Friends of Hyde Park Cemetery

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from The Friends of Hyde Park Cemetery. We are taking a little break from social media over the festive period. If you are visiting the cemetery over the festive period and come across any issues, don't forget you can report directly to the council online. https://www.doncaster.gov.uk/report-it

Thank you for your support over the last year!

Another beauty from Lesthedroneman. Our lovely cemetery 😍

WORK MORNING CANCELLED
Due to tomorrow's weather warning for strong winds and heavy rain we are cancelling our December work morning. The safety of our volunteers is a priority.
We will be back again in the new year! Keep your eyes peeled for 2024 work morning dates.

Thank you!

To mark Remembrance Sunday, we are sharing the story of Frank Epton, who is remembered on his family plot in our beautiful cemetery.

Frank was born in Doncaster in 1884 and was the only son of Thomas and Elizabeth Epton a retired Railway Inspector at Doncaster Station.

Frank was killed on the 1 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. The news of his death was received by his sister through the sergeant of his battery writing home to a friend, and there was hope that this news was a mistake. Sadly though, the official notice was received on 29 July.

Frank is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial and is mentioned on his family grave in Hyde Park Cemetery.

In the local press his family published this fitting tribute:

He sleeps not in his native land,
But neath some foreign sky
And far from those who loved him best
But in a heros grave he lie.

Today we remember Frank, those who served and gave their lives in all wars, and those who are buried and memorialised in Hyde Park Cemetery.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

We placed our wreath and observed the silence as part of our work morning.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

We are busy preparing for our November work morning on Saturday 11 November.

Our main tasks will be
Litter picking
Continuation of the bramble and w**d stripping from the shrub beds in sections B and D
Investigate bin issues at New Street entrance
Assess fly-tipped items

Along with anything else that pops up!

Join us 9.30am – 12 noon to help us care for and conserve for a beautiful, historic cemetery.

To join us email [email protected] or message us on Facebook.

Thank you to everyone who popped along to see us at the Local History Fair and Family History Fair recently. We had such a great time chatting to everyone about our wonderful cemetery!

What a busy work morning!
Tasks completed:
Litter pick (about 3 bags collected)
Sucker growth cut back on some of the trees along the north wall
Continuation of the bramble stripping from the shrub beds in sections B and D
Garden at the Carr Lane entrance w**ded out
Reported flytipping to Council for collection.

Thank you to our volunteers for giving their time!

We are currently inventorying our tools and unfortunately many are in need of replacement. If you are able to donate towards our work please visit our website https://www.fohpc.org.uk/ and click Donate in the website footer.

Date for your diary!
Our AGM will be held on Monday 15 January 2024, 7pm on Zoom.

Come along to find out more about the work of the Friends throughout 2023 and how you can get involved in 2024.

Book your free ticket on Eventbrite. Further information and the Zoom link will be circulated soon.

Friends Of Hyde Park Cemetery AGM Find out more about the work of the Friends throughout 2023 and how you can get involved.

Today marks two years since the unveiling of Joe Duddington's new headstone. What a wonderful project it was! Thank you to everyone who supported us.

That's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who has joined us for our guided walks this year. We've explored some of the many fascinating stories behind the headstones across the cemetery. The money raised at these walks is vital for our work as a small Friends group so thank you again to everyone who has donated.

There's no rest for us though! Our work mornings continue and we are running a grave marking campaign for Doncaster Rovers Football Club player Len Goodson. Visit our website www.fohpc.org.uk to find out more!

Don't forget our final walk of 2023 is Sunday 17 September at 3pm. We will be exploring some amazing true stories of bravery and tragedy in times of war. As always the walk is free but any donations are gratefully received. Meet at the Cross of Sacrifice by the Carr Lane entrance to the cemetery. See you there!

We will be back in the cemetery again tomorrow (Saturday 9 September) from 9.30am to 12 noon for our monthly work morning.

Our tasks for the day include:
Litter picking
Tidy entrance ways
Cut back bushes obstructing the pathways
Cut back brambles from planted areas

Find out more on our website www.fohpc.org.uk/volunteering/

We will be at the Danum Gallery, Library and Museum / Doncaster & District Heritage Association Local History Fair on 30 September. Pop along and find out more about what we do!

📜 Did you know Doncaster has a range of local history groups and societies? They support local churches, lead guided walks, explore village history, research cemeteries and more! 🏛

Lots of local groups will be joining us for our Local History Fair
Saturday 30 September
11am - 3pm
FREE entry, no booking required.

