THE CHRISTIAN
COMMUNITY CEMETERY COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT 1st April 2002 – 31st March 2003
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General: 1. No annual report exists for 2001 / 2002. 2. No accounts exist for 2001 / 2002 3. Nigel PREECE was appointed Secretary / Treasurer of the C.C.C.C. on 3rd April 2002, succeeding Mr. Mark COURTNELL. Zubara Cemetery – Vandalism: On the night of 15th May 2002 the Zubara Cemetery was vandalized by persons unknown. The South East quadrant of the cemetery, 25% of the total area, had been damaged. The damages included the uprooting and smashing of wooden crosses; the smashing of concrete crosses, grave surrounds and plaques, damage to the roof of the War Memorial and the brass commemorative plaques. The matter was reported to the Police but no arrests were made. The British Embassy, through intermediaries, promptly informed the Bahrain authorities at the highest levels of the incident. As a result, the then, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, H.E. Abdulnabi Al-Shoa’la was delegated to resolve the matter. This resulted in the damage repairs being paid for and the boundary wall raised, funded by the Ministry of Finance. In addition to adding a wrought iron fence to the perimeter wall the Ministry Contractors repaired and renovated sections of the wall that were deteriorating. A breeze block section of the rear wall was completely demolished and rebuilt to conform to the existing wall. These works were completed on 8th October 2002. Our sincere thanks go to H.E’s; Mr. Abdulnabi Al-Shoa’la; Mr Peter Ford ( The British Ambassador) and Mr. Simon Wilson (Deputy Head of Mission) for their interest and kind assistance in resolving this matter. 11th November Rememberance Service - Zubara Cemetery: The annual service, organized by the British Embassy – Defence Section, was held in the newly refurbished Zubara Cemetery. The C.C.C.C. received a kind letter of thanks from Commander Nigel Smith (Royal Navy) the Defence attaché, thanking the Committee for their assistance and remarking on how nice the cemetery looked for the occasion. Burials - Salmabad Cemetery: 2002 we buried: 7 adults and 13 children. 2003 ( 1 Jan to 31 Mar.) we buried: 3 adults and 2 children. Space available in Salmabad Cemetery: There is presently space for 46 adult and 17 child burials. Obviously, the time is fast approaching when we will need to use the ‘adult’ section to bury children. At the present rate of burials (which of course, could vary quite considerably,) it will be approximately 3-4 years before the Salmabad cemetery is full.
Cemetery Records: A plot plan has been compiled based upon the above. 2. Salmabad Cemetery: The records for this cemetery were incomplete as at May 1999. Using all of the sources available, including a physical survey of every grave marker, a database of all burials is in the process of being compiled to bring the records up to date. (Approximately 75% complete as of now. A plot plan has been compiled based on the above. Special thanks for their kind assistance must go to the Sacred Heart Church for the use of their extremely comprehensive and complete Parish Register of deaths ( 1941 to the present). It is interesting to note that most of the other Churches / Congregations that use the cemetery do not appear to maintain a Parish Register of the deaths of members of their Congregations. We would earnestly encourage our community to begin maintaining such records for future reference. Donations: Many of the kind donations that we received this year (particularly from individuals) were as a result of the ‘vandalism’ incident at the Zubara Cemetery. Nothing like this had happened in the 100 year history of the cemetery and both expatriates and local residents were shocked and saddened by this incident. Churches:
National Evangelical
Church Individuals:
Mr. Jamil Wafa The Ministry (by their own admission) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the graves of British Servicemen and their dependants buried in Bahrain - known as ‘Non-War’ graves. In Zubara cemetery there are 45 servicemen and 27 dependants buried (17.73% of the 406 total graves). In Salmabad cemetery there are 33 servicemen and their dependants buried ( 5.4 % of the total graves.) Rather than carry out the works themselves, the M.O.D. make an annual contribution to the cost of this work, carried out on their behalf, by the C.C.C.C. Up to the present this contribution seems to have been based on an ‘estimated’ cost. (The last record I can find of a payment from the M.O.D. was in October 1998 of B.D. 509.840. There may have been subsequent payments but the records are incomplete or non-existent.)
In order to regularize this situation
and to establish a procedure for future use I have informed the
M.O.D. (via the British Embassy – Defence Section) of our intention
to invoice them on an annual basis, backed up by a set of accounts,
for any costs involved relating specifically to: For this year: 2002 / 2003 an invoice in the amount of BD 300.831 has been submitted
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