Fundraiser for memorial near Sheffield to remember youngsters buried in unmarked grave hits £7,000 target

A fundraiser for a memorial to mark the lives of 700 children buried in unmarked graves in a Penistone cemetery has reached its target of £7,000.
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Almost £3,000 has been raised though the JustGiving page, which was set up by Barnsley Councillor David Greenhough.

The public grave at the Penistone-Stottercliffe cemetery is the final resting place of youngsters born from the late 1800s, right up until the 1970s, with no memorial in place – not even a gravestone to mark the youngster’s short lives.

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Call for memorial at site of unmarked grave of 700 youngsters near Sheffield
Fundraiser for memorial near Sheffield to remember youngsters buried in unmarked grave hits £7,000 targetFundraiser for memorial near Sheffield to remember youngsters buried in unmarked grave hits £7,000 target
Fundraiser for memorial near Sheffield to remember youngsters buried in unmarked grave hits £7,000 target
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In the early 19th Century, right up until the 1970s, a baby that was stillborn or died shortly after birth was usually buried in a communal grave with children and adults, and the bereaved family were often not told of their whereabouts.

Barnsley councillors launched a fundraising campaign for a memorial at the site after Richard Galliford, 71, brought the area to their attention.

Richard found out he had a sister buried at the site, who was stillborn in 1949, which led him to post about the overgrown area of the cemetery on Facebook.

Penistone councillors Hannah Kitching and David Greenhough saw the post, and contacted bereavement services at Barnsley Council, who cleaned up the site, and can now move forward with plans for a permanent memorial for families with a loved one buried there – and to give the children their identities back.

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Councillor Kitching told the local democracy reporting service she is ‘really pleased’ that the target has been reached, and the councillors will now meet with Barnsley’s memorial services to discuss what kind of memorial can be placed at the cemetery.