Westerleigh Group’s memorial post boxes star in new children’s book
The white memorial post boxes which can be found at every Westerleigh Group crematorium in the UK have inspired a new children’s picture book.
Published by Scholastic Books, “This Letter Says I Love You” is out now and illustrates how people can stay connected to loved ones they have lost by writing them letters.
It was inspired by the story of 10-year-old Matilda Handy, who expressed a wish to be able to write to her grandmother after she passed away.
That led to the first white memorial post box in the world being installed at Gedling Crematorium in Nottinghamshire - part of Westerleigh Group, where Matilda’s mother, Leanne, works.
Within its first few weeks, more than 100 cards and messages had been put into the box, with local people saying it brought them considerable comfort and a sense of connection with loved ones they had lost.
The response to that first Letters to Heaven box was so positive that Westerleigh Group decided to install one at each of its sites’ Garden of Remembrance.
Westerleigh Group is one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 41 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, and which is trusted by more families than any other provider to deliver funerals for their loved ones.
All of Westerleigh's locations are set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide peaceful places for people to visit and reflect, while benefitting from exceptional care and support from its teams.
Other companies, not just in the UK but all over the world, have adopted the memorial post box idea since that first one opened in Gedling in December 2022.
Now, the memorial post boxes have been immortalised in print, with heartfelt, hopeful, lyrical text by Lucy Rowland and warm illustrations by Sharon Rentta.
It includes a copy of Matilda Handy’s original letter to her grandmother, which was the first item put into that pioneering post box at Gedling Crematorium.
Every Westerleigh Group crematorium now has a copy of the book, which people are welcome to see whenever they visit their nearest site. Copies can also be purchased from all major book retail stores.
