Memorial to the unknown children

A memorial has been unveiled to remember the stillborn babies buried in a Pembrokeshire cemetery.

The new memorial at Llanion Cemetery in Pembroke Dock was put in place earlier this month.

It follows the unveiling of a permanent memorial at City Road cemetery in Haverfordwest last year.

Both memorials are the culmination of years of campaigning by Pembrokeshire County Council employee Pat James – Crematorium Assistant at Parc Gwyn in Narberth.

“Today parents of still born babies are given a chance to say goodbye to their children with proper burials but it wasn’t always so,” said Pat.

“In the past it was thought that it was best for the mothers if their babies were simply taken away from them after birth for their own good,” she said.

“I hope these new memorials will give these mothers – and fathers – some solace. Hopefully they will be places where they can come and reflect.”

In the early years of the 20th century it was common practice to take stillborn babies away from their mothers without any ritual.

An estimated 400 stillborn babies were buried in unmarked graves at  City Road Cemetery between 1928 and 1975 and around 200 laid to rest in unmarked graves at Llanion Cemetery from 1915 to 1975.

Pat sought funding for permanent memorials for these babies and last September a memorial stone was placed at City Road – where most of the County’s stillborn babies are buried.

St Michael’s Cemetery in Pembroke already has a memorial commemorating the children buried there.

Anyone wanting further information about these memorials can contact Pat at Parc Gwyn on 01834 860622.