By Sundae Horn

The British Cemetery is not looking as good this year as it has in previous years. The sign at the cemetery says, “Cared for by the people of Ocracoke,” but the only “people” spending any time on it is me – with one day’s help from two Coast Guard members from Station Hatteras, who came down the week of the ceremony. 

In 2020, I took over as caretaker of the cemetery, which is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The CWGC in recent years decided it can only pay for improvements and repairs to the area of the cemetery inside the fence only, that is, only the very small section where the actual gravesites are surrounded by the fence. Since 2023, we painted the pillars around the graves and replaced the old gravel with new. (Volunteer labor was provided by Ocracoke School Beta Club for the gravel project.)

My duties for the CWGC include keeping the entire area litter-free, collecting the tributes people leave, maintaining the area inside the fence, washing the headstones, sending regular photo updates to the CWGC office in Canada, visiting the site at least once every two weeks for general tidying, and liaising with the U.S. Coast Guard and Ocracoke community to plan the annual ceremony in May.

The CWGC does not fund any landscaping or any costs incurred in upkeep and maintenance of the flowerbed area and walkway.

Years ago, Ocracoke Civic and Business Association would ask for donations from the public for the garden’s upkeep, as well as host the luncheon after the annual ceremony. Jennifer Rich, who then owned Ocracoke Garden Center, was contracted to beautify the cemetery gardens for a couple of years.

In 2017, Ocracoke Preservation Society (OPS) took over hosting the luncheon and asking for donations from the public to continue to honor the British and Canadians sailors buried on Ocracoke.

From 2020-2024, I worked with OPS to use the money they raised to plant flowers and mulch the garden. I had wonderful volunteers – Jerry Newsome and Heather Johnson come to mind – as well as the forced labor of my husband and children.

In 2024, Lauren Frazier from the NC Wildlife Federation visited and brought some native plants to add to the garden to help us get a Butterfly Highway designation.

OPS also helped to fund the re-painting of the sign and new posts for the plaques. Two anonymous benefactors helped us purchase new bronze plaques.

In late 2024, I asked OPS to add the British Cemetery flower bed to their ongoing landscaping projects at the OPS Museum and the Island Inn Commons. They have a large group of volunteers for fundraising and garden maintenance. The Island Inn gardeners have a shed full of equipment and knowledgeable gardeners to help.

In 2025, OPS informed me that the organization would no longer support any activity at the cemetery. They retained host duties for the luncheon but would no longer purchase plants or mulch. As it was almost time for the annual ceremony, they agreed to bring potted flowers over to the British Cemetery site for the ceremony and then take them back. They made sure to let me know that it was a one-time offer.

This year, the cemetery’s flower bed shows signs of neglect. Most of the native plants didn’t come back this year, and one of the rose bushes has died. There is no water source at the cemetery, so maintenance is difficult. I spent my own money to purchase some annuals, perennials, and mulch, and the Ocracoke Garden Center graciously allowed me to borrow potted flowers for the ceremony.

As an individual, I can’t ask for donations or go to the Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board for funding. I am hoping that the coin tributes that visitors leave on the crosses this year will cover the $200+ I spent on the flower bed. I also spent my own money to print programs for the ceremony.

The cemetery flower bed is not as pretty or filled in as it could and should be. I’m not skilled at landscaping and I can’t afford to spend more than I have on plants. It disappoints me that one of Ocracoke’s most popular tourist attractions appears neglected. Dignitaries representing the Royal Navy, the Canadian Royal Navy, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the German Navy, as well as veterans’ groups all attend the ceremony and see the care (or lack of) given to this special plot of land. Every time I’m at the cemetery, I meet and talk with a dozen visitors who stop by to honor this slice of Ocracoke’s history.

Beginning with the 2026-27 fiscal year on July 1, the Island Inn Commons will receive a grant of $36,500 from Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board (OOTB) to maintain the gardens. (They received additional funds for the building’s maintenance and mortgage.)

OPS also received a grant of $4,800 from the OOTB for the 2025-26 fiscal year to be collected immediately. The new Ocracoke Commons Visitor & Cultural Center has formed as a separate non-profit to manage the garden. They intend to hire a caretaker.

I feel strongly that OPS or the new non-profit should take on the honor and duty of maintaining the flower bed at the British Cemetery.

If they can’t, then what’s to be done? Do we need a new non-profit “Friends of the British Cemetery”? Should OCBA be asked to step up? Is there another organization that would like to assume responsibility? Is there an organization willing to ask for donations on behalf of the British Cemetery?

The British Cemetery exists because Ocracoke people donated the land to the bury the sailors who washed ashore and kept it maintained for over 80 years. The Ocracoke British Cemetery deserves robust funding and year-round attention from the community.