FOWC Portfolio

Friends of Wombwell Cemetery
Welcome to Wombwell Cemetery.
Welcome
The Friends of Wombwell Cemetery are a group of volunteers who aim to make the cemetery a
cleaner, greener, safer place for the community.
In late 2002, an elderly lady was visiting her husband's grave but was robbed of her belongings. In
June 2003 former Chairman, Mike Bretton, put together a Cemetery Watch, branching from the
Neighbourhood Watch, to prevent crimes like this happening again. The cemetery needed to be a
place that the community could feel safe in and have trust in.
Monthly meetings began and a constitution was formed, along with a strong committee of
volunteers and councillors. Shortly after, routine visits in the cemetery took place to reveal stolen
credit cards, used drug-taking equipment, and even a kitchen knife. Two chapels within the
cemetery were in terrible states: One completely missing its roof due to a past fire, and hidden in a
mass of rubble and overgrowth; and the other filled with debris, bird faeces, dust and broken items
from other buildings. It was clear that the cemetery had been abandoned and was a very unsafe
place to visit.
However, after almost 15 years, the group has achieved miracles. With regular patrols from the
volunteers and a presence of PSCOs and Police Officers in the area, the cemetery became a safer
place, giving a warmer welcome to those who stepped through the gates. With over 20 active
members of mixed ages, our youngest being 17 and oldest being 86, please see a very brief list of
our achievements to date:
Resurfaced paths
Fresh-water taps
Steel benches
The conversion of the old mortuary into a ‘base’ for volunteers, with a toilet and locked tool
shed/compound
Replacement of 107 railings that were taken for the metal to be used in the war and
remembrance plaques fitted to all – funded entirely by the community

Two memorials dedicated to 690 babies in unmarked graves, with verses by our members on
each.
A Barnsley Pals memorial, based on one in France, for those who died in the Battle of the
Somme
Maintenance of war graves, the placing of poppy crosses, and an annual remembrance
service, including the cadets and schools
Four brand new gates that are locked and unlocked every day & night, including bank
holidays, to prevent vandalism and anti-social behaviour
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2005/06, the MBE equivalent for voluntary groups
The Proud of Barnsley Award 2016
Multiple volunteering awards and website & social media awards
Wildlife encouraged into the cemetery with feeders/water dishes on tree stumps, bird and
bat boxes, a leaf bin, a bee garden, and information cards about the various wildlife spotted
in the cemetery
An appearance on ITV calendar for the People’s Millions Fund.
The conversion of the chapel-without-the-roof into a Peace Garden, including memorial
plaques and benches, and plant pots, as well as gates that are locked at 4pm daily
Rainbow groups involved by donating painted flower pots that are displayed in the Peace
Garden
The conversion of the chapel-with-the-roof into a Community Hub, where we now host
coffee mornings, carol services, and volunteers congregate weekly
Notice boards and information boards at every entrance
Many social media platforms and two websites
An eBook written for us to raise money for our registered charity
Schoolchildren regularly visiting for guided tours, which are now more interactive with a
worksheet and wildlife cards
Recycling in the Community Hub
Milk bottles kept next to taps to encourage the community to recycle when watering plants
at graves.
A new, stronger committee
Cleaning of graves and gold lettering painted for donations
Visitors from other cemeteries, and from abroad
Giving talks to other groups and inspiring and helping a new group to form
Restoration of a ‘bier’, found in the Community Hub before renovation

Friends with Friends
As a Friends group, we think it’s important to stick together and to stay in the loop with funding,
news, and information about volunteering and projects. We find that we’re stronger together, so we
make sure we form close bonds with cemetery Friends groups across the UK.
We have formed friendships by joining the National Federation of Cemetery Friends (NFCF), which
has enabled us to get our group’s name out there, and to spread the word further about all of the
volunteering opportunities we have. We are one of only two groups in Barnsley to have joined.
We have friendships in particular with:
Dearne Memorial Group
Friends of York Cemetery
Friends of Hyde Park Cemetery, Doncaster
Friends of Dean Rd & Manor Rd Cemetery, Scarborough
Friends of Brompton Cemetery
Grenoside Reading Rooms, Sheffield (Not a NFCF organisation)
Friends of Maltby Cemetery, Rotherham*
*The Friends of Maltby Cemetery were set up by a Clerk of Maltby Town Hall who saw our group and
loved what we do. We are currently working with her and the newly established group to help them
to blossom. We will be donating a book to them when we meet for new groups getting started,
which we bought from the NFCF.

Friends across the Globe
Chicago
Some years ago, a lady from America called Maureen emailed Jess via
the Friends’ website. She asked if her great-grandmother is buried in
the cemetery. When Jess emailed back confirming that she was buried
in the cemetery, Maureen jumped on the next plane to the UK and
headed straight to Wombwell.
Since then, Maureen has been non-stop helping the Friends as we
helped her. Her life, she says, has changed forever – so much that she
wrote a book about it, sending all profits our way, and became a
member of the Friends herself! Maureen promotes anything we do on
Twitter to all of her American followers, gives a monthly donation as
well as all profits, and even generously donated our ‘.org’ website URL.
Scotland
A lovely couple in Scotland are regular visitors. Kathleen and Malcom first visited the cemetery a few
years ago at the exact same time as Maureen from Chicago. They visit twice a year, once in the
summer and once in December before Christmas. Each time, they bring donations and gifts for the
Friends as we take good care of their family graves for them and place flowers on them. Like
Maureen, we have formed a strong friendship and always keep in contact.
Below is a text to Karen, our chairman, from Kathleen and Malcom. Written out and stuck on the
wall in our Cabin.

