A Greenock family recent visit to neglected memorial garden

Lynne Hansen, a children's hospice nurse, is appealling for help from the public in hope of restoring the Rankin Memorial Garden at Greenock Cemetery - and making it a 'more welcoming place for families to spend time'.

Her older sister Pamela was laid to rest in the special garden for stillborn babies 36 years ago.

During a recent visit Lynne arrived to find that the memorial headstone for all of the babies was completely overgrown with vegetation and said the whole garden looked a 'mess'.

Up until Covid Lynne and her family also had a chance to attend a memorial service along with other families, to pay tribute to the precious loss of a tiny life and the lifelong grief that comes with it.

But that has yet to return since the pandemic and now she has vowed to make sure the babies are never forgotten.

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Lynne, 32, who has a six-month-old baby boy Nathan, said: "I work as a nurse in the children's hospice Robin House. I know how devastating the loss of a child is, I deal with the death of children every day. I understand how important a garden of remembrance is.

"I just feel it is important that we have something like this in the Greenock Cemetery.

"As a family we have been visiting Pamela's grave for more than 30 years and attending the memorial services at the crematorium.

"My sister was up laying flowers at her grave and noticed the diabolical state in which the baby garden has been left.

"There are overgrown bushes and grass, there was litter and it just generally looking a mess.

"I understand the council can only do so much but this is a place where bereaved parents and their families should be able to come and mourn in a peaceful environment. "

The family would now like to raise money for some benches to be put in place so that people can spend some reflective time in the garden.

Lynne said: "There isn't even a bench or seat that people can sit on and have a few minutes to remember their babies.

"Myself and my sister are hoping to get permission to make this space more welcoming and brighter for families to come. "

Lynne's sister, Louise, 36, spoke about coming up to spend time at Pamela's grave.

She added: "I just felt so sad when I came up here and it was in such a sorry state.

"We know the council doesn't have a lot of money. We are not looking for money, we would just like permission to put in benches and we will raise the money ourselves.

"So we are looking for help, maybe a group or volunteers, and we would do it ourselves.

"I come here a lot myself or with my sister and we sit with Pamela. It is a place to come and get comfort.

Little Pamela was tragically delivered stillborn on June 13 1988 in the Rankin Maternity Hospital.

Mum Andrewina, who now lives in Skelmorlie, said: "The loss never leaves you. This is all we have left of Pamela.

"Thirty-six years ago you were left with nothing but a Polaroid picture. We have our headstone now, but even at the time you were not even allowed that.

"They put in memorial stones and as the years went on we put in a headstone for Pamela. It was always a lovely place to come but it feels neglected now.

"The memorial service is also important, it is a chance to speak to many families. Some mothers have nothing with which to remember their babies.

"But it is so important to be able to remember. It was always on the third Sunday in May but we have no idea if it will take place."

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “The Rankin Memorial Garden at Greenock Cemetery is inspected and maintained on a regular basis to ensure it is in the best possible condition so we are disappointed to hear that the garden wasn’t looking its best on this occasion.

“We aim to cut the grass every 14 days and it was last cut a fortnight ago so another cut is due in the coming days. When the grass is cut, staff also carry out litter checks and will carry out a litter pick as necessary.

“Work is planned for the wider cemetery, including the addition of new benches which have been ordered and planting of wildflowers, in addition to recent road resurfacing and other enhancements, but we welcome feedback on any further improvements that could be made.

“The annual service of remembrance was postponed due to covid restrictions at the time and has more recently been on hold due to recent crematorium upgrade works, however, we are planning a return of the service this year with a view to making it an annual feature once again.”