Matilda unveils memorial post box at Stirlingshire Crematorium
A nine-year-old girl whose idea for posting letters to her late grandparents has captured the hearts of a nation has visited and officially unveiled a memorial post box at Stirlingshire Crematorium.
Matilda Handy, from Nottinghamshire, joined by the crematorium team, Funeral Directors, officiants, and other guests, helped Chloe Donegan, from Coop Funeral Care Alloa, unveil the ‘Letters to Loved Ones’ post box.
Stirlingshire Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, one of the UK’s largest independent owner and operator of crematoria and cemeteries, with 37 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, all set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide pleasant, tranquil places for people to visit and reflect.
Matilda’s mother, Leanne, is Memorial Advisor at Gedling Crematorium, where the first memorial post box was installed, and which had more than 100 letters and cards posted into it within the first few weeks.
The positive feedback received from local people prompted Westerleigh Group to install similar memorial post boxes at all its sites by the end of this year.
Leanne’s father passed away in 2003 and mother passed away in 2017.
Leanne said: “The idea for the memorial post boxes all came about because Matilda was always saying she wished we could send Mamma and Grandad birthday and Christmas cards for them to read. She was four when my mum died, and never met my dad.
“We were thrilled by the positive response to the box and I feel very proud. We’ve had amazing comments from members of the community who have used it, about the comfort they have gained from writing letters and cards.
“Matilda and I were even more delighted when we learned that Westerleigh Group was going to install similar boxes across all its crematoria so that people all over the country will be able to use them, and it was lovely to come up to Stirlingshire to help officially unveil its memorial post box.”
Matilda’s idea has seen her appear on the BBC One Show, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and even receive an invitation to Number 10 Downing Street for an International Women’s Day reception, where she was presented with a Points of Light award by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Donnie Connor, Site Manager at Stirlingshire Crematorium, said: “Having seen the response to the first memorial post box at Gedling Crematorium, I am so pleased to have installed something similar here at Stirlingshire, enabling our bereaved communities to have access to this wonderful asset too.
“Feedback has shown that the process of writing a letter, or perhaps a birthday card, to a lost loved one has already brought therapeutic comfort to many people.
“It was particularly lovely to welcome Leanne and, of course, Matilda to our crematorium. She read out a lovely poem and was outstanding for someone so young.”