Guest Book
In the Community Hub we have a guest book that we ask people to write in if they’re from anywhere
other than Wombwell or the surrounding areas of Barnsley. So far, we’ve had visitors from areas
such as:
New Zealand
Australia
Scarborough
Scotland
America – Chicago & Texas
Cheltenham
London
Italy
Spain & Portugal
Canada
Germany
Poland

Baby Memorials
Baby Memorial 1
There are 690 babies in unmarked graves in Wombwell Cemetery. Unfortunately in a time of
poverty, and when stillborn babies or young deaths were more common, it would be difficult for
parents to afford graves for their sons and daughters. Instead, they were all buried, carefully and
respectfully, in one designated area of cemeteries across the UK – though in ours there are two
sections.
In early 2005 to remember and respect our unmarked babies and their families, we decided to place
memorial stones on each site. Our first and largest site was given a small stone, with a verse
specially picked out by one of the Friends. It was laid on stone tiles with floral décor engraved into
them.
Since then, we decided that this simply wasn’t enough. For such a large site, it only had a small
stone. Over the years, we’ve fundraised and have gradually developed this site to become what it is
today.
Firstly we weeded and added new flowers, and a
guardian angel.
Next, we decided to add kerbing using recycled stone,
blue and pink chippings, and more flower pots. We
also added a new angel and took the previous to the
other baby memorial.

Baby Memorial 2
The second, smaller site (though it has a larger surface area) was given a
marble stone donated by Goldthorpe Memorials – again with verses
chosen by the Friends – and had paving underneath it.
We surrounded this baby memorial with shrubs and hedges to add privacy
to the site. This can be seen on the compliments card, but also on the
following photograph of a visitor. Many people bring teddy bears and toys,
as well as flowers and cards, to remember their children.
Over the years, we found that the memorial was looking a
bit dull and the greenery was looking a bit scarce. So we
took out what was left of the hedges, left in a few shrubs,
and scattered some pebbles. We took the teddies home
for a wash, added some more flowers, gave the headstone
a new paint job and brightened the site up completely. We
still want to take this further though as we’ve been told
that Corey Paving will repave the site for free.

Bier-fore and After
When we first opened up the Community Hub before renovation, we didn’t realise we’d drop on a
mysterious metal contraption like this:
Not really knowing what it was, we called in someone who knows everything, Mr Roy Sagar. He
instantly recognised it, explained that it is a ‘Bier’, a Victorian cart from the 1800s used for
transporting coffins from the hearse to the graveside. He was eager to restore it, so him and his
brother took it away and brought it back a few weeks later looking as good as new.

With Roy and his brother giving the Bier a colourful red and green makeover, we thought we’d use it
as a cart for the Christmas wreaths we sell in November and December to raise money for the group.
It really looks the part…

Peace Garden
Sometime in the 1980s, a fire ripped through the South
chapel and destroyed its roof, door, windows and
interior. The only remaining remnants were the empty
shell of the building, some of the floor tiles, and a fully
intact tower.
The Friends had already decided that, with money being
a very big issue and the opposing chapel being more
structurally secured, it was best to leave this one as an
open space and adapt it into something else. So we
decided on a memorial garden, which we would entitle
the ‘Peace Garden’.
Our efforts began when we applied for the Jubilee People’s
Millions grant, which we were shortlisted for by ITV Calendar
News. Our plea was to be filmed and aired on the 6pm news,
where we were up against other groups for votes to win the cash
prize.
Unfortunately, though we did come close, it wasn’t close
enough. Another group won over us and were awarded the
money for their project. However, being on the TV sparked
interest from a wealthy anonymous donor who was willing to
give us the whole sum. For some reason, all contact fell silent
after a few weeks of communication, and we heard nothing
afterwards.
Still determined, we decided to take to the streets to fundraise, and apply for small grants to slowly
work towards renovating the chapel. Soon enough, we had enough to start the work. We began by
removing the debris and overgrowth from the inside and seeing what we had left to work with. We
had no idea how much of the structure was safe, or what we would find inside. The only thing left
from the original interior, apart from the bricks making up the walls, was a large section of the tiled
floor which was revealed when we cleared away the dirt.

The walls and the tower were made structurally safe, and the top of the walls where the roof used to
sit were levelled off.
As we wanted to keep whatever elements of the past we could, we decided that we should lift up
the tiles and keep as many as possible and incorporate them into the new flooring that would be put
in soon after. We decided to keep the original tiles at the entrance, so that visitors could step over
them as they once might have all those years ago when stepping into the chapel.

Once we were happy with the flooring and the structure, window grills and a gate were put up and
the outside fencing was taken down.

We then installed four memorial benches, a slab of marble on the wall for memorial plaques to be
fitted, and two flower pots which were donated to us.
A new path was laid leading down from the Peace Garden to
the main path.
For the grand open day, we invited the Mayor of Barnsley to
unveil the plaque we had installed outside the gate, which also
has the times that the Peace Garden gates are open and
closed.
Since then, we have sold the window grills as
‘memorial windows’, allowing families to have as
many plaques as they can fit on the grills. Flower pot
holders were installed on each window.
We have also seen an increase in demand for
memorial plaques, and have fitted four more marble
slabs. One flower pot holder with multiple pots has
been fitted, but more are to come thanks to a donation from the Wombwell Darts Charity team.

There are two candle holders for tea lights, which we
monitor daily and people take good care of.
We have a ‘Remembering the Friends’ marble
memorial for the volunteers that have since passed.
The Rainbows group paint plant pots and display them
in the Peace Garden, too!

