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