Find out more about Doncaster's rich history from the local experts in our heritage including English Heritage, Bawtry Heritage Group, Doncaster Sand House, Friends of Hyde Park Cemetery, Doncaster & District Family History Society and more!

We will also be joined by the Scouting Association who will be presenting a new scouting memorial, and local scouts undertaking their Local Activity Badge.

Event run in partnership with Doncaster and District Heritage Association.

We had such a fantastic night at our Bat Walk with lots of activity on the detectors and sightings too!

We only have one more walk for this year

War Stories
Sunday 17 September, 3pm

We hope to see you there!

Thank you to Lesthedroneman for sharing this wonderful picture of the cemetery!

Thank you to our volunteer Richard for this report of our monthly work morning

"There were 6 volunteers, including one newcomer and one who hadn’t been for several months. Tasks completed included:

Full litter pick

Weeding and trimming shrubs in garden next to main entrance

Weeding & trimming shrubs in bed behind Cross of Sacrifice

Clearing and tidying the main path between the CofS and the chapels

Removing sucker growth from trees in Section N

Re-erecting Heritage Circuit marker posts Nos 1 and 18.

It felt and looked like a successful morning."

Thank you to everyone who gives their time to improve the cemetery!

Don't forget our Bat Walk is on Saturday 19 August. Meet at the cemetery for an 8.15pm start. Bring your own torch and get involved!

In preparation for the Bat Walk next week, jobs for our August work morning on Saturday 12 August will be:
Litter picking
Weeding out the garden at the main entrance
Weeding, raking over the chippings and shrub flipping behind the Cross of Sacrifice
Sweeping back the pathways around O section
Cutting back any shrubs and trees that encroach on the pathways

If you'd like to join us our volunteers will be at the cemetery 9.30am – 12 noon.

The Friends of Hyde Park Cemetery need you!

Can you help us to remember a Doncaster Rovers Football Club hero?

Len Goodson was a Doncaster Rovers Football Club star in the early 1900s. When the team joined the Football League in the 1901-02 season, Len scored their first ever goals in that league. His sale to Middlesborough for a substantial sum helped to pay for a new stand at the team’s Intake Ground. Outside of football, Len worked as a labourer. Len did not marry and died aged only 41 in 1922. Since his death, he has laid in an unmarked family grave in Hyde Park Cemetery, Doncaster.

We want to mark his grave and we need to raise £4000 to make this a reality. Can you help?

We know times are very tough right now, but any donation, no matter how small, is welcome and gratefully received.

To find out more and make a donation, please visit our dedicated grave appeal page here: http://www.fohpc.org.uk/goodson/

We are also keen to hear from living family members of Len, so we can get them involved in this project. If you are related to Len, please do get in touch.

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to drop us a message or e-mail us on [email protected]

Even if you aren't able to donate, we would really appreciate your help spreading the word. Every social media share can make a real difference!

[Image of Len Goodson by kind permission of Doncaster Archives & Local Studies]

Club Doncaster Foundation

We've had a little makeover! This will be our new organisation logo going forward. We will be changing over our logo on our social media pages and website in the coming weeks. So if we look a little different in your newsfeed, this is why!

Here is our monthly work morning report from our volunteer Richard

"Today’s tasks included a full litter pick, w**ding the Stirling graves and adjacent ones, cutting back branches of trees overhanging paths, tidying the path near the turnstile gate, and lubricating the turnstile. There were five volunteers in all. The fruiting shrub pictured is a Loquat.

Also included is a photograph taken by the stonemason who’s worked on the Lodge and Chapels showing the two roe deer that have been frequenting the cemetery in the past few weeks."

Thank you to Richard and all of our work morning volunteers for their help making the cemetery look beautiful!

Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday for our Untimely Ends walk.

Our next walk is our Bat Walk on Saturday 19 August at 8.15pm. Bring your own torch and get involved!

We've got a double whammy this weekend with a work morning and a walk!

Saturday 8th, 9.30am - 12 noon.
Work morning
If you would like to help make the cemetery look beautiful ready for the walk the following day, here are the tasks we have planned:
- Clipping back overhanging trees
- Litter picking
- Tidying entrances and O section
- Tending to Patrick Stirling's grave.

If you're planning on joining us please message us or email [email protected]

Sunday 9th, 3pm
Untimely Ends walk
Discover gruesome stories from the history of the cemetery.
Meet at the Cross of Sacrifice at the Carr Lane entrance for a 3pm start.