Community Hub
For almost fifteen years our dream was to renovate the
North chapel into some sort of space for the Friends once
the group increased; somewhere to hold events; or to
provide people with more space to have a coffee. For years
we fund-raised and applied for grants, but nothing came
close to the amount we needed: Around £150,000 for a full
renovation.
We had already started clearing the building out. When we
first opened the make-shift door we discovered old pews
from another church, a rusty bier that we later had
renovated, the original door tucked away in a corner, and
random chairs and barrels that could easily be taken away.
Of course, all of this would have had to be done in torchlight and the daylight peeking through any
holes in the building, so our first mission before cleaning out the space was to install lighting.

As this was quite cheap, knowing people from the
electrical trade, we decided to take this from our
own funds and raise money for the rest of the work.
To raise money, we decided to hold an annual carol
service. Then, to get use out of the old pews, we
cleaned them up and filled the space with them and
our own chairs to allow people to sit down.
A few decorations later and the chapel looked the
best it could be. The community could come in and
see what they were helping towards, and they loved
it.
The company LNS Turbo got in touch and decided to
give us a helping hand. To bring a bit more daylight
into the building, they offered their services and
materials free of charge to install window grills,
Perspex, and metal windowsills to rid of the MDF
covering the windows. We then added a battery
powered clock to the circle window – still covered
with MDF.
We had also got someone interested in fixing up the old doors and making them fit for use in the
new Hub!
A couple of years later, our constant wishing and hard work paid off. We were to receive just under
£150,000 made up of grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, WREN, FCC Environmental, and
Barnsley Council, as well as our own funds raised from the community. We could start work as soon
as we were blessed with an architect to get things going.

We found our architect, Sean, and work quickly got underway to renovate our beloved chapel. Sean
made sure to keep us up to date with the renovation works by emailing us tons of photographs from
places we couldn’t see should he arrange for us to go in and take a peek.
The floor was evened out and walls were
prepared.
Then a wooden frame was put on the
walls so board could be added away from
the brickwork.
More wooden frame.
Meanwhile, the exterior was fixed
up and strengthened to prevent
future wind and rain damage, or
anything falling off.
The building was wired with electrics, and
bricks were added to create rooms and a
serving hatch. One room would be a kitchen,
the other a storage and the third a disabled
toilet downstairs. Upstairs would be extra
storage space.

More brickwork coverings in the main
room.
The brickwork was then
plastered and the rooms
started to look more homely!
The completed plastering
The Completed Community Hub
We kept the original cross, which we can keep up
or remove for different events and bookings.
Fire shutters were put on the serving
hatch, a fire alarm and emergency light
and sign was fitted, carpets put in and a
picture railing was installed around the
room for photo/art galleries.

Strong fire doors were fitted in the
corridor. We have since put up emergency,
information & fire stickers.
The disabled toilet was fitted with handrails,
a baby changing facility and a pull chord in
case of an emergency.
The fire shutters operate from the kitchen.
An oven, hob and microwave were installed.
The exterior

We purchased an electric clock which
automatically changes and is personalised
with the ‘Friends of Wombwell Cemetery’
written in gold on a green background.
The plaque, fitted on marble, explains that the
clock is a commemoration to the restoration of
the chapel. It can be seen just above the
Barnsley Pals Memorial, below the clock.
Our Open Day
When we had our open day, we invited the Mayor of Barnsley, a representative from the Heritage
Lottery Fund, WREN and FCC, the Lord Lieutenant (who had wished to attend but sent a
representative), our architect Sean, Barnsley Chronicle, and Anthony, head of the Bereavement
Services who supports us and works closely with us. We even had a surprise visit from our Chicago
friend, Maureen who acted as photographer for the day!
A lot of the community of Wombwell joined us to celebrate the opening of the Community Hub, and
many said how wonderful it was compared to what they remembered it like – some even when it
was in use as a chapel!

What now?
The Community Hub is open to the public on Wednesdays and
Fridays for information, grave-finding, a bric-a-brac stall and a cup of
tea, coffee or juice. Every third Saturday of the month is our coffee
morning, and we plan to open more often in the near future for
events.
We’ve already had the Hub privately booked a few times: some for
training sessions, some for meetings, and once for a Victorian Tea
Party!
We have a few planned, including a talk from the RSPB, crafts, and
our 150 th Anniversary event. We will also continue with our carol
service, as we did in December 2016.
Victorian Tea Party!
Preparation for the Carol Service 2016 Coffee Morning – May 2017
Coffee Morning – June 2017

Some of the Friends took part in a ‘Food Safety in Catering’ Level 2 qualification, and a ‘Customer
Service Awareness’ qualification in preparation for the Community Hub events. The example used
below is our Chairman’s certificates, but around 6-8 people attended them, including the Vice-
Chairman.

Fundraising & Sustainability
Fundraising
The community of Wombwell have always been generous and caring
towards the cemetery and the Friends. We often stand on Wombwell
High Street at galas and fairs, or in Wombwell Park for ‘Party in the Park’,
sometimes with tombola stalls and sometimes without – but each time
we receive a very generous amount of money.
We also pull in new volunteers by displaying a poster on our information
boards wherever we go, or placing them in shops and the library. We also
ask Voluntary Action Barnsley to promote us for Employee Supported
Volunteer days and anybody who wishes to volunteer in Wombwell, as
well as putting out a message on Dearne FM and in local papers such as
the Barnsley Chronicle and Dearne Valley Weekender. Up to now, we
have over 20 active volunteers.
Memorial Plaques & Railings
The railings surrounding the cemetery were fully funded by the community. Some were sponsored
by businesses and some by the Friends, but most were bought by members of the public as we had a
project in place for the railings to be purchased individually with fitted plaques for remembrance. All
of the railings have been purchased. The following shows the sponsored plaques from businesses
and Friends:

The community could also purchase a memorial railing in the Peace Garden with memorial plaques
on them. All of these have now been purchased, but we also have plaques available on marble slabs
on the walls of the Peace Garden.
Online
A donate button and our registered charity number is visible on our
main website, which has had a lot of traffic. The button has proven
to be effective, as we now have over £100 in our online Paypal
account. We have decided to use the Paypal money for any online
transactions we need to make, for small items that we can’t
purchase using the petty cash in shops. One example includes the
recycle bags we purchased for the Community Hub. These were
bought from eBay using the Paypal money.
Members overseas
We have a generous American member of the Friends who sends a monthly donation, has
purchased our ‘.org’ URL and keeps up the payments, fundraises for us in
Chicago and on Twitter, and has written an eBook about her genealogical
discoveries made in Wombwell Cemetery, thanks to our grave-finding
help. The book is available on Amazon and all proceeds go to the group.

