Preston Cemetery

We took a five mile walk the other day and happened to pass Preston Cemetery, which was closed a few weeks ago. We've both enjoyed runs through here in the past and so we took an unplanned detour to visit again. There are always local people in there to walk, not just to mourn. I did keep a sharp eye out for any possible burial services going on to give them a wide berth. I'm pleased to say we saw none that day.

It seems to me that cemeteries here in Britain are quite different than the ones I've been involved with in Oklahoma. For one, cemeteries here are run by the local authority, not privately owned like in the US. The newer graves seem to be located in one area and those grounds are reasonably well kept. We noted a lot of graves covered with not just flowers, but stuffed animals, small statues, a variety of 'interesting' plant pots, mostly empty, what we agreed was a lot of garbage. However part of me wondered who gets to decide what is an appropriate way to mourn? I just know that in the cemeteries where my parents and grand parents are buried you get one fixed plant pot for flowers and that is it, doesn't matter how big the stone, they like their grounds tidy.

We noticed the older graves had less decoration but many had the grave outlined with a raised bed filled with gravel or coloured stones. The latter tended to be scattered, probably by magpies which are known for being attracted to shiny objects. 

The really old graves were in a section where the grass grew as high as the grave markers. Good luck finding an old grave in there. This is a common practice which is justified as 'good for the birds and bees'. I don't doubt it is. I suspect that most family members have ceased visiting these graves and that is why the council gets away with this. Or perhaps there is in the burial contract a specified number of years the site will be maintained?

Some years back there was a problem with these old stones being knocked down by kids hanging out at night in the cemetery. I believe the gates are now locked at night but there was a period when all local authorities had a programme of moving fallen or loose stones, either to the perimeter wall or placing them flat on the graves. This was in the name of 'health and safety' but some of those stones were definitely vandalised, which I find scandalous. I suspect the main activity of the kids was drinking or drugs, but part of me wonders how many babies have been conceived in cemeteries around Britain. Almost has a kind of symmetry, that.

One of the pleasant surprises we had was discovering a couple of military grave areas, one for WWI and another for WWII. They were lovely and neat with flowers planted between the largely identical graves stones, with some older stones mixed in. More than just tidy, elegant was the word that came to mind. Bill said this would be the work of the War Graves Commission, an organisation I never knew existed. I've been here almost 25 years and I'm still learning about my adopted country.

Turns out it's the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and there is a lovely little video that shows largely what they are about and looking at the map showing the breadth of their commitment worldwide, it's pretty impressive.