An important place for families to reflect and remember – the first of its kind in the County Borough – has been created at Trealaw Cemetery as part of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s commitment to support bereaved members of its communities.
The beautiful Remembrance Area has benches and planters, offering a serene space where lost loved ones can be remembered and celebrated. It also has a Letters to Heaven post box, where people can post letters, cards and messages.
It’s the first Remembrance Area of its kind to be completed, but Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has committed to delivering the important spaces in all its cemeteries where graves are unidentified.
It was residents who called for a Remembrance Area to be created in Trealaw, approaching local ward councillor Cllr Wyn Hughes for support.
Sadly many cemeteries nationally hold the unidentifiable graves of babies who were lost too soon and the Bereavement Services Team worked with Cllr Hughes to form this space in recognition of the importance of a focal point for local families who aren’t able to visit the graves of their loved ones, causing decades of heartbreak and making the need for such a space even more poignant.
As a result, the Wave of Light ceremony, organised by Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board on behalf of a range of bereavement support charities and partner agencies, to mark the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week 2025 has agreed to hold this ceremony at Trealaw Cemetery.
Residents are invited to attend the Remembrance Area from 6.45pm on Wednesday, October 15 to join the Wave of Light Ceremony, lighting a candle of reflection and remembrance.
The ceremony will also serve as the official opening of the Trealaw Cemetery Remembrance Area, which will be dedicated to those who are buried in Trealaw, but whose final resting place is unknown.
Cllr Scott Emanuel, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Bereavement Services, said: “This resident-driven campaign was very important to the Council. We are pleased and proud to have worked with Cllr Hughes, on behalf of the community of Trealaw, to create their Remembrance Area.
“We look forward to the official opening of the Remembrance Area at the Wave of Light ceremony on Wednesday, October 15 and hope the creation of this special space will give people the comfort and reflection they need.
“Many people are aware of the Council’s statutory duties in relation to the operation of crematoria and cemeteries and the official processes of Births, Deaths and Marriages, but our commitment to the bereaved runs far wider and deeper than that.
“We have a 10 year plan setting out how we offer Respectful and Sustainable Service for the Bereaved, which includes the creation of Remembrance Areas such as the one in Trealaw, Letters to Heaven post boxes in all of our cemeteries, digital books of remembrance and support for those researching their family history and burial places.
“The opening of the Trealaw Cemetery Remembrance Area is testament to that commitment. Our thoughts are with all the bereaved members of the Trealaw community. We hope the provision of a place where they can grieve and remember serves as comfort to them for years to come.”
Cllr Wyn Hughes, ward member for Trealaw, added: “I am pleased to have helped realise the vision for a Remembrance Area in Trealaw Cemetery.
“However, this space is dedicated to the bereaved members of our community who campaigned for it, recognising it would help them and others in their grief, and, importantly, to the memory of the babies and infants whose resting places are unknown.
“It is fitting that, for the first time, the Waves of Light Ceremony will take place in Trealaw Cemetery and this will be a chance for our community to come together, grieve, remember and support each other.”
The Waves of Light Ceremony marks the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week, which has been held in the UK since 2002 to offer support and solidarity to those who have suffered the loss of a baby or infant.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board coordinates the delivery of the ceremony on behalf of a range of charities, support organisations and partner agencies that deliver support to the bereaved in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
All are invited to attend the Remembrance Area in Trealaw Cemetery (next to the main building at the main gates) from 6.45pm on Wednesday, October 15.
