Devizes: memorial in honour of stillborn babies unveiled

The memorial was unveiled at Hillworth Park in Devizes

A permanent memorial to remember all of the babies who "didn't get to stay" has been unveiled in a park.

Teresa Steele spearheaded the campaign to create the memorial in honour of stillborn babies at Hillworth Park in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands helped fund the granite and marble design.

"They didn't get to stay but they still leave a mark on your life," said Ms Steele.

The memorial was unveiled in a ceremony at the park earlier.

"The statue is of a teardrop and on that teardrop is a baby in hands, with an inscription which reads 'even the smallest of feet have the power to leave everlasting footprints upon this world' which I think is quite significant for people who have lost babies," she said.

The granite and marble design shows a baby being cradled in a pair of hands

Ms Steele, from Market Lavington, set up the Devizes branch of Sands in 2015 after losing her daughter Monica at 29 weeks in 2010.

During that time she developed pre-eclampsia, becoming very ill herself and says staff at Great Western Hospital in Swindon saved her life.

"We decided that we didn't want our statue to be put in the cemetery because not everybody wants to visit cemeteries.

"Some families might move to the area and not have their babies buried nearby, so we thought having it in the park is more inclusive," she added.

Teresa Steele initiated the Devizes branch of the Sands charity as a sub-branch of the Swindon group six years ago

Greenbridge Designs worked on the creation of the "baby in hands" memorial with the inscription sculpted in marble and set in a granite teardrop.

"We very much hope that the resulting tribute, with its poignant inscription, will provide a focal point for bereaved families in Devizes and the surrounding area," said Greenbridge's Dennis Millington.