Gravedigger wins national award for personal touch

THE gravedigger at the Henley Woodland Burial Ground has been recognised with a national award.

Jonny Yaxley, 56, was named “Gravedigger of the Year” for the second time at the Good Funeral Awards in September.

He was celebrated at an awards ceremony held at the National Space Centre in Leicester by the Association of Green Funeral Directors.

Mr Yaxley, who lives in Drayton, has been digging graves at the burial ground in Greys Road for 14 years and first won the award in 2014.

This year, he was nominated by Leedam Natural Burials, which runs the burial ground, Henley Town Council, which owns Fairmile Cemetery, where he also digs graves, and two families of people he has buried.

Mr Yaxley said: “I was just blown away to be honest. I’m lucky to get it a second time and it’s an honour.”

He started gravedigging more than 20 years ago, when it was part of a groundskeeping contract he had with South Oxfordshire District Council.

Mr Yaxley said: “When I first started digging graves, I wasn’t sure about it for about a month or so.

“It’s not what I wanted to do when I was a little boy but I’ve definitely found what I want to do in life. It’s not even a job anymore — it’s just what I do.

“People think it might be depressing but I think it’s an honour and someone’s got to do this. I try to make the most of it and do it as well as I can.

“To be part of something that’s bigger than you, that’s a beautiful thing. It’s a legacy for future generations to enjoy.

“I’ve been here from the start, watching the burial ground grow and develop into a natural woodland. It’s fantastic because I’m up here all the time and get to see all the changes.”

He added: “We’re creating something for the future, for other people.”

Leedam Natural Burials has a focus on sustainability, with graves dug among trees native to the UK, planted at random with a gap to allow sunlight through.

The deceased are laid to rest in biodegradable coffins, with boards of plaques instead of gravestones. “We’re also working with the wildlife,” Mr Yaxley said. “We have lots of ground nesting birds like skylarks so fence areas off and stop people walking their dogs where they’re nesting.”

The burial ground will eventually become 40 acres of woodland.

Mr Yaxley said: “These are the sorts of places people come back to.

“We’ve had people come here in the summer and bring a camping chair to set up at the foot of a grave, with a bottle of wine and a book and we’ve had people come down for Mother’s Day picnics.

“You wouldn’t get that at a normal cemetery. It’s not sombre. There’s a place for both and I get that but if you ask me which one I prefer, it’s here.”

He said people who are buried at the site are often artists, musicians and athletes, as well as those who don’t “feel the need” to have a headstone and who want to “give something back” to the environment.

Mr Yaxley said he takes the time to get to know people who have chosen to be buried at the site, as well as their loved ones who lay them to rest. He said: “It’s important to know who you are burying. I wouldn’t dig a grave for someone if I didn’t know their name. You have to have that link.

“I build friendships with people whose loved ones I’ve buried. It’s nice to see how they get on with their lives. I like to say I put people to bed for the last time and it’s an honour.”

Phil Pawley-Kean, custodian of the burial ground, said: “Beyond his technical competence, which is very good, it’s Jonny’s attitude.

“People know him — he’s friendly, they come and chat to him and get to know him as the one who is putting their loved ones to rest.”

Mr Pawley-Kean, who lives in Sonning Common, said his job looking after the grounds and showing people round is the “best I’ve ever had”.

He said he enjoys working with Mr Yaxley to look after people and the burial ground. and hopes to welcome schools and students of agriculture to the site to help their studies.

Mr Yaxley said involving the community in this way could help facilitate conversations around death.

He said: “It’s the only thing that is guaranteed to happen to all of us, so can we just talk about it more?”