Oldham mass grave discovered with bodies of babies and children found among remains of 300

A MASS grave has been discovered in Oldham with babies and children among the 300 bodies found there.

The grave in Royton Cemetery was found by a woman looking for her brothers, one stillborn and the other who died within five hours of birth in 1962.

The bodies were found at Royton Cemetery in Oldham Credit: STEVE ALLEN

A total of 303 bodies were discovered Credit: STEVE ALLEN

Of the 303 bodies found, councilors say only 147 names were online and 156 are missing Credit: STEVE ALLEN

Woman who found mass grave left ‘in tears’ after grim discoveryCredit: STEVE ALLEN

The final resting place measures just 12x12ft.

Of all the remains discovered, 146 were stillborn babies and 128 were babies and toddlers, according to councilors Maggie Hurley and Jade Hughes, who revealed the grim discovery in a statement.

Until the mid-1980s, stillborns were often taken from their families without consulting the parents, who would not know where they were taken.

Councilors said: “It is a huge injustice that parents are denied the fundamental right to bury their babies – a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.

“This situation should awaken our collective sense of fairness and empathy.”

They added that the woman who found the grave was left “in tears” after the discovery, which left her “feeling a deep sense of loss and injustice”.

She needed emotional and practical help to deal with the trauma of her discovery, they said.

The grave is not the only one of its kind at Royton Cemetery, with three other graves of a similar size, councilors said.

Of the 303 bodies found, they added that only 147 names are online and 156 names are missing.

The councilors said: “We also asked about other cemeteries in the municipality, and we received information that data is missing for those cemeteries as well.

“Staff are currently in the process of correcting this by cross-referencing all available records and updating the online database.”

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They put forward a proposal to Oldham Council to “acknowledge the injustice” that had occurred, reports the Oldham Chronicle.

The statement read: “How many babies lie in Royton Cemetery in mass graves, their identities unknown to their grieving relatives?

“It is a huge injustice that parents are denied the fundamental right to bury their babies, a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.

“This situation should awaken our collective sense of justice and empathy.

“We can’t change what happened, but we can make sure babies born asleep are named, recognized and never forgotten.”

What happened to the bodies of stillborn babies?

Until about 40 years ago, parents of stillborn babies and babies who died shortly after birth were often not told what happened to their child’s body.

In a 2015 journal, the Institute for Cemetery and Crematorium Management said many of these babies were buried in unconsecrated grounds because the child would not have been baptized and the parents were “encouraged to forget”.

Until the mid-1980s, stillborns were often taken from their families without consulting their parents, who would not know where they were being taken.

Stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands said parents of stillborn babies or those who died shortly after birth were not consulted about any arrangements for their funerals.

It added that in many cases, stillborn babies were buried in common graves with laboring babies.

Parents of stillborn babies or those who die shortly after birth were not consulted about funeral arrangements before the mid-1980s, according to Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity.

The organization said: “Prior to this, parents were usually not involved and many were not told what happened to their baby’s body.”

It added: “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, the charity explained, stillborn babies were buried in a shared grave with other babies.

Sands said there was a “general belief, both among professionals and in society at large, that it is best to carry on as if nothing had happened”.

“You may have been discouraged from talking about or remembering your baby and have been discouraged from expressing grief,” they added.

Two independent councilors said the woman who made the discovery set out to locate her brothers’ resting place after reading about Gina Jacobs, who found her son, who was stillborn in 1969, in a mass grave at a Wirral cemetery in 2022.