Ford Park Cemetery Trust
Cemetery of Choice

"A Working Cemetery in the Heart of Plymouth"

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Tel 01752 665442    

It’s all in the detail when it comes to ensuring the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms of today are honoured with the diligent upkeep of their graves at Ford Park Cemetery.

Shelley and Glyn PicShelley Winfield and Glyn Rogers (Pictured right) generously give hours of their time to tend to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Ministry of Defence graves on our site. 

This week they have been working their maintenance magic and the fruits of their labour will be seen by those who come to a War Graves free guided tour taking place on Tuesday 23rd May 2023. 

Starting at 11am from the Cross of Sacrifice the walk will be an opportunity to learn how the vision of one man is now evident worldwide with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries and work. And how behind every name on a headstone there are stories of selfless courage.

Drummer Boy picThe warmer weather has helped the carefully planted borders to blossom, including the stunning Rose (pictured) called Trumpeter rose.

The symbolism of the border planting is really quite simple.

As most of the CWGC large plots are in France and Belgium the Horticultural designers at the time (just after the first world war) wanted to create a little bit of England.  So the border plant schemes were designed to try and reflect a typical English garden, hence the use of roses in between the headstones.

Each CWGC headstone border is planted with a mixture of floribunda roses and herbaceous perennials. Low-growing plants are chosen for areas immediately in front of headstones, ensuring that inscriptions are not obscured and preventing soil from splashing back during rain.

As challenging as times are today our basic living standards in terms of public hygiene and spread of common diseases has greatly improved since the 19th century.

Take a step back in time with our guided walk this month and exhibition “The Dirty Old Town” at Ford Park Cemetery.

Dirty Old Town Walk

 

Walk information 

 Living conditions with poverty and poor sanitation, work conditions and the impact of common diseases such as cholera on our local community will be explored as you walk around our historic cemetery on a 1.5 hour guided tour on Sunday 21st May from 2pm. 

Stout sensible footwear is advised, children under 14 must be supervised by a responsible adult and dogs on leads can attend.

Refreshments will be available in our cafe afterwards.

 

 

 

Dirty Old Town ExhibExhibition information 

 Our first class heritage research volunteers have fascinating stories to tell and historical facts to share on the walk and through the exhibition which will be open to the public in the Visitor Centre Chapel from 21 May until 22 June on Tuesdays and Thursday from 10.30am-3.30pm and weekends from 12.30pm-3.30pm. 

The walk and exhibition are free of charge but donations to support our efforts as a charitable trust are always welcome and appreciated. 

Ford Park Cemetery was the back drop for filming for Plymouth university arts student Isla Ostler’s project.

Isla pictureIsla (Pictured right), who is studying Performing and Production Arts, chose the cemetery as the setting for her film which featured two characters - one portraying a terminally ill person (played by Erin Greehough) who is having a conversation with the other representing death (Jason Williams). 

The main message of her film was that the simplicity of life is beautiful and that you don’t need to have achieved something immense for your life to be worthwhile.

Trustee Wendy Coulton says: “As a funeral celebrant I was heartened by the message of Isla’s film. I have yet to conduct a service honouring a life which rated material possessions or social status above how someone made us feel. It is the little things which count and stay with us in our memories.

Art project filming pic“It was a pleasure for us to assist Isla with her arts project.

I was particularly impressed when filming activity, which was taking place at a memorial bench, was paused when some visitors arrived to pay their respects in the vicinity of that bench.  Isla and her colleagues quietly stepped back and moved away from that part of the cemetery to give the visitors privacy.

We wish Isla the very best with her studies and future.”

Tony Smith CWGC guide picPreparations are well underway for a Commonwealth War Graves Commission guided tour at Ford Park Cemetery on the 23rd of May 2023.
Tony Smith (pictured right) visited the 34 acre cemetery this week to plan the route and content for the tour which he will lead during War Graves Week this month.
He was assisted by our Heritage Team research volunteers Margery Payne and Vivien Warne (pictured below) who shared their knowledge about interesting stories about men and women who died when serving their country. 
 
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Tony, a battlefield guide and local CWGC volunteer, will begin the walk promptly at 11am on Tuesday 23rd May from the Cross of Sacrifice at the bottom of the main processional drive, opposite the private lodge house at the lower gate off Ford Park Road. 
 
 
Interesting and inspiring stories will be shared on the free walking tour as well as learning about how the Commonwealth War Graves Commission developed and thrived into the organisation it is today from the vision of one man. 
Plymouth has significant past and present connections with the military with many local families who are proud of their ancestors who risked and sacrificed their own lives when serving their country.
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Free on site parking, toilet facilities and refreshments in the visitor centre cafe are available.  Stout footwear is advisable because of the uneven ground surface. Please note that a ticket is required to attend this event. To obtain a ticket, please click here. This will open a new window on the CWGC web site and enable you to book your ticket(s).

Almost half of the world’s Bluebells are here in the United Kingdom and we are blessed to have them here at Ford Park Cemetery.
 
Bluebells at. FPC. 1The lower valley within the cemetery, which borders Central Park and has a woodland feel to it, has drifts of these deep blue-violet flowers in bloom at the moment.
Bluebells native to this country (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are protected by law so they cannot be intentionally picked, uprooted or destroyed.  
 
Bluebells colonies take five to seven years to become established from seed to flower and they take years to recover if they are damaged from being walked upon and crushed. 
Early botanists had their own nicknames for Bluebells including Cuckoo boots, wood hyacinth, croutons and witches thimbles. There is folklore and superstition associated with these flowers, for example it was said if you walked into a circle of Bluebells you would become enchanted by fairies. 
Modern research is exploring the potential from the natural insect and animal repellant benefits of the Bluebell.
The Spanish Bluebell (Hyacinthiodes Hispanica) is an invasive threat to the native Bluebell. 
You can tell the difference between the native and Spanish varieties by studying the flower, stem and leaves. 
 
Bluebells 2 The British Bluebell with its sweet strong scent, has narrow individual bells with straight sides and the petals cut back at the edges. The curved stems hold the bells which tend to hang to one side and the narrow leaves are between one and 1.5 centimetres wide. There are also white and pink varieties. 
 
Whereas the Spanish variety has little or no scent, cone shaped flowers which hang all around from the upright stems.  
 
You can do your bit to protect and conserve the Bluebell by never picking them and sticking to the path so that you don't destroy any underfoot. 
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