Kids in Greater Saint John have a chance to honour the lives of more than 400 unmarked graves of sailors buried at Fernhill Cemetery — through art.
The Jervis Bay Memorial 53 Legion is asking students from local middle schools and high schools to send in nautical-themed designs to be incorporated into a monument honouring the fallen who rest in the Marine Lot.
Harold Wright, president of the Jervis Bay Legion, said in an interview Friday that he has studied the lot’s history for more than a decade. It currently consists of only 11 grave markers, and he was bothered by the idea of families not knowing where their loved ones are buried.
“I think everybody who dies in the service of their country or the service of their employer should be remembered,” said Wright. “The easiest way in a cemetery is to have a grave marker or a monument with their name on it.”
According to Wright, the burials represent more than a dozen nationalities and shipping lines. Most of the resting places were left without proper markers due to the costs of acquiring one at the time of each sailor’s death.
Many died from illness, natural causes, accidents and even some cases of foul play.
“Most of the sailors would have died by accident or by illness while at work, and the shipping companies would not pay for the grave marker,” said Wright, adding that the burials date from the early 1800s to the most recent one in 1985.
“Some of the burials were paid for by the shipping companies or the marine hospital of the day, but they paid for the burial — that’s it. Grave markers were not usual; they were expensive.”
Students have until mid-September to come up with a design. They can submit their creations directly to Jervis Bay Legion on Bayside drive or the Fernhill Cemetery offices on Westmorland Road.
Once the monument is complete, the list of names can be sent to the sailors’ home countries and made available at museums, archives and genealogical societies.
Wright said he’s looking forward to watching the submissions roll in.
“All we said is that it should incorporate a marine or a nautical theme, leave it wide open to the students,” he said.
“We could end up with dozens of different design ideas, and I actually hope that we have some ideas and designs that we would never have thought of in a million years.”
