'Discovering our uncle's forgotten grave means so much'

17 hours ago

Nathan TurveyYorkshire, Bradford

The grave of the 15 children who died was unveiled at a special ceremony at Bradford's Undercliffe Cemetery

Nathan Turvey/BBC A picture of the grave, the gravestone has the words C754 Barnardo Owner engraved on it, there are 15 plaques with the names of each child, there are cream flowers and people gatherered around it. — The grave of the 15 children who died was unveiled at a special ceremony at Bradford's Undercliffe Cemetery

A relative of one of 15 children buried in a "forgotten grave" has said its restoration means her ancestor can now finally rest in peace.

The plot was discovered at Undercliffe Cemetery in Bradford last year and a ceremony has now been held to honour those interred there.

The children all lived at the Home for Little Incurables, run by Barnardo's in Manningham, and are believed to have died from tuberculosis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Pat Carey's great-uncle, James Elton, was one of them, and the 86-year-old said the ceremony was a "tearful" moment.

Pat Carey and her brother Peter Elton travelled from Essex for the unveiling ceremony after discovering their great-uncle was one of the children buried in the plot

Nathan Turvey/BBC Pat Carey (right) who has white hair and is wearing a pink coat and her brother Peter Elton (left) who is wearing glasses and a blue coat, standing by the grave of the 15 children, there is a gravestone and flowers, with other gravestones and trees in thr distance. — Pat Carey and her brother Peter Elton travelled from Essex for the unveiling ceremony after discovering their great-uncle was one of the children buried in the plot

The gravestone was uncovered as part of a project by the Undercliffe Cemetery Charity to make the site, and the stories of those laid to rest there, more accessible.

The 13 boys and two girls buried in the plot, which was bought by Irish philanthropist Dr Thomas John Barnardo, were aged between three and 18.

Carey said she read an article in a national newspaper about the grave and contacted Undercliffe Cemetery Charity to see whether her great-uncle could be one of the children buried there.

"The whole family came from the East End of London - so what was he doing in Bradford?

"Eventually I sent for the death certificate and that proved it was him."

James's twin brother became her grandfather, and she said that he and her father would have been "over the moon" had they lived to attend the ceremony.

"I suppose it's peace isn't it? Peace at last," she added.

Pat Carey placed a picture of her great-uncle James Elton by his name plaque on the restored grave

Nathan Turvey/BBC A picture of James Alfred Elton, one of the children buried in the grave, next to a plaque with his name on it with cream flowers in a pot — Pat Carey placed a picture of her great-uncle James Elton by his name plaque on the restored grave

Carey's brother Peter Elton, 81, also made the journey to Bradford from Essex.

He said to see the grave reinstated was a "beautiful thing".

Speaking about his great-uncle, who was 15 when he died in 1900, he said that they knew he was "quite ill most of his life", was put into the care system and ended up in Bradford, but that they did not know how or why.

Elton said it was "very touching" when the names of the 15 children were read out at the ceremony.

Each child buried in the grave has been given a plaque with their name on, and a vase for a flower.

Yasmin Hanif, from the charity Barnardo's in Bradford, said it was amazing to see the grave's final restoration

Nathan Turvey/BBC A picture of Yasmin Hanif, from the charity Barnardo's in Bradford, she has black hair and is wearing a white top. The grave is behind her with Pat holding a picture of her uncle by it in the background. — Yasmin Hanif, from the charity Barnardo's in Bradford, said it was amazing to see the grave's final restoration

Yasmin Hanif, from the charity Barnardo's in Bradford said she was "super proud" of their involvement in the ceremony.

The organisation has worked closely with the Undercliffe Cemetery Charity on the restoration project.

She said: "It's really mixed emotions, it's amazing to see the final restoration and it looks amazing - and the cherry on the cake was finding Pat and Peter.

"I'm just so pleased we've been able to provide that missing piece of information in their family history," she added.

James Elton, Pat and Peter's great-uncle, was one of the 15 children buried in the grave

Barnardo's Archive An old picture of James Elton as a boy, one of the childrfen buried in the grave. — James Elton, Pat and Peter's great-uncle, was one of the 15 children buried in the grave

The charity is keen to trace the family members of the other 14 children and urged anyone who believes they too may be related to get in touch.

The Home for Little Incurables opened in 1898 at 2 Parkfield Road in Manningham, then one of the city's most prestigious suburbs. It could accommodate 23 children, many suffering from diseases such as tuberculosis or with severe disabilities such as rickets.

The first burial was in 1899 and the last in 1906, before the home moved to a new site in Harrogate in 1911.

The Manningham building has been significantly altered but is now a private home.

Over the past five years, the Undercliffe Cemetery Charity has painstakingly compiled a database of the cemetery's 124,500 burials, using the information they have collected to locate the sunken gravestones along with in-depth research.

Tim Hardy, from the charity, said: "It is obviously one of our most well-known graves and to think we've got 15 children from all over the United Kingdom, only two of them are from Yorkshire, it's our duty of care to take care of them and to honour their memory."

He said that was a "lovely thing to be able to do" and it was "fantastic" to meet the relatives of one of the children - describing that as the "icing on the cake."