International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

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West Ham Cemetery, Buckingham Road, Forest Lane, West Ham, London E15 1SP  +44 20 8555 2193 (United Synagogue) (closed): Founded in 1857, the owner is the United Synagogue. At the north end of the cemetery, several of the paths were excavated in 1960 to re-inter remains moved from the Old Jewish Cemetery in Hoxton Street.

Three-fifths of the ground of this cemetery, opened in 1856 by the authorities of the New Synagogue, was subsequently conveyed to the Great Synagogue. Registers are held in the East Ham Cemetery office. West Ham is one of the few cemeteries maintaining a separate register of burial, distinct from the registers kept by the respective synagogues, which usually lack the essential information on the identity of the cemetery of burial. Also see Plashet, some old pictures listed there may have come from West Ham Cemetery.

UPDATE: Source: JewishGen Digest: This cemetery is closed and needs special permission/arrangements to visit, so you can't just pop by.The online database is a wonderful facility, but it is limited in that you have to enter an exact name in your search for a person, or nothing will come up, so this is why you got little back. [June 2014]

Burial search at Deceased Online. [June 2014]

The cemetery is at Forest Gate, a little North of the main line to Romford, between Maryland Point and Forest Gate stations. It belongs to the Corporation. There are 136 Commonwealth military burials from the 1914-1918 war here; 30 are in the "Soldiers' Circle," on which a War Cross is erected, with a Screen Wall bearing the names of those whose graves (in the plot or elsewhere in the cemetery) are not marked by headstones. 78 Commonwealth burials of the 1939-1945 war in various parts of the cemetery, a second Screen Wall bears the names of those whose graves are not marked by headstones. Source [June 2014]

UPDATE: From Melvyn Hartog and sent to all United Synagogue, Synagogue Administrators, dated 24 January 2002: "With immediate effect, due to health and safety, West Ham Cemetery is now closed. If you need to visit the cemetery, this can be done by contacting the Ilford Burial Society on +44 20 8518 2868 and asking for either Tony Harris or Cilla Block. Please ... give the office at least 3 days notice of your impending visit." Source: JewishGen Digest (31 Jan 2002) and Rosemary Wenzerul. [February 2002]

UPDATE: The United Synagogue Burial Society, London, announced restricted opening times opening hours 1000 to 1400, other times by prior arrangement only. Source: "United Synagogue Annual Review 5761" [JewishGen Digest 5 September 2001]

West Ham United Synagogue Cemetery ...... contains the grave of Cadeluc Jacobson, Native of Hanover, one of the Jewish survivors of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Source: David Jacobs - The Graveside of History. Shemot [December 1997]

The United Synagogue Burial Society for additional information and photos and tombstone maintenance and hours at 020 8950 7767 and select option 2. Melvyn Hartog, Head of Burial, Tel: 020 8343 6283. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. [August 2003]

The United Synagogue website has a "Find a Grave" search facility (at https://www.theus.org.uk/gravesearch) that enables one to search for a grave at its cemeteries, including this one. The search result will generally include the date of burial, the position of the grave and a photograph of the gravestone, if available. Source: David Shulman, Webmaster JCR-UK [June 2017]