Wreaths
In November/December time, we pull some wreaths together that shops have rejected and spruce
them up a bit before displaying them on our bier. We always receive a brilliant outcome, with total
amounts raised increasing each year thanks to large donations. In 2016, we raised a whopping £900!
Grave Maintenance
Because we’re in a cemetery, we have gravestones and kerbing to maintain. The council often check
the stability and safety of the stones, but it is up to the grave owners to maintain physical
appearance. People mainly go to stone masons if they would like anything doing to their grave, but
we receive a lot of requests and offer the following:
The cleaning of graves
Kerbing to be re-aligned or uncovered from the grass over-growth
Gold/Silver lettering to be re-painted using specialist paint to ensure a quality finish
Any shrubs to be pruned on graves, or weeding
Finding the grave itself in the cemetery using our database and maps
Adding flowers and a wreath for those living overseas or less able to visit
All of the above, we ask for a donation of any amount, except the painting and flowers/wreaths
which is priced due to the expense of the paint and flowers/wreaths. We make the donation amount
open as not everyone can afford to donate a lot, people are very generous and will often give more
than what we would have originally asked for, and we do these jobs because we enjoy them and are
paid with the happiness of the people who made the request.
Postcards
One of our Friends, Lana, digitally painted our Hub to be printed
as postcards so she could sell them at the Open Day. We sell
them for 50p, and post them to people who send donations
online.
The artwork is titled “Chapel at Dusk” and is on display on our
information racks, where bookmarks are also available. Lana is
also aiming to create some “I visited Cyril the Squirrel at
Wombwell Cemetery” badges, with Cyril as the central painting.

Bric-a-Brac
People often donate things to us so we can sell them on our volunteering Wednesdays, a Friday
when we open, or at our coffee mornings. We often sell quite a lot, and one lady donated some
handmade cards for us to sell. There is also a bookshelf in the Hub to either buy or exchange a book,
or just read one over a coffee.
Coffee Mornings
Now we’ve had the Community Hub renovated, we have started hosting coffee mornings every third
Saturday of the month, which we advertise by putting posters on social media and in shops. At the
coffee mornings, we give a suggested donation price for tea, coffee, cake, toast, and other items we
sell that people donate such as knitted poppies and headbands. We also bought some local Barnsley
honey, which didn’t make it to our first coffee morning as everybody bought one. We aim to re-stock
this honey as it was a great success! We also aim to have more events now that the Hub is up and
running, and plan to continue our annual carol service which also raises funds.

Grants & Donations
Heritage Lottery Fund, WREN, FCC Environmental, Barnsley Council
A mass amount of funding came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, WREN, FCC Environmental and
Barnsley Council for our biggest project to date: The renovation of the North Chapel, which is now
the Community Hub. We received just under £150,000 in total for the project. We put towards the
project with fundraising with help from the community, who stuck by us and supported us along the
way. We have just received some money back from this project that wasn’t spent, so we are looking
to put this towards a war memorial themed stained glass window for the Hub.
Co-operative Local Community Fund
A few months ago we applied for a share of the Co-op Local
Community Fund. Our role was to promote the fundraising by the
Co-op and try and boost our amount raised. Money was raised by
members of the Co-op purchasing things, so that 1% of what they
spent could go into the fund. The customer would have to pick a
charity on their account for their money to go to that charity,
otherwise all unallocated fund would be split across the three
competing groups. Our advantage was that the purchases could
include those made in the Co-operative funeral homes, but we
created a banner and information post to get people involved. With
the amount we raised, it’s safe to say that plastering this all over
social media was a success.

In total, we raised £2,272! This money is going towards new plant pot holders to be fitted to the
walls in the Peace Garden.
Barnsley Council
Whenever we’re in need of some cash for smaller projects, we apply to the Ward Alliance Fund. One
example was when we required a defibrillator for the Community Hub. One of our members is a first
responder, so he offered to take the defibrillator on Wombwell High Street or to any Wombwell
event we go to for it to be used there should it be required. This information was put into the
application and we received the full amount of around £1,080. We have since fitted the defibrillator
in a container on the wall in the Community Hub, and took it to the Christmas gala held on
Wombwell High Street.

Wombwell & District Men’s 701 Charity Darts League
The Wombwell & District darts team raise money throughout the year to donate to charity around
March to June. The group regularly choose the Friends to receive £500. In June 2017 we were
chosen again to attend the presentation evening and receive £500. We are looking into purchasing
foldable chairs for the Community Hub so that they store away better and make the room bigger for
events.
We shared their Facebook post to promote the team and to thank them for their endless support.
LNS Turbo
In 2013, a local company called LNS Turbo donated their
time, labour and materials to install new windows, grills
and Perspex before the chapel was renovated properly.
This was the first push to bringing the chapel back to life,
by allowing sunlight to shine through. The project was
completely free of charge and out of the blue – a real
surprise and a very generous gift to the community.
Many companies are willing to get involved and donate
their time and/or materials for free or a lower cost. One
company, Corey Paving, who are fully donating new
paving slabs for one of the baby memorials in June/July.

