A local man’s search for his baby brother’s grave has uncovered the disturbing history behind St James’ Church graveyard in Bushey High Street.
Chris Sidthorpe has been searching for his sibling’s grave for over 20 years – James ‘Jimmy’ Robert Sidthorpe died at two days old on Saturday, January 1, 1955.
“This has been a long and painful journey after I promised my mother, over 20 years ago, that I would find my brother’s resting place,” Chris told BusheyNews. “With the help of graveyard manager Greg Batts, we found Jimmy.”
However, in the process of the search, over 100 unmarked babies’ graves were also discovered in the churchyard – one that ranks as one of the largest in south-east England.
As Chris’ parents were unable to locate Jimmy in the years leading up to their deaths, a request last year was made to posthumously commemorate his brother. “I asked St James’ Church to install a plaque on the memorial wall in their garden of remembrance, but this was refused by Father David,” he continued. “This was really upsetting. I was told that the garden was opened for the deceased whose ashes are interred to be inscribed.” Unfortunately, this strict process meant that the church did not qualify James for the memorial wall.
“The church did offer to put Jimmy’s name in the book of remembrance for free, but I told them this wasn’t enough, and that my brother deserves a better, proper resting place.”
Finally, on June 4, the church relented and the memorial was commissioned by the rector. This is due to be placed in the coming weeks and will be dedicated to Jimmy, as well as the other infants buried in unmarked graves in St James’ churchyard.
“It’s disappointing that the journey has been so long, and that I needed to push so hard for my brother to get a proper memorial, but we got there finally and that much is a relief for the family.”
St James’ Church will be holding a special remembrance service in honour of all the children buried without proper graves in their Churchyard. Chris told BusheyNews this service is “a long time coming”, not only for his family but the hundreds of other families affected by this devastating discovery.
Father David, the Rector of the Parish of Bushey, has chosen Isaiah 49:15 as the inscription on the memorial. This verse says “Can a mother forget her nursing child? Even if she could, I will not forget you”, a comforting message for the families of all the infants, reassuring them that the mothers and God will not forget them.
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