A mass grave containing over 300 bodies, mostly infants born without signs of life and young children, has been found in Greater Manchester, England, reports The Times, citing local council members.
The publication notes that similar graves likely exist throughout the country, as hospitals, rather than parents, were responsible for burying stillborn children until the 1980s.
Citing the charity Sands, which focuses on child mortality issues, the publication writes that stillborn babies were often buried in a communal grave, and mass burials with remains of stillborn children have been discovered in Lancashire, Devon, Middlesbrough, and Huddersfield.
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“An unmarked mass grave containing 303 bodies, primarily stillborn infants and young children, was discovered in Oldham,” the statement reads.
According to the newspaper, the burial site contained the bodies of 146 stillborn infants, 128 infants and young children, and 29 adults. Only 147 of their names were available online.
The burial site came to light after a resident contacted council members while searching for her twin brothers, who died in 1962. One was stillborn, and the other died five hours after birth.
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The publication reports that three more mass burial sites were found on the same cemetery.