An Alternative Kind of Fundraising!
A bonus fundraising method is an original idea from our Vice-Chairman, Steve – or as we know him:
Zombie Steve!
Steve is part of the Otley Zombie Crew and he often attends Comic conventions or ‘meet and greet’
events. At these events, he dresses as a zombie! Recently he bought a backdrop of a spooky forest
and a fog machine which he now takes to most events with a money box. Whenever someone
wishes to have a professional photograph in front of the backdrop, with the fog machine smoking
around their feet, he tells them about the cemetery he volunteers in which they then have a choice
to put a donation in for.
Of course Steve wouldn’t ever bring his zombie outfit into the cemetery, but he takes the cemetery
to all of his zombie events! So far, he’s raised just under £100. He plans to carry on as long as
possible, raising money for one passion using another.

History
We enjoy researching the history of the cemetery and the people buried within, which is why our
guided tour is based on interesting people and graves in the cemetery. Although we are mainly
interested in what the cemetery looked like, the people within have proven very interesting too.
Ibbotson’s String Band
A white violin can be found on a grave near
the ‘Cabin’, which has always intrigued us.
Engraved on the violin is a small message to
say that it was donated by the members of the
Ibbotson’s String Band, and it belongs to Mr
Johnson. For a long time that’s all we knew.
However, more recently a photo has come to
light of the band which set off our curiosity
and research. So far, we have named the man
on the far left as Mr S Britton, and the vicar on
the far right as Reverend J Young. We have yet
to find our violinist Mr W Johnson.
Annie Wilde
In 2004, a lady visited asking where the angel headstone was. Having never seen it before, we were
left puzzled but determined to find it. The lady showed us roughly where it used to
be and, with a single stab in the ground using a metal pole, we found a broken
angel buried face-down in the dirt.
Dearne Memorial Group were keen to come and clean up the angel, one of the
Friends’ nephews came and fitted the angel with a new wing, and together they
stood her back on her three-foot-tall plinth.
We then decided to research.
Although we didn’t find a lot out about the
lady being watched over by her angel, we
did discover a bible and silk funeral ribbon
for her in one of the Friends’ cousin’s attics,
and are now friends with the lady’s granddaughter
who is the cousin’s neighbour.
Annie’s angel is now a part of our guided
tour, and a lot of children seem to like the
story of the fallen angel.

Roy Kilner
Roy Kilner was a English cricket player who is buried in Wombwell Cemetery. He played for Yorkshire
County Cricket Club between 1911 and 1927 as a batsman, but turned to bowling in 1919. His
funeral was attended by over 100,000 people, and a road in Wombwell has been named after him.
Mark Jones
Busby Babe and captain of Manchester United Football Club, Mark Jones, sadly died in the Munich
Air Disaster in February 1958. We have researched the Munich Air Disaster and the Busby Babes,
and have displayed information on our boards at events. Although Jones’ family tend to the grave,
with one of our Friends being related to him, we make sure we watch over it and tend to it too.

Second Lieutenant Alfred Edward Flaxman
Alfred Flaxman was an Olympian and competed in the 1908 Olympic games. He took part in discus,
javelin, pole vaulting and standing high jump, and competed in the AAA Hammer throw competition
from 1905 to 1914. During WWI, Flaxman served as a Second Lieutenant with the 1/6 th South
Staffordshire regiment. Because he could throw a grenade up to 75 yards thanks to his discus and
hammer throwing skills, he chose to lead the battalion of bombers at the battle of the Somme. He
was shot and killed on 1 st July 1916, aged 36. He was never brought back to Wombwell, so his body
remains in France. His family grave is in Wombwell, with his name remembered on the weathering
stone.
Frank Collindridge J.P. C.B.E
Frank Collindridge was an M.P. for the Barnsley Labour Party between 1936 and 1951. In 1945 to
1946 he was Lord of the Treasury for the Labour government, and between 1946 and 1951 he was
Comptroller of the Household to H.M. King George VI.

War Research
With some members being in the British Legion, and an ex RAF pilot in
our team, we couldn’t ignore any war-related research. In the
Community Hub, we currently have two ‘Death Pennies’ or ‘Dead
Man’s Pennies’ which were engraved with the deceased soldier’s name
and sent to families. We have one on its own and one in a large
wooden holder. We also have a frame with medals, an original ‘Death
Penny’ envelope, certificates, and some information about the items.
The Cemetery
We weren’t the first group to take care of the
cemetery. After some research about the
cemetery, we discovered that the Local
Wombwell Board had dedicated time and money
to one of the only grounds where people could
“pass a few spare hours” in Wombwell. The Board
had decided to add flowers and ‘wainscot’ the
chapels to ‘beautify’ the cemetery in May 1877.

The two chapels have not really changed much, apart from the South (Peace Garden) now being
roofless due to a fire, which we estimate to have happened between 1980 and 1990. We are
attempting to find the exact date using newspaper archive searches.
The main path used to have trellis arches all way down, with trees and bushes lining it. On one side,
flowers spelt out “Blessed Are They That Mourn”.

