Hi All, 

Having secured funding for a permanent headstone for Sarah Chapman, courtesy of Unions, Unite London and Eastern Region and GMB National, we were all set to give Sarah Chapman the headstone she deserved.The design has been selected and we are ready to proceed.

However, just before we contacted the Cemetery to let them know we were ready to go ahead with the headstone, we heard from a third party, that mounding in the area where Sarah is buried is now imminent.  

The area adjacent to Sarah was mounded in 2019 and, despite being told by the Cemetery that the area where Sarah is buried, would not be mounded for at least 5 to 10 years, they have now said it will happen in 2020! A 3 month warning notice has already gone up on their website. 

We wrote to the Cemetery on 14th January setting out our concerns and seeking clarification but have yet to receive a response. 

Manor Park Cemetery is a privately owned company and there appears little we can do to stop them, which is particularly distressing given they do not adhere to London Environment Directors' Network (LEDnet) guidance. In real terms this means:

• they do not have to apply for a licence to flatten the existing area with a bulldozer
• they do not keep records of burial locations
• they answer to nobody on whether or not existing graves are disturbed in the reburial process after mounding

If ANYONE can offer advice or help in our last ditch attempt to stop them mounding over Sarah Chapman's grave, please email us on matchgirls1888statue@gmail.com.

Many thanks, 

Sam Johnson