BROOKWOOD CEMETERY LTD

Press Releases by Brookwood Cemetery Ltd

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April 2008: Thanking Mary Cockram

Managing Director Erkin Guney was pleased to meet up with Mary Cockram at the end of April.

Mary worked for the Company from 1980 through to 1997 as Company Secretary.

For most of this period she worked alongside his father, Ramadan Guney, who passed away in November 2006.

April 2008: New Permanent Exhibition at the St Edward Brotherhood

The official opening of the St Edward Brotherhood's new permanent exhibition took place on the evening of 27 April.

Assisted by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the exhibition interprets the story of the site along with the life of St Edward the Martyr and how the brotherhood came to be based in the cemetery.

The exhibition is usually open to visitors on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons and at other times by appointment. It is located in the old mortuary building, next to the St Edward the Martyr church.

(Above) Part of the new permanent exhibition in the old mortuary building, St Edward Brotherhood.

(Right) Father Niphon, Mike Stonelake (designer of the exhibition), Archimandrite Alexis, Erkin Guney and John Clarke at the official opening of the new exhibition.

April 2008: Necropolis Railway Station

The Guardian Weekend magazine of 5 April  included an article called "Pretty Vacant". It featured London buildings as reminders of bygone days. One of these was the entrance to the old London Necropolis terminus at 121 Westminster Bridge Road which was illustrated and described.

April 2008: "Tales From the Country"

ITV1 broadcast a 10 minute documentary on Brookwood Cemetery on the evening of 3 April. Hosted by Tony Francis it was part of the series called "Tales from the Country".

The complete series lasts 10 weeks, during which Tony Francis and Selina Scott discover some of the weirdest and wonderful stories which surround our daily lives - "the stories others overlook".

The series is shown across three of the ITV1 regions – London, Anglia and Central. It is produced by Kingsfisher Television Productions Ltd.

A Factsheet of the programme on Brookwood Cemetery may be viewed here.

March 2008: Commemorating the Turkish Airmen

On 18 March the Turkish Ambassador, the Interior Minister, and other eminent guests visited the Turkish Airmen's plot in Brookwood Cemetery.

They were accompanied by Erkin Guney and Onder Guney, Directors of Brookwood Cemetery Ltd.

A short service of remembrance was held there. It was held not only for the Turkish airmen commemorated in the plot but also the 27 members of the Turkish Army who have lost their lives in Iraq.

The plot contains the bodies of 14 members of the Turkish Air Force who were killed during the Second World War.

The allotment also contains the mortal remains of Arif Bey (1816-1836) who died at Woolwich, and a commemorative plaque to the victims of the 1959 Gatwick air crash.

February 2008: Celebrating 16 years of the Brookwood Cemetery Society

Cemetery owner Erkin Guney presented Brookwood Society founders Mary Lucas and John Clarke with birthday bouquets to celebrate the 16th birthday of the Society.

He said "I'm pleased to publicly thank Mary and John for setting up the society 16 years ago. They have done so much to promote the cemetery over the years and I'm keen to work with them and the society to make further improvements across the site."

The flowers were presented at the grave of Ann Cross, which was Mary's first project in the cemetery back in 1991. Her work clearing rhododendrons from the memorial fired a fascination for the extensive grounds and the society was born the following spring.

John described his colleague as the driving force behind the society in the early years and added that the group was looking forward to its new season of guided walks.

February 2008: Proposed new Muslim Burial Ground

The Woking News & Mail published an article about secret discussions for a new Muslim burial ground in the borough. After a meeting of Woking Borough Council’s executive last Thursday 7 February 2008 that a memorial site for Muslims in Monument Road, Maybury, was being considered for use as a Muslim burial ground. The proposed site is owned by the Horsell Common Preservation Society (HCPS) and is a listed Grade II monument.

It is unclear how this site will be adapted for use as a burial ground, who will manage it, who will pay for it, and who will deal with issues of vandalism. For the site is located outside Woking and persistent vandalism resulted in the bodies of First World War soldiers buried there being removed to Brookwood Military Cemetery in 1969. However when this matter was previously reported in February 2005, the same site was rejected for being too small and open to vandalism.

The following week, the Woking News & Mail includes more feedback about the secret discussions for a new Muslim burial ground in the borough. Much of the feedback concerns the unnecessary "behind closed doors" session held by the Council where these proposals were discussed.

Melanie Guney, Senior Manager of Brookwood Cemetery Ltd, stated "I think something like this should be made available to all people. I would have gone to the meeting if I had been allowed because it could have an impact on the cemetery. Even a court of law is held in public so why shouldn't this meeting have been?"

Brookwood Cemetery Ltd had offered the Muslim community the same special all-inclusive rates that are offered to all people who are living within 17 miles of Brookwood (ie £2,500 for a burial or £1,600 for a woodland burial).

The cemetery incorporates all nationalities and religions and can offer any community or religious group what we offer everyone else.

