Oldham Mayor's hidden kindness

The Mayor of Oldham has opened her heart to help restore dignity to a family’s grave.

Cllr Ginny Alexander acted after seeing the heartache of the family of Marcus Emms, the Shaw and Crompton Town Crier.

Bearded Marcus, complete with official colourful costume, travels the borough attending events underpinning many of the Mayor’s charitable works.

But his cheerful demeanor has hidden personal tragedies including the loss of his sister, Katherine, who died at the age of 19 in 1999 and was buried at St Thomas Church graveyard, Moorside.

And six years later, the grave was reopened for the internment of his mother, Sylvia, who  passed away aged 71, with lung cancer.

Because of illness, Marcus could not attend the anniversary of his mother’s death and Mayor Ginny said: “He asked to visit the grave and say hello.

“However, sadly, soil on the grave had become like rock and left a massive, unsightly mound.

“When I saw the grave I was shocked and so I contacted John Ogden, the area supervisor for the council’s Parks & Open Spaces, to see what could be done.

“John immediately sent his team up, David Garvin, Stuart Holt and Tommy Lent, who dug it all up, flattened it and reseeded the grave itself.

“The result was perfect and I can’t thank the parks team enough for a job well done. Marcus and his sister Maria sent a video and pictures as they met up with the team to thank them personally, social distancing of course.”

Marcus said: “I burst into tears when I saw the grave and phoned my sister to see if she had done it. She knew nothing about it.

“When I asked the mayor she said you do everything for everyone else, never asking for anything in return and to be honest and the grave  should never have been left like that. 

“The parks and open spaces team carried out other works in the graveyard including replacing the footpath to the garden of remembrance. We are so grateful.”

Ginny added: “I was glad I could do something  for our wonderful Town Crier. A very big thank you to John Ogden and his team.” 

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