Issue 102 June 2024

Ramsey Mortuary Chapels Heritage and Archive Centre

By Jane Yardley – Chair, Friends of Ramsey Mortuary Chapels

As I write this, the 80th anniversary of D Day is fast approaching. The 6th of June 1944 saw the largest seaborne invasion in history and the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe.

At the chapels, on Thursday 6^th June 2024 we will be marking the day along with Ramsey Town Council and Rotary in Ramsey.

The plans so far are as follows.

9:30am flag raising at Ramsey’s War Memorial

9:40am children, together with members of 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic), a regular and reserve unit, originally formed in 1947 and based at RAF Wyton, will march to the chapels where they will lay crosses on all of the War Graves.

The Ramsey Branch of the Royal British Legion, Ramsey Town Councillors and members of Rotary in Ramsey will also be in attendance.

The “Friends” have had an interpretation board made, with considerable help from Roger Reynolds MVO and Rotary in Ramsey about all the War Graves in the cemetery, both WWI and WWII and this will be unveiled by Rotary Chairman, Will Cowell who is also a member of the Radio Society of Great Britain.

The anniversary of D Day is also being commemorated by 2 Special Event Stations located at Bletchley Park Centre where the wartime Enigma codes were broken.

Will has an old-fashioned portable radio station in a box, which he hopes to set up at the chapels to see if contact can be made with them. How nice to be able to see messages transmitted before the days of mobile phones and text messages!

We have also produced a leaflet about the War Graves in the Wood Lane Cemetery which Ramsey Town Council has generously offered to pay for. These will be available on the day.

In the evening at 8:30pm at the Ramsey War Memorial, poems will be read, the lanterns will be lit, and large silhouettes of soldiers (both men and women) will be unveiled.

People today don’t realise that many women who served also played a part in D Day and its only right that they also be remembered. After the unveiling there will be a short service and then the beacon will be lit.

Let’s hope that we will do Ramsey proud and all those who fought so that we might be free.

We have all been working hard at the chapels to get ready for D Day, but members Maurice Margetts and his daughter Sarah have virtually taken up residence!
They took on the not inconsiderable task of cleaning every War Grave in the cemetery.
This used to be done by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but due to increased costs and the vast amount of War Graves in the country they can only do them infrequently, and sadly ours hadn’t been attended to since 2019.
Maurice and Sarah have done a truly wonderful job, and I can’t thank them enough, so why not come and see all their hard work for yourselves.

Please see our official Facebook page, “Ramsey Mortuary Chapels” and our website: - www.ramseymortuarychapels.org.uk for up-to-date information regarding our opening times and ongoing restoration projects.

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