Council issues update after mass grave containing nearly 300 bodies found

Oldham Council will create memorials to stillborn babies buried in mass graves in cemeteries across the borough, the council boss has announced. Arooj Shah said she hoped the decision would ‘bring some peace and solace’ to relatives.

The decision came after it was discovered a mass grave in Royton Cemetery contained almost 300 stillborn babies and very young children last week.

Historically, it became standard procedure across the UK for hospitals to bury stillborn children in communal burial sites. Many parents were kept in the dark about the practice and often went decades without knowing the final resting place of their loved ones.

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At a full council meeting on Wednesday, Coun Shah said: “Our hearts go out to the family members who have discovered their relatives were buried in unmarked graves.

"Sadly, the burying of people - including babies and children - in unmarked graves happened in graveyards all across the country. Thankfully this practice no longer happens, but it is wrong there is no acknowledgement of this in our cemeteries.

“I hope this news will bring some peace and solace to those surviving relatives who have loved ones buried in our cemeteries. it is right to face the mistakes of the past and, more importantly, remember those precious lives." The memorials will be funded from Coun Shah’s designated leader’s budget.

The announcement came during a motion by Royton councillor Maggie Hughes calling for the recognition of the pain caused by the practice. She also requested for the process of tracking down missing loved ones to be made easier by digitalising all death records and providing support to