Brentwood Borough Council have thanked staff from Ford Motor Company who swapped their work desks for wheelbarrows and volunteered last week to tend Lorne Road Cemetery in Warley.

The closed Victorian cemetery has more than 40 scattered war graves & is also the resting place of policemen who were killed on duty.

This peaceful and scenic special place in the Borough has been part of a Council four year project (2014-2018) to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of World War I.

Around 50 staff members from Ford at Eagle Way in Warley volunteered their two Community Project days at the closed Victorian Lorne Road Cemetery.

As many of the graves in the cemetery are war graves of soldiers who were based in the Warley Barracks, there was a real connection with the Ford Motor Company.

Over the two days the volunteers were involved in: Digging up turf to prepare the land for bulb planting and poppy field and wild flower areas, moving logs, cutting the hedge, removing all the small saplings, clearing graves of weeds, wire brush and paint railings and work on the chapel (painting the door and boards over where the windows once were)

 Brentwood Borough Council’s Chair of the Environment & Housing Management Committee, Councillor Chris Hossack, said: “Once you visit Lorne Road Cemetery you can feel an attachment to it because it really is a hidden gem with a lot of history and stories behind the gravestones.

"I would like to thank the staff from Ford for their enthusiasm and hard graft last week and the attention to detail they dedicated over the two days they spent there.

"Brentwood School have also been involved in this community project earlier in the year and will be returning this week to carry on the great work started by the Ford volunteers”.

The event was co-ordinated by Liz Beard from Ford Customer Service Division, who said “The Ford team thoroughly enjoyed working at Lorne Road Cemetery, and we could really see the difference we made over the two days.

"We’re looking forward to seeing the bulbs that we planted flowering in the Spring and hopefully coming back in the Autumn to help Alan and his team with more tidying, planting, painting or whatever is required”.