Hundreds of unmarked graves revealed across Darwen

Carol Tyrie, aged 51, from Brocklehead Farm in Eccleshill, started a quest for the final home of Aileen Wiggans on behalf of her mother Angela in November.

She located Aileen had been buried in an unmarked grave in Darwen Western Cemetery, but then faced a six-month battle with Blackburn with Darwen Council to be allowed to put up a headstone marking the final resting place of her sister, who died in 1967.

It was only after the intervention of Lancashire Coroner Dr James Adeley, and discussions between her local West Pennine ward councillor Julie Slater and the authority's legal officials, that Mrs Tyrie was eventually allowed to put up the headstone to Aileen and the 14 other individuals in the common grave.

Kylie Cooper, Hayley Cooper, Angela Wiggans and Carol Tyrie They included eight-year-old Enoch Crossley who died in December 1862, two stillbirths, four other infants, and four adults who died aged between 60 and 83 buried between 1916 and 1967.

Mrs Tyrie originally planned to put a headstone up for just her sister but was told by the council's bereavement services she could not do this.

She then sought to move Aileen and was knocked back, and then offered to install the headstone for all 15 individuals but was again rejected, until the intervention from Dr Adeley.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has said the case was "very sensitive" and burial records are available for families to research at its libraries.

With the headstone finally put in place in March, she is now campaigning to ensure other families know they can find their loved ones in unmarked 'common graves' and commemorate them without the problems she faced over Aileen.

Cllr Julie Slater supported the family in their campaign But John East, a trustee of The Friends of Darwen Cemetery which helped Mrs Tyrie find her sister's grave, has confirmed there are hundreds more such anonymous burials in the town's graveyards, often containing several sets of remains.

His revelation follows the discovery of an unmarked mass grave of more than 300 bodies in Oldham's Royton Cemetery in September.

Mrs Tyrie said: "My mum Angela Wiggans, now 80, had daughter Aileen in 1967.

"Aileen was born with Spina Bifida. She died aged one day on October 26, 1967.

The full headstone listing all those buried in the common grave "She was taken away and buried and that was that. It was what they did on those days. We have always known about her in the family.

"When my dad Richard died five years ago we asked my mother what she wanted to do about my sister.

"She said she wanted to find Aileen's grave before her 80th birthday and put up a headstone.

"So I, my niece Kylie Cooper and sister Hayley Cooper set about finding her.

"We got help from the Friends of Darwen Cemetery and we found her in an old part of Darwen's Western Cemetery which is now full and closed.

"It was quite a shock when we learnt there were another 14 people [in the grave].

"It's been even more of a shock to find out there are hundreds of other common graves in Darwen's cemeteries.

John East, of Friends of Darwen Cemetery "We decided to put up a headstone for Aileen and went to memorial mason Brent Stevenson and paid for it all ready to put up.

"Then Brent rang up and said he had been told by the council he couldn't put it up as it was a common grave.

"I then rang bereavement services at Blackburn with Darwen Council. They weren't any help whatsoever. They were very insensitive and rude. There was no compassion.

"I asked if we could but up the headstone and they said no as it was a common grave.

"I asked if we could put up a headstone naming all 15 people in the grave but they said no.

"I asked if we could move Aileen and they said no again and then asked if we could buy the plot with the others in it and they said no yet again. We felt like we’d hit a brick wall.

"I then went to see my ward councillor Julie Slater who said the only way forward was to go the coroner's office.

Coroner Dr James Adeley's intervention was crucial in the campaign "They were both fantastic. The coroner said we could put up a headstone and leave her there or move her.

"The council's bereavement services caved in. We felt the best thing was to leave her there where she had been at rest since 1967.

"We felt that the others in the grave should be remembered as well so with the help of the Friends of Darwen Cemetery we found their names.

"So we engraved the names of the other 14 people on the headstone and it was put up two months later in March.

"Aileen and their resting place is now properly marked and they are remembered.

"The whole process took a very distressing six months.

Darwen Western Cemetery

"We understand there are other similar unmarked graves nearby where people - children and babies - have also been laid to rest.

"You can see other families have been there and left small stones and flowers but do not know there the graves are.

"What we want to do is to get out there what those other families can do to find their loved ones as they may not know they can do it.

"There has been a lot of publicity about this following the finding of the mass unmarked grave in Oldham.

"It's not just babies in Aileen's grave. When I saw the name of Enoch aged eight my heart broke.

"There could be families out there who want to know where their relatives are buried and properly mark their graves. They all deserve to be remembered.

"I feel after what we went through I have to help them do that now Aileen and the others in that grave are properly marked and remembered.

"This story isn’t necessarily about the death of my sister, Aileen, but about giving other families peace and hope of finding children or relatives that may have been buried in common graves and are struggling to find their final resting place.

"Angela’s at peace now knowing where her first born child is at rest and she now has a grave and headstone to visit.

"Aileen and the others in her plot are now properly marked and they are remembered.

"Should any other families wish to do the same, they now know it is possible."

Cllr Slater said: "This is a tragic story which will resonate with many families albeit with a heartwarming and generous ending.

"It is shocking to find out there may be dozens of similar unmarked 'common graves' in Darwen with hundreds of unmarked remains of people's loved ones.

"I, like the family, am unhappy with how the Blackburn with Darwen Council's bereavement services handled this case and very grateful to the coroner for his intervention.

"I hope that in any future cases, its officials will act with more sensitivity and compassion.

"There must be many more families with relatives' remains in unmarked common graves in Darwen's cemeteries who would like to commemorate them properly with a headstone and I hope this can happen.

"It is incredibly generous of the family to ensure that not only Aileen but the other 14 individuals laid to rest with her are now finally properly recognised and remembered."

Mr East said: "We were delighted to help the family find and mark Aileen Wiggans grave.

"There are hundreds of common graves in Darwen where those people who could not afford a private burial were laid to rest at the cost of the local authority.

"The 'common graves' date from the 19th Century until quite recently and often have several people in each.

"They include infants, stillbirths and many victims of the epidemics - including cholera, typhoid and flu - which swept the town in the 1800s and early 1900s.

"The Friends of Darwen Cemetery would be happy to use our expertise with burial records to assist any families seeking to find and commemorate their relatives interred in these unmarked plots."

Blackburn with Darwen Council's strategic environment director, Martin Eden, said: "We strive to ensure families and loved ones are assisted with dignity and respect and will always do our best to help wherever possible.

"The case of the late Aileen Wiggans is a very sensitive one and although we did try our upmost to help the family, we also have a duty of care for the others buried in the grave along with their families.

"With this in mind, and after further advice was sought, we came to the decision that the family of Aileen could place a memorial as long as all those buried in the grave were also named on the headstone.

"In turn, we provided the family with all the details they required, as well as the rules and regulations.

"Families can visit any Blackburn with Darwen Library to search for their loved one’s burial plot free of charge, which includes those in common graves.

"There they can view records for Blackburn Cemetery (Whalley New Road), Darwen Cemetery, Pleasington Cemetery and Pleasington Crematorium."

Dr Adeley's office said he could not comment on individual cases.