'Mortified' daughter ordered to remove crematorium memorial

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


A grieving daughter has clashed with a council - after being ordered to remove a granite football from her dad's final resting place. The £600 memorial has had pride of place inside Bradwell Crematorium ever since the interment of Bob Greatbatch's ashes in September 2021.

But a sign has now gone up asking for the football to be removed. Instead the family can lease a personalised memorial from the council for £415 in a 10-year deal.

It was back in September 2020 when Bob tested positive for Covid after being taken to hospital. He died before his loved-ones reached the hospital. The 72-year-old Port Vale fan, from Burslem, had run Greatbatch Cleaning Contractors for 45 years and is survived by wife Linda.

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Daughter Jennifer Greatbatch, aged 49, said: “When I went up to Bradwell Crematorium there was a sign on my dad’s memorial saying the football had to be removed. I was mortified and upset. The council has told me I have to bring it home. What’s the point in me bringing it home when he’s there? I think it’s disgraceful that the council is making money off people who have died. They are making money out of people’s grief.”

The memorial Jennifer bought for dad Bob Greatbatch
The memorial Jennifer bought for dad Bob Greatbatch

Newcastle Borough Council relaxed its rules during the coronavirus pandemic to allow memorials on 'compassionate grounds' on the understanding it was 'for a short while' only.

Councillor David Hutchison, cabinet member for sustainable environment, said: “The council acknowledges that bereavement is a highly sensitive subject and endeavours to treat all families with the upmost care, consideration and respect. It has expressed its sincere condolences.

“All councils have rules and regulations in place for crematoriums and cemeteries, which apply to all families, for fairness and consistency. They have always stated that unauthorised memorial items left in the gardens of remembrance at Bradwell Crematorium – which are communal burial areas designed to be unmarked by any permanent memorial – will be respectfully removed and stored for collection.

Bob Greatbatch
Bob Greatbatch

“During the coronavirus pandemic – when legal restrictions for funerals and burials were very strict – temporary permission was given for this memorial item on compassionate grounds, on the express understanding that it would be removed a short time later.

“All unauthorised memorial items remaining in the garden have been gently removed, more than 12 months after notice was first provided, to facilitate some improvements, including replanting. We’re continually looking at our memorials and have introduced more affordable options which have been discussed.”

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