Undercliffe Cemetery Charity

07/09/2025

More magnificent work by Graham and his team. Custom made covering slabs all provided completely free of charge. Video will be uploaded next Sunday.

07/09/2025

Well done sorting out Schneider's Grave. Jost (1859-1904) was Swiss by birth and after a spell of being a foreign Correspondent he became a stuff merchant. The only thing interesting I could find out about him was in the Bradford Weekly Telegraph 02/09/1893:

05/09/2025

Louisa Ann Farquharson
So why did a well known painter pay for the burial of a relatively poor woman living in Maperton Street , Bradford in 1919?
The woman was Louisa Ann Farquharson, nee Ogg who was born in Hudderfield in 1854 but to all intents and purposes she was Scottish. Her parents Isabella and William Ogg were from Aberdeenshire. Their first two of their children were born in Scotland with Louisa Ann being the first to be born in England – Huddersfield. William was a watchmaker, not always in work. The family moved about from Huddersfield, to Leeds and back to Scotland and then by 1891, Louisa Ann and her mother are living in Maperton Street, Bradford living off their own means. By now Louisa Ann is married but no husband is living with her. It is hard to determine whether they ever did live together. In 1888, Louisa Ann married James Cunningham Farquharson in Salford.
So who was James Cunningham Farquharson? James was also from Aberdeen, born in 1849, the son of Francis Farquharson, doctor and laird of Finzean. James had a brother Joseph who became Sir Joseph Farquharson, known as “The Painting Laird” although he never became laird. Joseph was a respected painter who exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Tate and the Royal Academy. He was looked on favourably by established artists such as Sickert. He liked to paint landscapes and normal folk going about their business. He did paint an awful lot of sheep! An example of such a piece is shown below as well as a self portrait. It was Joseph who paid for the grave of his sister-in-law, Louisa Ann.
So what of James? He did not appear to have an occupation although he may have done some farming in Scotland. Finally, probably to be closer to Joseph, he headed south and lived in Dorset and Hampshire. In 1901 it appears that he has taken a wife, Clair however, no wedding certificate can be found.
He died in a nursing home in Romsey in 1918 leaving £87 which was less than Louisa left (£217). There is a story here that has been kept by the family. Why did James and Louisa not live together? Did they divorce or was Clair a common-law-wife. As there appears to have been no children, the story stops there.
Louisa is buried in H320 unconsecrated and her mother, Isabella lies in grave C677 consecrated. Both women lie alone.

Sir Joseph Farquharson 1846-1935

03/09/2025

Lovely to meet Kelly yesterday at the Cemetery. We had a bit of a challenge finding this grave! Very interesting post about a local bad lad.

02/09/2025

As part of the Heritage Open Days annual festival, we'll be open from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, 20 September. You can take a self-guided tour (maps will be available) or join our morning (11am) or afternoon (1.30pm) tour which, to reflect Bradford's City of Culture 2025 status, features Bradford's Cultural Icons – From the Sublime to the Ridiculous! Tours are free and you can book here: https://bit.ly/4jD4por.

Tickets are going fast, so don't hang about!

We look forward to welcoming you to our fabulous hill-top location, where our lovely café will be open for hot & cold drinks and cakes all day.

For more information, see here:
https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-event/undercliffe-cemetery-bradford-s-cultural-icons-from-the-sublime-to-the-ridiculous.html

Undercliffe Cemetery will host another tour led by our research volunteers in celebration of Bradford's designation as UK City of Culture.

27/08/2025

I was sent the burial record for a stillborn child…..one of hundreds, possibly thousands buried in Undercliffe Cemetery. What makes this child, a girl who was born asleep in 1894 any different? The entry looks similar to many others; 2shillings and 6pence was the cost of her burial into a pauper grave. Her parents were Thomas William and Elizabeth. Had she lived, she would have been asked the same question over and over again, “Are you related to Albert?”
Her father had a brother, Henry Albert and with the rest of the family moved to Bradford from Sutton Bonnington in Nottinghamshire. Henry Albert was a clogger but he and the family did not remain in Bradford. By 1911, Henry Albert had moved his family to Huddersfield followed by a move to Failsworth Lancashire so had that little girl had lived she may have never known her cousin Albert well.
Thomas William and Henry Albert did not share with many others the details of their part time job preferring to provide more routine professions to the census takers. In fact they were hangmen. They were Pierrepoints. Thomas William during his 35 tenure is said have officiated at 300 hangings and Henry Albert about 107 during his much shorter term.
Albert Pierrepoint, Henry Albert’s son officiated at around 400 hangings and is deemed to be one of Bradford’s famous sons despite only living here for a matter of a few years. His profession of hangman brought him fame and respect for his diligence and humanity when carrying out his duties. There are books about him so I shall not take his story much further. He is known for officiating at the hangings of Christie of Rillington Place fame as well of his dupe who was innocent when hanged. He hanged Josef Kramer “the Beast of Belsen” and German guards from the same concentration camp after WW2. Later in life when he officiated at the hangings of Ruth Ellis and the Derek Bentley, who only had the mental age of an eleven year old, Albert began to look on his profession less kindly. After an argument with the Home Office he retired and ran a pub in Oldham.
The family, including Thomas William, who remained in Bradford appear to have chosen Scholemoor Cemetery for their final resting place.
Thomas William.

11/08/2025

Check out the video from Riaz’s ‘Bradford Through the Lens’ YouTube channel, featuring Graham Swain’s team and their herculean task clearing the Ivy from a rather magnificent monument. It was only a few months ago that it was completely covered and was only discovered by chance when clearing a nearby grave!