In addition to the article, there are a couple of interesting comments by letter.

The following week the Woking News & Mail published further correspondence about the proposed new muslim burial ground.

One correspondent applauds the newspaper's coverage despite the council's attempts "to pile as much into Part 2 to keep it out of the Woking residents' knowledge". Another letter describes the old muslim burial ground and why it became necessary to move the soldiers into the safety of Brookwood Cemetery, and goes on to ask "what is the need for another burial site?".

A former councillor points out that Brookwood Cemetery is available "for all denominations and nationalities of Muslims and every other culture" and queries the allegation that burial at Brookwood is expensive. "Nothing is free, not even death. Is the assumption that, should the plot be opened for burial again, it would be free?"

February 2008: Cut Flowers for Sale

We are now selling cut flowers from the Cemetery Office. These are available at £3, £4 and £5, Flowers may also be ordered through us.

February 2008: Cemetery Sign Refurbished

The Cemetery sign at the junction of Cemetery Pales and the A322, giving directions to the cemetery and the Glades of Remembrance has been refurbished and repainted.

We hope this will assist visitors to the cemetery.

December 2007: W11 Opera Produce "Shadowtracks"

Unique amongst opera companies, W11 Opera for Young People casts only school-age singers for each new opera it commissions every year. Entirely professionally produced, the performances are a stunningly unusual musical event.

This year's production, which took place on the weekend of 15-16 December, was called "Shadowtracks". Here librettist Christina Jones and composer Julian Grant mingle past and present as the ghostly Necropolis train breaks down, bringing a collection of ghosts and memories onto the station concourse.

Based on Brookwood Cemetery's former railway funeral service, the opera provided a vivid and moving mixture of fact and fiction, and of stories left behind in the shadows of the railway tracks through time.

You can read more about Shadowtracks here.

December 2007: New Memorial Commemorating Thomas Hawksley (1807-1893)

A new memorial has been placed on the grave of Thomas Hawksley in plot 31. Sponsored by MWH Global, the granite memorial was put in place in time for members of the company to pay their respects on 5 December.

Since 2007 marks the bicentenary of Thomas Hawksley's birth, the company felt it appropriate to place a permanent memorial on the grave. Previously there had been no memorial on what is a large private family plot in Brookwood Cemetery.

In connection with the bicentennial celebrations, MWH released a DVD highlighting Thomas Hawksley's career and the projects the company is currently involved in. They also released a commemorative booklet celebrating his life and times.

The granite memorial was made by Tudor Rose Memorials.

November 2007: President Václav Klaus´ visit to the Military Cemetery

President of the Czech Republic HE Mr Václav Klaus and his wife Livia paid a visit to the Czechoslovakian Military Cemetery during their official visit to the United Kingdom (7-9 November, 2007).

After arrival on Wednesday 7 November, President Klaus paid a tribute to the Czechoslovak servicemen who fought in Battle of Britain. He laid a wreath at the memorial for the Czechoslovak servicemen in the presence of ten veterans who had arrived from all over the United Kingdom.

November 2007: New Green Burial Area Named "Gillian's Meadow"

We are pleased to announce that our green burial area has been officially named "Gillian's Meadow". It is named after Gillian King, who died in 2000, and was the first person to be buried in this new area of the cemetery.

November 2007: New Cemetery Sign

A new cemetery sign has been erected at the entrance on Cemetery Pales. This replaces the very old and battered sign that dated from the late 1940s.

It has been constructed from solid pine with the lettering in white plastic and is designed to be durable and low maintenance. We hope this sign will assist all visitors to Brookwood Cemetery.

It was fitted by L.F. Fisci of Garden Maintenance (Tel. 01276 508544 or 07956551281).

October 2007: St Anne's Westminster

Earlier this year, the missing pair of obelisks for St Anne's Westminster were rediscovered in the cemetery grounds. They used to mark the entrance to the unconsecrated section for St Anne's Westminster which was designated as a private family plot following the passage of the Brookwood Cemetery Act (1975).

The obelisks have since been temporarily but publicly re-sited inside the entrance to the Glades of Remembrance.

This pair were removed from their original location in the late 1970s, and are in a better condition than the pair in the former Church of England section (plot 1) that form an entrance feature to the Bagh E Zehra burial ground.

Pending a final decision on their location, the obelisks will be restored and repainted. Surviving paint fragments show that they were previously painted green.

October 2007: Funeral of Zdenka Pokorna

The ashes of Zdenka Pokorna (1905 -2007) were buried in the Czechoslovakian "annexe" of Brookwood Cemetery on Sunday 28 October.

Zdenka Pokorna was a teacher and an unswerving patriot who was hailed on her 90th birthday as the "living conscience of the century" by the Czechoslovakian Government.

She challenged the Habsburg, Nazi and Soviet occupations of her homeland and was forced into exile in 1948. She spent the rest of her long life in Britain from where she continued her campaigning.

Her obituary from The Times may be read here.

