Gravedigger of the Year says job the 'biggest honour'

Jonny Yaxley has thought about the music he wants at his funeral - but the list will need trimming

Gravedigger of the Year Jonny Yaxley meets many people who tell him that his job must be "really depressing" – but he says it is "the biggest honour in the world".

Mr Yaxley, who has been awarded the prize for the second time, says he enjoys being able to take part in such a crucial event for so many people.

He recently dug the resting place of a man who had worked in the film industry and had a Star Wars-themed funeral.

"We had a funeral director in his top hat carrying a lightsaber," says Mr Yaxley.

"That's unique to him; they made it about him. We try to encourage that – to make it about the person you're burying.

"Make that the focal point and try to make it as individual as you can to that person.

"After all, it's their last day – let's make it about them."

The burial ground has no headstones and woodland is planted over the land once burials have taken place

He started gravedigging working for a company that maintained cemeteries and other public spaces for the local council in South Oxfordshire.

"Pardon the pun, I feel into it by accident," Mr Yaxley says.

"As other people left I moved up the food chain and it became my responsibility.

"I found it a bit strange. I had never set out to do it and I started not long after my Nan died.

"The first three people I buried were three nans, ladies in their 70s and 80s.

"I found it a bit strange and a little bit overwhelming, but then it sort of started to resonate with me.

"I realised it's a necessary job and someone's got to do it."

Mr Yaxley works in part for the Henley Woodland Burial Ground, a 40-acre site in the Chilterns National Landscape.

It has no headstones and native woodland is planted over areas once burials have taken place. He has decided he will be buried there when the time comes.

"We do struggle to talk about death and it's daft but it's the great leveller," Mr Yaxley says.

"Get your music chosen to save the arguments at the end.

"There's a lot you can sort before and talking about it and bringing it into more open conversation, we can save a lot of hurt and pain and arguments later on."

That said, he has not decided what he wants himself just yet.

"The music changes a lot. Traditionally people have three songs but I have probably got a two-hour playlist" he says.

"I've got to narrow it down a little but I find myself going to funerals and judging their songs."

Awarded the Gravedigger of the Year prize at the Good Funeral Awards in September, having previously been given the gong in 2014, he said the job has taught him about life.

"You bury people younger than yourself and think: 'Christ, he went to bed one night and didn't wake up,'" he says.

"It teaches you about the fragility of life, and I try to live the best day every day because you never know when you might go to sleep and not wake up."

Mr Yaxley has twice been named Gravedigger of the Year

Leedam Natural Heritage, which runs the burial ground and nominated Mr Yaxley for the award, said he is "a caring and compassionate soul who brings warmth, respect, and gentleness to every part of his work".

It adds: "Jonny is dedicated to helping families, not just on the day of the funeral, but in the weeks and months that follow.

"He's that friendly, familiar face at the burial ground when people come back to visit, always ready with a kind word, a smile, and time to listen."