Remembrance garden at Rake Lane Cemetery is now a fitting tribute

Jul 6 2011 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

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A GARDEN of remembrance for stillborn babies has been transformed thanks to a caring council worker.

Father-of-two Darren Marquiss noticed the years had taken their toll on the tired-looking memorial site at Rake Lane Cemetery in Wallasey.

It is the resting place of more than 300 babies who were either stillborn or died after just a few hours at the former Mill Lane Maternity Hospital in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Until 1996, the grave was unmarked and the grassed area used mainly by dog walkers.

It became a memorial garden after a campaign by Val Frost from Moreton, who discovered her stillborn son was buried there. After months of work to give the garden a new look, a re-dedication service will take place on Sunday, July 17.

Mrs Frost, 64, said: “It looks lovely. I want to say thank you to Darren and every-one else involved. Although the flower beds were nicely kept, it was starting to look scruffy.

“There’s going to come a time when I can’t go there any more and it is a comfort to know someone is looking after it. I’m protective of it because part of me is there.”

A marble headstone inscribed with many of the children’s names has been cleaned and moved away from the main path. A new path to the memorial area has been laid, and rose bushes planted to give parents more privacy.