Royton Cemetery mass grave: Babies and children among 300 bodies found

The statement read: “How many babies are laying in Royton Cemetery in mass graves, their identities unknown to their grieving relatives?

“It’s a stark injustice that parents were denied the fundamental right to bury their babies, a right that should be inherent and unquestionable.

“This situation should stir our collective sense of fairness and empathy.

“We cannot change what has happened, but we can ensure that the babies born sleeping are named, recognised, and never forgotten.”

A motion, due to be discussed at a council meeting on 11 September, has called for the council to erect a memorial to the buried children.

It also suggests records and documents about the burials should be made more accessible and digitalised.

The adults in the graves are presumed to be what are known as “pauper’s burials”, for individuals whose families could not afford to pay for a grave.

The Royton grave’s discovery follows another mass grave being found in Wirral earlier this year, where resident Gina Jacobs, 79, found her stillborn son after a 53-year search.

Over the past 20 years, mass graves containing the remains of stillborn babies have been discovered in Lancashire, Devon, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield.