Funeral of Major Sean Birchall

The funeral of Major Sean Birchall took place on Wednesday 8 July with full military honours. His burial followed a memorial service held in the Guards Chapel at Wellington barracks.

Major Birchall, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in Afghanistan on 19 June. He was killed by an explosion whilst on patrol in Basharan, near Lashkar Gah, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. One other soldier was injured in the incident.

The official Ministry of Defence communiqué reporting the death of Major Birchall may be read here.

Brookwood Cemetery designated a Grade I historic park & garden by English Heritage

English Heritage has upgraded Brookwood Cemetery from a Grade II to a Grade I historic park & garden. This puts the massive 450 acre cemetery in the top 10% of registered parks & gardens in the UK, and recognises that the cemetery is of international significance.

Erkin Guney, Managing Director of Brookwood Cemetery, said he was very pleased with the news. “It reinforces what we have been saying for some time, that Brookwood Cemetery deserves to be recognised as a site of national and international importance. I hope this new status will be a valuable staging post towards our target of making the cemetery a World Heritage site.” He also wished to thank all those who had supported his vision of making Brookwood “the Kew Gardens of cemeteries”, especially his wife Melanie Guney, who is Senior Manager of the cemetery; the cemetery’s Historical Consultant, John Clarke; other company employees; and members of the Brookwood Cemetery Society.

The letter from English Heritage explained the reasons for the significant upgrade in status from Grade II to Grade I as follows:

“[English Heritage] have recently undertaken a systematic review of the grading of the 106 cemeteries on the Register and the reasons for their designation, and are writing to let you know that from the date of this letter [9 June 2009], English Heritage, the Government’s statutory adviser, has decided to upgrade the Register entry for Brookwood Cemetery from Grade II to Grade I for the following principal reasons:”

“Extraordinary scheme on an entirely different scale to other cemeteries
“Extent and complexity of design
“One of the finest nineteenth century designs in the country
“Quality of design and layout on the ground
“Designers of national renown
“Strong international links
“Wide diversity of social and religious aspects.”

English Heritage developed its Register of Historic Parks and Gardens under the National Heritage Act of 1983. During the 1980s the Register was developed and covered 1,065 sites, only 14 of which were cemeteries. The register is currently being revised and Brookwood Cemetery is one of nearly 1,450 sites in the updated register. Its upgrade means it is one of only 140 sites in the UK granted the prestigious Grade I status.

Forthcoming Events

The following special services are scheduled to take place in Brookwood Cemetery during May.

Saturday 23 May: Spring visit to the burial ground of St Alban the Martyr Holborn

Sunday 24 May: American Battle Monument Commission Memorial Day (3pm)

Revised Opening Times

We have revised our opening times as follows: Daily from 7am to 5pm (Winter: October to March) and 7am to 7pm (Summer: April to September). The gates at the entrance beside the Glades of Remembrance will be open from 8am to 5pm throughout the year. Access can be gained through other gates out of these hours.

These opening hours are in line with the traditonal opening hours of the cemetery and are consistent with opening hours in other local cemeteries and crematoria.

Access from Brookwood Station

Following a number of complaints and incidents of vandalism in the cemetery (see for instance, June 2008 below), it has been agreed with South West Trains, the local Community Police, and the Councillor for Brookwood (Glynis Preshaw) that the entrance into the cemetery from Brookwood Station will be locked each night from 9pm through to 7am from 15 September 2008. Access to the cemetery will not be possible between these times.