We have posted further photographs of Zdenka Pokorna here.

October 2007: Meeting of the Directors

The Directors of Brookwood Cemetery Ltd would like to thank everyone for their sympathy and support following the death of their father Ramadan Guney last year.

At their recent meeting at the cemetery, the Directors fully approved the recent developments and improvements undertaken by the Managing Director Erkin Guney. They also reviewed and approved the future plans for further enhancements to the site, designed to make Brookwood even more attractive to clients and visitors alike.

October 2007: Inauguration of the Three Wheels Buddhist Stupa of Namu-Amida-butsu

The inauguration of the Three Wheels Buddhist Stupa took place on Sunday 7 October. You can also download a copy of the relevant Three Wheels News, which includes a fuller account of the ceremony.

The Stupa is located in plot 36 and is close to the graves of four Japanese students who died in London about 140 years ago. For the Three Wheels this site has been an enduring symbol of Anglo-Japanese friendship.

The construction of the Stupa came about in the summer of 2007, under the supervision of Masayuki Ogawa. The Stupa is designed to contain the ashes of departed Buddhists. It was constructed in plot 36 of Brookwood Cemetery. The project originated in a bequest by Reverend Zenko, a Zen Priest who died on 19 February 2007. The Venerable Chimyo Takehara decided that, as the best way to use the bequest, it should go towards building a Stupa, and this idea was warmly welcomed by Reverend Zenko before he died.

Over the summer, Mr Masayuki Ogawa, a Japanese garden designer from Kyoto, and six other Dharma friends flew to London to start work on the site. The central granite monument was carved in Kyoto by Mr Kinzo Nishimura, the best stonemason in Japan. The beautiful calligraphy inscribed on the granite was executed by the Venerable Chimyo Takehara, modelled on Shinran Shonin's own writing of Namu-Amdia-butsu.

Under the Stupa is a rectangular space surrounded by panels of grey granite where the ashes of the deceased can be placed. The names of the deceased will be set down on a traditional Japanese scroll by means of the ancient craft of kirikane.

The service took place around the Stupa and included Dharma friends and Gagaku musicians. Guests then moved on to the graves of the four Japanese students (now within the Serbian Cemetery) and went on to visit the grave of Professor Alexander Williamson (1824-1904) of University College London who did so much to promote the wellbeing and welfare of these students.

August 2007: Funeral of Captain David Hicks

The funeral of Captain David Hicks took place on Thursday 30 August with full military honours.

Captain Hicks, of the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died on 11 August following an attack on his patrol base north east of Sangin, Helmund Province, Afghanistan. He died from shrapnel wounds after refusing to abandon his men to seek medical attention during the frontline battle with the Taliban.

Captain Hicks has been nominated for the Victoria Cross in recognition of his bravery in Afghanistan.

The official Ministry of Defence communiqué reporting the death of Captain Hicks may be read here.

July 2007: New Cemetery Gates

We are providing new security gates at the cemetery entrances. These are situated outside Brookwood Station and at the entrances off Cemetery Pales. Work on these should be completed by mid-September. All gates will be locked at 7pm and unlocked at 7am daily.

June 2007: John Sergeant visits Brookwood Cemetery

In connection with filming for a short piece for BBC1's The One Show, John Sergeant visited the cemetery on 27 June.

He interviewed Erkin Guney and other members of cemetery staff for a piece that is scheduled to be broadcast in August or September 2007.

Our photograph shows John Sergeant with John Clarke after the filming had been completed, and another of John Sergeant with Erkin Guney and John Clarke.

May 2007: New Arrangements for Walks in the Cemetery

Brookwood Cemetery is a privately owned and managed burial ground and it is a courtesy to seek permission to explore the grounds. Over the years this has rarely happened and so the Company is introducing the new procedures for all guided walks in the cemetery.  Follow this link for further information.

Potential visitors are reminded of the programme of monthly walks arranged through us with the Brookwood Cemetery Society. These take place on the first Sunday of the month and start at 2pm. Further details of these walks are posted here.

May 2007: Cemetery Restoration Fund

To support a number of proposed restoration projects, Brookwood Cemetery Ltd has opened a restoration fund. This will be used entirely for the repair of particular memorials or sections of the cemetery. Our first project will be to restore the lake in the Glades of Remembrance and we are currently seeking funds to assist us in completing this project. It is estimated the work will cost between £7,000 - £10,000. Further details of the lake may be found here. Our leaflet on "Save Brookwood Cemetery" may be found here.

Donations are welcome at any time. Cheques should be made payable to "Brookwood Cemetery Restoration Fund" and sent to the address at the foot of this page. For further information about this fund, please contact the Cemetery Office.

For older press releases and related information, see our Blog

Glades House, Cemetery Pales, Brookwood, Woking, Surrey GU24 0BL
Tel: (01483) 472222
Fax: (01483) 472223
Email: enquiries@brookwoodcemetery.com