See you there!

Our next walk is this Sunday [9 July]. We'll be exploring some of the more gruesome stories from the history of the cemetery.. Find out about the brutal murder of a woman in Doncaster, a couple who fell into a quarry with disastrous consequences and a bare knuckle fight on the Town Fields that ended in tragedy.

The walk is FREE as always but donations are welcome. Meet at the Cross of Sacrifice at the Carr Lane Entrance for a 3pm start. See you there!

Today, and every day, we remember Joe and Tommy..

Our next walk is 'Untimely Ends' on 9 July. However, if you want to do some exploring in the cemetery before then, we have a number of free self-guided walks available on our website!
If you're interested in history, you can find our heritage walks here:
http://fohpc.org.uk/education/

And if you'd like to get back to nature, try our Tree Trail here:
http://www.fohpc.org.uk/tree-trail/

Enjoy!

Thank you to everyone who braved the heat to be with us today for our Railways and Railwaymen walk. We have more guided walks coming up this year with Untimely Ends next on Sunday 9 July. See you there!

Don't forget our next FREE guided walk is tomorrow [Sunday 11 June] and we will be exploring Doncaster's rich railway heritage.

Meet at the Cross of Sacrifice at the Carr Lane entrance for a 3pm start. See you at the cemetery!

For the final day of Volunteers' Week here is a big thank you to everyone who gives their time at our monthly work mornings and for special projects to keep the cemetery looking beautiful!

To mark both Volunteers' Week and National Cemeteries Week we are sharing some of our favourite memories from the history of the Friends.

One of the most fun things we do as a Friends group is deliver walks and talks! Our guided walks at the cemetery are free but donations accepted and we can go out and deliver talks to groups for a small fee. Every penny we make at walks and talks goes back towards our work improving the cemetery.

We've covered a huge range of topics including war stories, extraordinary women, untimely ends and shopkeepers, to name but a few!

We have our second guided walk of 2023 THIS SUNDAY (11 June), starting at 3pm. Do some along if you'd like to find our more about Doncaster's rich railway history!

Doncaster Green Space Network

To mark both Volunteers' Week and National Cemeteries Week we are sharing some of our favourite memories from the history of the Friends.

One of our most important tasks is connecting family members with the graves of their loved ones. This includes undertaking grave searches and research as part of our service and supporting family to restore and mark graves. This is such a rewarding part of our work!

Find out more about our grave finder service on our website: www.fohpc.org.uk/grave-finder-service/

Images:
Family at the restored grave of William Webb MC MM 2016
Family of Anthony Steel Caldwell visiting from Australia 2019
Family friends of Gilbert and Mary Holden visiting from Italy 2017
Family with the newly installed headstone of Harriet Whitehouse, 2012
Family of Charles Norris Nicholson visit his grave before restoration, pictured with our secretary Helen, 2019

Doncaster Green Space Network

This year, Volunteers' Week and National Cemeteries Week cross over with each other. To celebrate, we will we will be sharing some of our favourite memories of our work in the cemetery over the next few days. If you have a favourite memory of our work please share in the comments below!

At our next free guided walk, we will be exploring Doncaster's railway history. Discover the amazing true story of a runaway train and it's disastrous consequences, a royal train inspector and the dark side of child employment at the Plant Works..

Join us Sunday 11 June 2023 at 3pm. Meet at the Cross of Sacrifice, Carr Lane entrance, DN4 5AA. The walk is free but donations towards our work are gratefully received!

Another busy work morning for our volunteers! 7 volunteers litter picked the cemetery, cut back undergrowth in the wildlife area and w**ded and tidied the main entrance. It's looking lovely! Thank you all for your hard work.

You can find out more about volunteering with us at www.fohpc.org.uk/volunteering or pop us an email to [email protected]

If you are joining us for our monthly work morning this Saturday (13 May) this is what we have planned:
Weeding main entrance and Cross of Sacrifice area
Continue wildlife area work from last month
Full litter pick across the cemetery

If you would like to join us and help make the cemetery a better place for everyone, please email us on [email protected] or message us on here.

Rainy skies over the cemetery today.. Just a reminder that due to it being a busy month of festivities and Bank Holidays we are not running a walk in May. Our next walk is Railways and Railwaymen on 11 June. See you there!

We are always so delighted when a family wants to restore the grave of their loved ones. Look at this transformation! 😊