Call to ‘name that cemetery’

First of all, commemorative plaques are not “laid horizontally at ground level” in all cases. The plaques laid on graves belonging to the Muslim community, who have also signed our petition in support of our campaign and whom we thank for their support, are actually laid one inch above ground level. A fact local funeral directors has confirmed, as has the Muslim community itself. This is contrary to the council’s own published written regulations.

The fact that the graves in section HA (Catholic) and section HB (Christian) have been maintained for up to six years by their bereaved family and friends — since this area of the cemetery was first opened and Harrow burials were permitted there — demonstrates that graves are not “laid to lawn after an initial period of at least 18 months” as stated. It further underlines the fact that Brent Council has again failed to comply with its own published written regulations “to notify all grave owners to remove items as a practical measure to enable them to lay the graves to lawn after an initial period of at least 18 months”. Indeed, my late father-in-law has been buried in another section of the cemetery for Brent residents for nearly 16 years and we have never received such a notification. We have always maintained his grave ourselves — like many other families in the same ‘Brent’ section — all suddenly under threat of their graves being disturbed by outside contractors, employed by Brent Council because its regular maintenance staff have refused to interfere with the graves, apologising to bereaved families in person.

Brent’s statement “all grave owners agree to this process when purchasing a burial plot at Carpenders Park” would be valid if it complied with the same published written regulations itself. Finally, the comment “anyone who wishes to mark a grave with a headstone is offered a plot in an alternative cemetery” may well be true now, but six years ago, when Harrow Borough Council leased the land from Brent Council because all Harrow’s cemeteries were considered full, (unless you had an existing plot they could reopen), this was not the case. We have documentary evidence stating that even funeral directors were instructed “anyone living in Harrow had only one cemetery where they could inter their loved ones, that being Carpenders Park Cemetery, as all other cemeteries were (then) considered full”. Furthermore, we have written confirmation that the only other choice undertakers could advise families, was to bury ‘out of borough’, which in some cases would have rather large financial implications to the overall cost of the funeral. We were not given the choice of any cemetery because quite simply, there was none! We therefore challenge Ms Kiefer to substantiate her statement and “name that cemetery”!

We can substantiate everything we are saying, with documentary and photographic evidence. Ironically, my late sister, buried in Carpenders Park Cemetery for six years, worked all her life as a carer for Harrow Council.

My father-in-law fought in the British Army during the Second World War for the hard-won freedom we enjoy in this country today, but whose values and basic human rights are being forgotten and eroded. The dead cannot speak for themselves, but I am proud to do so with the support of decent people, from across our diverse, multicultural, multifaith community, highlighted by more than 2,000 signatures gathered for our petition to date.

Susan Johnston

Camplin Road, Harrow