Finding Roger Davies: how one sister’s search for her long-lost brother unearthed a state’s destitute burial failures

Roger Davies was buried in a communal plot with four strangers. His family were never notified. Composite: Guardian Design

In a quiet corner of Rookwood cemetery, a grassed walkway meanders between two rows of old headstones. There’s nothing conspicuous about the spot. The grass is kept freshly trimmed.

There is no sign to warn passersby to keep off the long stretch of green, and nothing to suggest what might lay beneath.