Penistone-Stottercliffe memorial unveiled to mark children's graves

Around £7,000 was raisd to pay for the memorial stone.

A memorial has been unveiled for more than 1,000 babies and children buried in unmarked graves in South Yorkshire.

The public grave at the Penistone-Stottercliffe cemetery holds the remains of children from the late 1800s up until the 1970s.

Babies who were stillborn or died shortly after birth were usually buried in a communal grave.

Some £7,000 was raised by the community for the memorial stone and the Royal British Legion funded two benches.

The fundraising campaign was started by 71-year-old Richard Galliford after he discovered that his sister, who was stillborn in 1949, was buried at the site.

He only found out about his sister in 1986, when his father pointed out the site, which had become overgrown.

'No longer forgotten'

Unveiling the memorial, Mr Galliford said: "We have at last managed to bring justice to over 1,000 babies and children buried here in this cemetery.

"Buried here we include children who were stillborn, those who died at birth and those who died shortly into their life up to 10 years of age.

"This memorial is dedicated to all of them, and to show that they are no longer forgotten. Our community recognise their existence."

Councillor David Greenhough told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that local people should be given the credit for funding the memorial.

"They were the ones who put their hands in their pockets and donated so generously," he said.

"We asked the community and they responded like they always do. This is a credit to the community, as well as to acknowledge these babies buried here."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.