The Friends group membership grew from 51 to 71 members over the past year. They held committee and general meetings, and conducted 7 work sessions removing vegetation from the cemeteries. The group discussed restoring memorials and organized public guided walks and Remembrance Day events. They are applying for charity status and plan an open day to mark their 5th anniversary in July 2012. The chair thanked members and council officers for their support over the past year.

1. ANNUAL REPORT for 2011-12 TO THE AGM OF FRIENDS of BROCKLEY AND
LADYWELL CEMETERIES JUNE 2012
The Friends group was formed in July 2007, and now has a membership of 71, up from 51 at
the end of March 2011. The majority of members live in and around South-east London, but
others further afield as well as abroad, including Canada.
The Friends group had 6 open committee meetings during the year, plus 1 General meeting in
addition to the AGM.
Following a fruitful discussion with the Head of Bereavement Services, we were given
permission to use the Chapel for meetings. Although the Chapel has no heating, the move
from the noisy rear bar of the Brockley Jack was welcomed, as the increase in numbers
attending proved. We would like to thank both the landlord of the pub for allowing us the use
of his premises, and to Shirley Bishop for allowing us to become keyholders of the Chapel.
7 “work sessions” have taken place, including two in conjunction with the Council’s Nature
Conservation Department’s Nature’s Gym. Work has mainly been removing sycamore
growths in both Cemeteries. This has improved visibility across open grave plots. Numbers
attending have varied between 4 and 10, representing 108 hours’ work over the year.
The group has discussed restoration of memorials, including the Hither Green & Sydenham
bombing deaths memorial in the Ladywell Cemetery; members met with a descendent of one
of the families to try to determine the names which were on the memorial.
A Royal Marine Corporal approached the group to assist in having a headstone erected for a
Rorke’s Drift veteran, buried in Brockley Cemetery. A media campaign brought a certain
amount of interest; funds are now being raised independently of the group for a headstone,
and for a stonemason to carry out the work.
Four public guided walks were held over the year, including one for the Brockley Max
Festival, which was attended by about 40 people. Attendances at other walks were not so
high, but those attending expressed their thanks to the guides. Thanks are due to the members
who have led these walks, and the members who have come along in support. Knowledge is
built up with each successive walk, and members continue to research and pinpoint particular
memorials of interest. One problem we have is that, as the amount of information grows, so
does the length of each walk, unless judicious editing is exercised.
The Council’s People & Rivers Project organised an evening nature walk in the Brockley
Cemetery, led by Nick Bertrand, in June. A number of Friends attended.
We held our second Remembrance Day event, laying wreaths at the two war memorials and
picking three relevant points of interest in between. Up to 14 adults plus children attended the
event.
There was no Armistice evening event this year. Members of the group offered their services
as stewards at a similar event in Brompton Cemetery, organised by John McKiernan and
Platform-7. Unfortunately this event was cancelled with only a few days to go.
The group had a stall at the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery Open Day (May), but because
Gordonbrock School is being rebuilt, there was no Summer Carnival in 2011.
The Ladywell Walking Guide, which the group collaborated on with other local groups, was
published in January. The trail includes part of the Ladywell Cemetery.
The group is represented on the Council’s Biodiversity Partnership, and supplies details of
work done and numbers attending for a national reporting scheme.

2. Questions have been asked of the Council in regard to the toilet in the Ladywell Cemetery. It
is hoped that capital funds will be available to refurbish the existing toilet, and to possibly
expand it within the existing building. The Cabinet member responsible for Bereavement
Services, and local councillors have been lobbied on this.
A guest speaker attended a meeting and outlined the advantages of registered charity status.
As a result, an application is being made to HM Revenue & Customs to register as a charity
for gift aid purposes. The group’s income is currently below that required for registration
with the Charities’ Commission.
The Friends remained a member of the National Federation of Cemeteries’ Friends, and sent a
delegate to the AGM of the National Federation of Cemetery Friends in Plymouth. Two
delegates will be attending the 2012 AGM in Norwich.
The website and BlogSpot, managed by Patrick Napier, continues to be the channel for
enquiries from within the UK and abroad about friends and relatives buried in the Cemeteries.
Patrick reports that there have been 5,383 visits to the site in the last year. Of these, 63%, or
3,391, were first visits. The top four pages visited were George Lacey Hillier (cyclist),
Swepstone (footballer), the bat and wildflower walk, and Jane Clouson. The majority of visits
(nearly 4,000), were, understandably, from the UK, with the USA next, followed by Australia
and Canada. But there were also visitors from India and Brazil, as well as Europe.
Members of the group have assisted in identifying and photographing particular graves, and
writing them up for the Blogspot. As a result members have been able to supply information
to enquiries from Australia and Canada, and in turn have been supplied information from
people who have particular interests. Members also keep a few graves “tidy” at the request of
descendents unable to visit the graves.
It is hoped to develop a publishing programme using the research information.
As July 2012 is the 5th anniversary of the founding of the group, plans are being made for an
Open Day with themed walks and display boards in the Chapel.
I would like to thank all members for their continued enthusiasm and support over the past
year; to Nick Pond and Jessica Kyle of the Council’s Nature Conservation Department for
their advice; also to Colin Burgess, Irene Kemp (now retired) and Shirley Bishop, the Council
Officers responsible for the Cemeteries for their co-operation in the past year.
Geoffrey Thurley
Chair