."

"I just think we need some honesty, some transparency and some compassion and sensitivity about how we share the process of what took place and how we reassure people they're there and they're listening and how we find those babies."

She echoed calls for the government to formally recognise "this practice took place" and urged them to consider a national memorial.

"I'd like an apology for those parents, those babies, for all the siblings of those babies, and then I'd like some transparency for what took place, why did my mother and all those parents have babies taken away from them," she said.

"One of my brothers live for five hours, and the other one was stillborn, and what's really sad is the grief process around that was taken away."

She added: "I was relieved at first when I found the twins, and then that quickly turned into anger because they're in a local cemetery which is a stone's throw away from where I live, my parents are buried in that cemetery and we've walked through the cemetery many, many times and never knew my brothers, my mother's babies were there.

"But I think you have to turn that into something positive and look at how we can improve the process for people to find their babies and make sure we have got people there that can advise and help and show people how to find them."

Memorial benches and plinths are being placed in Oldham cemeteries to remember babies, children and adults who were buried in unmarked graves.

Plinths – each inscribed with a poignant verse – and benches where relatives and friends can sit peacefully with their thoughts, will be installed at seven council burial sites.

Before the 1980s, stillborns were taken away from families and not given any details of where they were buried.

Medical staff would tell bereaved parents their children would be buried alongside "a nice person", but instead the babies were laid to rest in mass graves.

Oldham Council is also offering emotional support to relatives who have recently found out loved ones were buried without tributes.

Details of the burial site in Royton, which brought this issue to public attention, have been available to research for some time and Council staff have supported many families to locate their loved ones over the years.

Anyone can search for their deceased relative by using the link on the council website.

The grave, numbered 1A-360 in Royton, was first opened in 1924 and the last burial took place in 1972, the records for the Royton public graves have now all been digitalised, and work is ongoing for the other records to also be put on line.

Families searching for their relatives will need to know the surname and approximate date of death.

Families can also find this information by contacting the Cemetery Office at Hollinwood on 0161 681 1312 or via env.cemeteries@oldham.gov.uk where the records are held in written burial books.

When stillborn babies were buried in Oldham the surname of the parent/s were used to record the burial.