We Will Remember Them
We have 129 war graves in Wombwell cemetery,
including those buried in the cemetery, remembered
on graves but buried elsewhere, those who died after
the war etc. We make sure all are structurally safe,
cleaned and weeded before the 11 th November.
Previously, we placed poppy crosses on each individual
war grave around the cemetery once we had cleaned it,
but we found that we missed some, or that people
didn’t really see how many soldiers are actually buried
or remembered in Wombwell cemetery.
More recently we have decided to write the names of soldiers on the poppy crosses and stand them
in the grass at either side of the Barnsley Pals Memorial – based on the memorial in France. People
passing by or attending the service have now realised just how many soldiers we remember, and
have said that this layout is a lot better for the service.
France
Wombwell Cemetery
We are looking to fit a new memorial in marble in the upcoming months so that we are able to
repaint the stone better than the one we have currently.
Our memorial services take place on the morning of 11 th November with the Wombwell Cadets,
schools, and members of the public gathering outside the Community Hub (in front of the Barnsley
Pals). We have done the service for a number of years and each one is well-attended, with the
minute’s silence being fully respected by all.
2016 Memorial Service Panorama

Each year is a bigger and better turn-out, with more and more poppy wreaths being added by school
children and cadets. Feedback taken from schools is that the children enjoy creating their wreaths,
learning about the war and soldiers, and attending a service such as this. They feel like they are truly
respecting those who fought and died for us. The teachers are enthusiastic about bringing back their
new classes each year, and old class members often return with parents or friends. No matter how
big the crowd, each year when the minute’s silence begins, not a murmur is heard.

Wombwell Wildlife
Squirrels
Over the years, we’ve had many animals passing through Wombwell Cemetery. Bats, cats, parrots,
woodpeckers, bees, butterflies, hedgehogs, foxes, squirrels… you name it, we’ve had it!
One of the reasons people visit the cemetery, aside from tending to graves, is to feed the squirrels. If
you find yourself walking through, you’re guaranteed to be followed by a little bushy-tailed squirrel
until you give it a nut. They’re quite friendly and are loved by all who visit – so much so, we had a
wooden one carved from a diseased tree near the Peace Garden! His name: Cyril.
Cyril the Squirrel – 2012 – carved by Kim
Neath-Thompson
A snow Cyril, sculpted by a very talented unknown fan of
Cyril
A baby squirrel just starting to
explore
Our well-known ‘one eye’ or ‘Cecil’ to
some, who is loved by all who see
(and feed) him!
A young, spritely squirrel running
down the tree to say hello

Birds and Bats
To keep our birds happy, we make sure we regularly hang out tasty treats for them to come and
peck at. Fruit, nuts, seeds, insects, and fat balls are often hung out in trees or spread on empty tree
stumps for birds, squirrels and hedgehogs to come and munch on.
We are planning to place planter trays on tree stumps that are filled with water to act as bird baths
for them to have a splash around or a refreshing drink.
Fitted on trees are some bird and bat boxes. These are dotted around the cemetery, and two have
been placed on the back of the Peace Garden. We have found that birds often use the boxes as we
have seen them flying to and from them with twigs and insects.
We have had a range of birds in Wombwell Cemetery, from great spotted woodpeckers to parrots
and pheasants. Our main residents are wood pigeons, robins, blackbirds, swallows, sparrows, tits
and crows.

Bees
For a few years, we spotted tiny holes dotted around and saw low-flying bees hovering around
them. We didn’t know what they were until quite recently when we actually saw one close up and
managed to get a photo to compare it online. We discovered that we have Tawny Mining bees living
in the ground near to our ‘Cabin’ (the old mortuary where the Friends used to congregate).
After a visit to the Peace Garden, we then discovered that we have what look to be Masonry bees
living in the mortar between the bricks. There are only a few and the holes were there to start with
due to the outside conditions and nature of the building, so we’ve decided to let them live a long
and happy life and to keep coming back should they wish.
Tawny Mining Bee Hole
Tawny Mining Bee
One of the Friends have always wanted to create a bee garden. Knowing that a few different species
of bees now reside in the cemetery, they set to work creating a small bee garden at the side of the
‘Cabin’. Chosen flowers were wildflowers, English lavendar, californian poppies, and hollyhock. They
created a hexagonal shaped planter from cheap wooden fencing and has planted some temporary
flowers in the planter until they can find their desired plant: the Calendula.

Although we are still waiting for the plants to grow, some seedlings are coming through and the
wildflowers have perked up now they are spread out. The lavendar is strong and attracting bees and
butterflies. In the corner, a small dish has been inset into the soil and filled with pebbles and water.
This will act as a small pond-like area for insects to inhabit and will allow bees and other insects to
land on dry pebbles and have a drink. We’ve even seen a blackbird hop down the decorative pebble
path and have a drink!
Other
We have recently created a leaf bin to store leaves in and keep areas tidy, but also for hedgehogs
and insects to inhabit. It is a temporary wire structure at the moment, but we aim to make it
stronger and more durable. We made sure that the location of the bin is out of the way in the
bottom corner of the cemetery, so that it is rarely disturbed by the community or other animals.

Information Cards
We’ve had a diverse range of wildlife. To spread the word and make people aware to look out for
them, Jess made some information cards to display in our Community Hub which will hopefully
appeal to children to spark an interest.

Read All About It!
We regularly crop up in newspapers, on the radio, and even on the television. We keep all news
articles in a folder in the Community Hub.
Barnsley Chronicle
As the main local newspaper, we often go to Oliver Dyson and Barnsley Chronicle to spread the word
about the group or any events we’re holding. Oliver is always on board to send our stories to print.
The main reason for being in the Chronicle is because of the renovated Hub.
An example from when we had our new gates fitted in 2010

Dearne Valley Weekender
We often see people in the cemetery taking photos of
various things, but we never imagined someone would
submit them to a newspaper! The Dearne Valley
Weekender published these photos taken by Ms Rajnita.
We also use the Dearne Valley Weekender to promote
events, ask for volunteers, and spread the good news
about different projects we’re doing.
Dearne FM
Dearne FM is a popular local radio show, so on a Wednesday morning we phone up and let them
know that we’ll be meeting that morning to volunteer. We’ve had a few people turn up to volunteer
through this.
BBC Radio Sheffield
Another popular radio show has proven to be a success. We have been featured on Rony Robinson’s
show twice, the most recent was part of Rony’s goose-chase-style challenge in which he gives out
clues to the locations he will be heading and listeners have to ring up and tell them the location that
matches. He spent about half an hour in Wombwell Cemetery, just by chance, and enjoyed his time
chatting to the Friends.