This grave was completely swallowed by ivy, lost for what looked like decades.We had no idea what we’d find underneath — or if we’d even find something ornat...

07/08/2025

The Real End to WWII
When I posted my piece of some of the cemetery’s heroes of WW2, I promised that for VJ day I would post piece about those who lost their lives further afield in Far East. That time nearly upon us. We probably have more than two soldiers who did just that but I will look at two.
I was reminded of my promise when lying in bed suffering from a problem that required me to visit the bathroom frequently. Read on.
My first subject is John Scott Sunter aged 21 when he died on the 11th April 1946 of Typhoid Fever. His death occurred at the 14th British General Hospital, Singapore and he is buried in the Kranji War Cemetery. When I Google the name of the hospital it always brings up articles for the Alexandra Hospital, Singapore. It is a well known hospital for all the wrong reasons. When Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, as many of the Allied troops dispersed, however, the occupants of the Hospital could go nowhere and despite being guarded, it was shelled and overrun with many of the nurses, doctors and patients being massacred despite the hoisting of a white flag. Anyway, by the time John S was there, the war had by-and large ended. This young man whose Regiment was His Majesty’s Landing Ship Tank QI248 was a Petty Officer (motor mechanic). John S was the son of George and Ida Sunter of Otley Road, Bradford. George and his other son, Hugh were chimney sweeps.
Then we come to my unfortunate illness and the images I cannot forget after reading Sandakan – A Conspiracy of Silence by Lynette Ramsey Silver. The book is so titled because of the mess the Australians made of trying to rescue the prisoners, despite one of the escapees informing them that the camps existed.
In the back of this book is a list of those who died in Sandakan and amongst those names is that of George William Simpson. He died at Sandakan in June 1945 aged 24. He has no known grave although it is assumed he is buried in Sandakan camp 3. He is remembered on the gravestone of his grandfather, Major Simpson (Major is his first name). Although from Hull, Major is living in Bradford in 1939. George W is serving in the RAF when he met his fate. After Singapore fell in February 1942, some Allied troops were taken prisoner, others fled to Java and it is thought that George W was among the latter. When Java fell in March 1942, those who had fled there for safety were taken prisoner. Sandakan was basically built with slave labour made up of the Australian prisoners who had established a camp by the time the British arrived. Australians outnumbered the British about 3-1 and were kept in Sandakan 1 and the British in Sandakan 2. The book states how the Japanese made the prisoners work on an airstrip cleared in the forest. Discipline was harsh such as flying practice which entailed standing in the noon day sun, arms stretched out at the sides and looking directly into the sun. However, the Australians had the guile to make deals with locals and the Chinese who inhabited the area and with the western settlers and loggers to obtain food and medication. Things got worse and some of the Japanese demonstrated their own sadistic specialities of inflict pain and misery. There were a few sorties out of the camp to get food and medicine but if caught punishments were harsh. Later brutal death marches were started. However, despite researchers concentrating on these barbaric punishments, most prisoners never left the camps and this was the case for George W who died of Malaria. Only six out of the nearly 2,500 prisoners who entered Sandakan (excluding those who were relocated) all 6 Australians survived. No British lived to tell their stories. What did they die from? Well Malaria was a big killer especially when drugs were withheld, Beriberi made the body swell leading to death and of course dysentery was rife. There was little provision of latrines, no toilet paper, no privacy. Not even the strength to move.That is why when I felt bad with my stomach upset I could at least take some comfort that my nice bathroom was close by! Seriously, we often do not find out the wretched fates of those native peoples of China, India, Philippines amongst others who either fought with us, acted as guerrillas for us or just took huge risks to help escapees, provide prisoners with aid or acted as messengers. We mustn’t forget them either. DS

A sketch of a LST. They were used in every theatre of war delivering men and equipment wherever it was needed.

04/08/2025

Think we've a couple of them.

This massive green canopy isn’t a forest—it’s a single tree. Known as the world’s largest cashew tree (Maior Cajueiro do Mundo) in Natal, Brazil, it spans over 8,500 square meters, covering an entire city block with its sprawling branches. Nature’s true giant, hidden in plain sight.

02/08/2025

Well what a day that was! The monument was finally cleared by Graham after about six hours hard graft, cheered on and aided by his team of intrepid volunteers and spectators. A magnificent memorial that was entirely engulfed by Ivy only five months ago.

So who was Richard Holmes? Well thanks to Chris Lawson (seen here resembling one of Undercliffe’s woodland trolls), here is his story:

“Richard Holmes was born in Beverley, 1891 census shows he was a clothier‘s assistant living at 16 Salem Street, Bradford. 1881 census shows he had 6 children, one of which was John, born 1852 in Bradford. On the census he is shown as a clothier manufacturer employing 30 hands. By 1911 John has moved to Harrogate and with their son, John Stanley Holmes.
The 1921 census shows John Stanley as running John Holmes Clothing manufacturer of 7 Joseph Street, Leeds. In 1951, John Stanley became the lord mayor of Harrogate. He and his wife are buried in Harrogate. One can presume the grave was paid for by John Holmes, and John Stanley was the grandson of Richard Holmes.“

Another interesting piece of Bradford’s rich history brought back to life, with, as ever, the help of Graham and his team. All Bradford heroes in their own right.

Hope you enjoy the photos and watch out for Riaz’s film about the restoration which will be featured on his ‘Bradford Through the Lens‘ YouTube channel in the very near future.

02/08/2025

Ivy is putting up a fight but detail beginning to emerge. Can’t wait to see what’s on top🫨

02/08/2025

And we’re off!