Oxfordshire gravedigger wins Good Funeral award for work at Leedam

A gravedigger who runs a burial business at Leedam in Oxfordshire says the cemetery is his happy place and was named gravedigger of the year at the Good Funeral Awards last September, as told to Heather Main.

He began working as a contract gardener for the council, tending cemeteries before being offered a job digging graves and later setting up his own business. Leedam is described as 40 acres of meadow and woodland where trees are planted instead of headstones; most of the digging is done by machine but he does the finishing touches by hand and lines graves with freshly cut grass or leaves depending on the season.

Over 20 years he has buried more than 1,000 people. Memorable services he recalls include a Star Wars fan whose procession was led by actors dressed as stormtroopers and a woman who backfilled the grave of her three-year-old. He has buried a friend and says he expects to bury his mother one day, although "hopefully not any time soon"; he previously won the same award in 2014.

He says the work has made him appreciate life, so he tells loved ones he loves them each day and pursues activities such as bungee jumping and skydiving. He also plans to be buried at Leedam so his body can help fuel the growth of a tree rather than lie under a concrete slab, as he told the Guardian.

Key Topics

Culture, Leedam, Good Funeral Awards, Oxfordshire, Natural Burial, Gravedigger