“Team Flaybrick” has been working hard over many years on the upkeep of the Flaybrick Memorial Gardens. Their efforts have been officially recognised and the team has been honoured with a Green Flag Award.
The Green Flag Award scheme recognises and rewards well managed parks and green spaces and Team Flaybrick has endeavoured to keep it a tidy, well maintained, safe and enjoyable place to visit.
Jayne Phennah, who volunteers for Team Flaybrick said, “Hooray! It’s been 5 years since we began to make our way through the jungle that was once Flaybrick. But today, we were awarded the Green Flag. I want to say a huge well done to every single person old and new who volunteered their time to help …”
“I have met some amazing people whilst at Flaybrick. I am so happy for the whole team, and look forward to the future of Flaybrick.”
If you would like to become a part of Team Flaybrick you can volunteer simply by turning up on Thursday or Saturday morning at 10am with some wellies & gardening gloves or get in touch with them via Twitter.
The cemetery was officially opened 30 May 1864 and named Birkenhead Cemetery. In 1990, it was designated as a conservation area by Wirral Borough Council and in 1995, Flaybrick Cemetery was renamed Flaybrick Memorial Gardens. It contains the war graves of 219 Commonwealth service personnel of both World War I and World War II.
Some of the notable interments include:
- James Taylor Cochran, who built the Resurgam, an early Victorian era submarine, a replica of which can be seen at Woodside.
- Sir William Jackson, who played a major part in the development of Birkenhead. He was chairman of Birkenhead Improvement commissioners from 1842 to 1846 and invited Joseph Paxton to design Birkenhead Park.
- Mary Ann Mercer, who in 1924, was elected as Mayor of Birkenhead, the first woman to hold the post, and also the first Labour Party member to hold the post.
- Isaac Roberts, was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1895 for his work in the field of astrophotography.