ITV Calendar News
In 2011, we applied to the People’s Millions Lottery Fund to turn the South Chapel into a Peace
Garden. In order to get people to vote, ITV Calendar came in to the cemetery to record a video of us.
We were shown on the 6pm news with our plea for people to vote for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t
receive enough and the other team won. However, this sparked an interest with the community and
beyond and they got involved to help us fundraise.
Other
A magazine called Mosaic featured our friends and
sculptors, Kim Neath-Thompson and Rob Nicholson,
who carved Cyril the squirrel. We made sure they got
all the credit, and praised them both tremendously for
such a detailed and beautiful work of art.

Wombwell on the Web
Our Websites
Our main cemetery website, https://www.fowcemetery.org, has been up and running from 2010.
We first began on Webs.com, but have since moved to the free Wix.com platform where we have
been generously donated a ‘.org’ URL from a member of the Friends who lives in Chicago. Jess and
Lana previously run this site together, but Lana has taken on the Hub website, so Jess runs the main.
Our secondary website, https://www.fowcemeteryhub.wixsite.com/home, was launched in early
2017 for the newly renovated Community Hub. This website provides information and specifications
about the Hub, it allows people to view it to see if it is a suitable venue for them to use, and get in
touch to book the venue. It will also contain images of previous events once we have had a few
more. The website is linked on our main cemetery page, but we are working on purchasing a ‘.org’
URL for this website so it is shorter and easier to find.

Social Media
We have made sure that all of our social media platforms have the same handle: ‘FOWCemetery’. If
you search this on any social media site we are on, you will find us straight away. We think it is
important to have a consistent name to ensure that people are confident that you are the official
page and can find your page easily.
Facebook
Facebook is our main social media page which is regularly updated with events, any awards we win,
our Friends’ volunteering, items found in the cemetery, public announcements and information etc.
Jess and Lana run the Facebook page as a joint effort.
We have over 400 likes and have had a lot of engagement on our posts. The most successful post
was to remember Mark Jones, former Manchester United player, who died in the Munich Air
Disaster and is buried in Wombwell Cemetery. In total the post reached 34.9k people, had 1.6k clicks
on the photo, and 1.4k reactions such as likes, comments and shares, all of which were completely
organic (not paid for or promoted).

We have found that Facebook is a successful platform when reaching people to help us or attend
events. We managed to find three youths through
Facebook who damaged our new clock on the side of the
Community Hub through the platform who we reported
to the police. We have also had people attending coffee
mornings and informing us that they only knew about it
through the posts on our page.
As shown from the ‘Volunteer Day’ post, we also get
involved with relevant hashtag campaigns on Facebook
and Twitter. The below was from Volunteers Week 2017.
Here we have thanked the Wombwell
Rainbows group for getting involved and
providing us with some lovely plant pots. They
painted the pots and planted some flowers in
them, then put them in our Peace Garden to
brighten up the area. The Rainbow leaders
have done this for two years with the
different groups they have, both of which
were very enthusiastic. The leaders plan to
keep this up with future groups.

We update our followers with the different
wildlife that can be found in the cemetery. We
love everything from our birds to our bees, so
we try to spread the love as best as we can.
This post is giving some information about
some new bees we found in the cemetery:
The Tawny Mining Bee. We hope that
anybody walking through will take care and
look after our wildlife as they do the
cemetery.
We celebrate any awards we win, thank those
who helped us win it.
This is an example of when we won the Proud
of Barnsley award in 2016. We thanked
everybody we could think of and shared a few
photos from the event. However, we used
Twitter as a platform to live-tweet the event.

Anything we find in the cemetery is stored for
safe-keeping until we find the owner.
Whenever we find something, we spread the
word on Facebook to see if anybody claims it.
We have had a couple of people re-united
with their lost belongings who were grateful
that we kept them safe!
Twitter
We use Twitter mainly to ‘live Tweet’ events or
projects we do, or to have a friendly chat to other
Friends groups and the community. We also take
part in hashtags on Twitter as well as Facebook, for
example in the recent Armed Forces Day campaign
we got involved with the #VolunteersWeek tag, we
joined up with Voluntary Action Barnsley who
visited us for a guided tour and tweeted about it
with us!
We have just over 290 followers, with tweets reaching far across the globe thanks to our American
Friend, Maureen, tweeting and re-tweeting about the cemetery on a daily basis. Jess and Lana jointly
run the Twitter page.

We love to chat to other Friends
groups, and they love to chat to us!
We use Twitter to chat, share ideas,
and share each other’s projects and
campaigns. It’s good to stick together.
Twitter is much easier when you only
need to post a couple of sentences
and are on the go, which is why we
use it whenever we’re out and about.
For example, we posted a picture of
our display boards at the Rose Hogg
awards and let people know that we
won a few, too!

Instagram
Our Instagram is filled with beautiful photos taken and posted by our Friend, Lana. We only decided
to set up a platform in March 2016, so with just over 80 followers we aren’t doing too badly.

And the Award Goes To…
Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2005/06
The Queen’s Award for voluntary service is the equivalent of an M.B.E for voluntary groups. Only
three years after the group was established, the Friends picked up this award and visited the
Queen’s garden party to be awarded with it. They were also recognised back in Barnsley.
Because we won the award,
we are entitled to display the
logo on our website, and any
publication we produce. We
make sure we have the logo
showing loud and proud on
publications and the websites.
We were invited to an open day in Hull in 2010 for
winning the award, and met Martyn Lewis,
chairman of the Awards Panel.
We asked volunteers who were unable to attend
the ceremony and garden party to attend the Hull
Open Day.

