A mum walked by a gravesite "several times" before she found out it belonged to her family.
Barbara Woods-Spiers, originally from West Derby but who now lives in Prescot, has been trying to find the "missing link" to her family for years. The 55-year-old has been searching for her mum's baby brother John Devitt who died on January 10, 1931.
Baby John was born premature and, after suffering convulsions, died at just days old. Barbara's grandad Walter told his grieving wife Doris that John was buried in the arms of a mum who died in childbirth to "support his wife in a difficult time".
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Barbara said she has been searching for John's grave for years and sought the help of genealogist Kim Hunter. The expert was able to locate baby John's grave at Allerton Cemetery, but it was not what Barbara and her family had been told.
The 55-year-old found out that due to "very little money", John was buried in a public grave plot for children. In total, 22 children aged between a couple of hours and 11-years-old were buried together.
Barbara and her daughter visited Allerton Cemetery but were unable to locate the exact plot John and the other children were buried. However, thanks to Mal Holmes from Friends of Allerton Cemetery, he was able to mark the exact location of the grave.
The mum said she realised she and her daughter had walked by the grave numerous times, without knowing their loved one was there.
Speaking to the ECHO, she said: "What upset me and my daughter the most is we walked over it several times and there must be other graves there. I just thought wow, people don't even realise there are children there."
She added: "I said to my mum, there are 22 children just lying there in the cemetery and people think it is a walkway."
Barbara said even as a child she remembers how her nan's story, who lived in Page Moss with husband Walter for 50 years, was "heartbreaking" and wanted to find John so her family could find peace.
Speaking to the ECHO, Barbara said: "I have always been interested in history and family. My dad and my mum have always instilled in us to have an understanding of where you come from and to be proud of it. There was always this story about a little boy who had died, my nan's first baby and he had been buried in this lady's arms.
"Even as a little girl, I used to think how sad and I used to pictured a statue with this angel and when [we] think now, my grandad made that up to support his wife in a difficult time. The heartbreaking thing for me was and what always upset me was having the conversation with my nan when I was little and she said 'you know Barb, it was awful cruel in those days. I lost my baby and they left me on that ward with all the other mums with babies'."
She added: "That's what they did in those days, you weren't protected and you weren't shielded and what we get now, there was no counselling or anything. It was literally your baby died, they had to make sure you were OK, and she heard the babies cries and her baby was gone. It broke my heart.
"The one thing I have wanted to do, I have been looking for this for about six years, is to find that missing link, so I have that peace myself and say we have found him and we can go visit."
The family lay flowers for John for the first time at Christmas and have recently been able to commemorate his birthday on January 10.
She said: "It's been an important journey to get here, but it has brought a lot of comfort that he is not just out there somewhere and we actually know where he is now."
Barbara also now wants the other 21 children to be remembered alongside John. The mum has a copy of the burial record that lists the 22 children, their ages, names, addresses and burial date and hopes to be able to provide a ceremony and headstone for them so they are all remembered.
To do this, Barbara has set up a GoFundMe page where she hopes people can help fundraise for this to make sure "these babies and children are not forgotten".
Barbara also thanked Kim Hunter and Mal Holmes for all their help. She added if anyone is searching for a loved one and believe they may be buried at the same grave as John to contact her via the GoFundMe page.
To do this and donate, please click here.
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