Fourteen displays, ribbons and services ran across Beckenham for Baby Loss Awareness Week, organised by a mum whose son Jacob was stillborn in 2021.
Fourteen displays, activities and events ran across Beckenham during Baby Loss Awareness Week, from 9 to 15 October, to remember babies who have died. Churches, cafés, shops and a funeral director took part, and the largest display, a fence of ribbons at Croydon Road Recreation Ground, was visited by local councillors, the MP and the Mayor of Bromley in her mayoral robes.
All of it was organised by one Beckenham resident, Jessica Burley, whose son Jacob was stillborn in December 2021.
A ribbon for each baby
Pink, blue and white ribbons went up at each site. At Croydon Road Recreation Ground anyone could tie on a ribbon for a baby they knew or loved, and many carry a name and a date written by hand. Jessica says the display was supported by Bromley Council.
Baby Loss Awareness Week was marked by events and activities across the UK, including remembrance services, ribbon displays, awareness stalls and other community initiatives. You can see the events that took place across the country on the official Baby Loss Awareness Week map.
The Sands list of ribbon displays showed the Beckenham display open from 9 to 16 October and a second at Beckenham Crematorium to 15 October, with spare ribbons and pens for visitors to write their baby’s name. The same map lists remembrance trees at Francis Chappell & Sons funeral directors on Beckenham High Street and at Hello Josephine café on Croydon Road, where people could add a ribbon through the week.
Where else it happened
Jessica sent us a collage of all fourteen. It names remembrance trees and ribbons at St John’s Church, St George’s Church, St Edmund’s Church and Elmer’s End Free Church, displays at Roxby Salon and Daisy Grey Café, a knitted topper on a postbox, and an awareness stall at Beckenham Beacon. Christ Church Beckenham lit its windows pink and blue.
The week ended with a remembrance service at Beckenham Crematorium on Thursday 15 October, timed to the international Wave of Light, when families around the world light candles in memory of babies who have died.
“Our babies matter”
Jessica wants more than a week of remembrance. She hopes to change a culture in which baby loss is still met with silence, people feel uncomfortable talking about babies who have died, and bereaved parents can feel they are expected to move on. She wants parents to be able to speak proudly about their babies without others feeling awkward or changing the subject.
“I’m incredibly proud to be Jacob’s mum, and I never want him to be forgotten. Our babies matter. They were here, they were loved, and they will always be part of our families.
“Seeing so many people across Beckenham come together to remember them has meant so much to me. Every ribbon, every remembrance tree and every building lit pink and blue is a public acknowledgement that these babies existed and that their lives matter.”
From Beckenham to Piccadilly Circus
Her work also reached the West End this year. Jessica also initiated the project that brought Baby Loss Awareness Week to the iconic Piccadilly Lights on 15 October, working alongside Sands and the screen’s partners to mark the international Wave of Light.
What it means for you
If you lost a baby, or know someone who did, the Beckenham displays were open to everyone, and Jessica plans to build on this year and run awareness events again in future years. The official Baby Loss Awareness Week map is the place to look for events near you.
If you or someone you know has been affected by baby loss, visit Sands for information about bereavement support, local support groups and their helpline.
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