Rose Hogg
The Rose Hogg Awards are hosted by the Barnsley Neighbourhood Watch team, and are named after
a lady named Rose Hogg who worked tirelessly to stop crime in and around Barnsley. Over the years,
the Friends have picked up a few awards for their ‘Cemetery Watch’ duties, and even their website
and social media.
Certificate for Outstanding Village and
Wider Watch 2011/12
A trophy for outstanding
contribution – 2005/06
Certificate for Wider Watch 2016/17, with award
that has three engraved plates for the FOWC.
Certificate for Outstanding Village and Wider
Watch 2013/14

2016/17 our group picked up the ‘shield’ for voluntary services, and our younger members picked
up individual awards for voluntary and online services.
Proud of Barnsley 2016
In late 2016 we received the Proud
of Barnsley 2016 award, with thanks
to Voluntary Action Barnsley who
sponsored our award.
With this being the first award won
since Karen became Chairman in
August 2016, and so soon, we regard
this as one of our proudest
moments.

Wombwell Community Oscars
In 2009/10, the Friends picked up an award for ‘Group Contribution’ at
Barnsley Town Hall, presented by the then-Mayor and Mayoress, Mr
John Parkinson and Mrs Linda Parkinson. Also amongst the winners
were Jessica (Outstanding contribution by a young person award), and
Ray (Lifetime Achievement award).
Other Awards
Communities Together Award 2007
Dearne LPT Impact Wardens & Junior Wardens
Certificate of Excellence 2005

The National Award for
Voluntary Endeavour. Regional
Winner 2005
Various certificates including the People’s Places award
scheme, the Pride in your Community awards, and the RAFTAs
2007 Highly Commended Award.

Future Projects
Baby Memorial
One of our baby memorials is paved and has had it since being installed in the cemetery. It’s now
become a bit of a safety hazard as the tiles have started to lift and crack, so we asked for a quote
from Corey Paving to come and lay down some new tiles.
The company came and measured up and, to our disbelief, offered their time and materials for free.
We are to have brand new burgundy tiles fitted when they can book us in sometime in June or July.
Barnsley Pals
Our Barnsley Pals memorial has also been in for a long time. The paint is peeling off and it’s very
hard to paint as it is not engraved – it’s a flat stone. To make it easier to paint and to keep the stone
looking its best for Remembrance Services, we have decided to get quotes for a new one. We are
liaising with the Bereavement Services and War Memorial Fund to see what the best options are. We
are aiming to have the new stone before the next Remembrance Day (November 2017).

A Forgotten Soldier
Recently we discovered that a soldier we remember in the
Remembrance Services, who is buried in Wombwell Cemetery,
is not actually named on the headstone on his grave. Able
Seaman Arthur Robinson died on a skating rink in Portsmouth
and was brought back to Wombwell to be buried with his
parents. His brother, Albert Robinson, also fought in the war
but is buried in Belgium. Albert is the one named on the grave
below his parent’s description.
We contacted the Commonwealth War Grave Commission,
who insisted that Arthur is the third inscription down – but we
have taken a photo and emailed it on, proving that Albert is in
fact the third inscription down and that there is nothing for
Arthur. We have not heard anything back since, but are
looking to purchase either a war memorial or small stone and
have Arthur finally recognised as being in his family’s grave.
We have liaised with the Bereavement Services who have confirmed that this is okay to do should
the CWGC not supply a war memorial themselves. We aim to have the new stone by November 2017
for the next Remembrance Service, where we will include the story of Arthur and Albert Robinson.
Stained Glass Window
A bigger project, which we aim to be completed in the next few
years, is the installation of a stained glass window in the
Community Hub. In the Hub, the back wall has a large circular
window which is currently filled with plain glass and protected on
the outside with Perspex. Ever since planning the restoration of
the chapel, we have always had the idea of a stained glass
window with a World War I & II related image in the glass. With
the chapel now renovated, we can focus solely on the window.
We have looked into average pricing and are aware that, for the
size of the window, we would need a large amount of money to
complete this. However, with hard work and dedication, we are
The window we would like to
have stained glass.
positive that we will achieve the window we have dreamed of. Lana, one of the Friends, is going to
draw up some designs for the window to save on graphic design prices as she is extremely talented
in digital art and design.
An example of the type of windows we have
been looking at.
“A new stained glass commission for the West
window at Saint John’s School Chapel,
Leatherhead, Surrey, England 2014 on the
centenary of the First World War.” -
stainedglassartist.wordpress.com.

A Better Leaf Bin
We currently have a leaf bin made from thin wire meshing we found in rolls just dumped in the
cemetery. We are aiming to make the structure stronger and more durable. A quick job that we aim
to have completed in the next few months as a Friend of the cemetery is planning on obtaining
wooden pallets as fencing.
Talks & Events
Now that our Community Hub has had the go-ahead to officially
open, we have already started with coffee mornings and private
functions. However, our chairman Karen has a few ideas in store for
the future events to be held in the Hub.
Karen wants to invite the RSPB in to do some wildlife talks for adults
and children, and have craft events such as ‘make your own bird
feeders’ which we have already designed a poster for.
We’re even having a Victorian themed day in the cemetery where
the Friends will dress up for the 150 th Anniversary of Wombwell
Cemetery opening. We are collecting old photographs and
information about the cemetery to display on the day.

Around the Cemetery
The Seasons
Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn
Images courtesy of Lana, Jess & Chelsey