East London Crematorium and Cemetery

Images of Britain: East London Cemetery, London

The East London Crematorium and Cemetery in Plaistow is just east of Memorial Recreation Ground and fairly close to West Ham Station. It is one of the largest cemeteries in London and dates from 1872.

There are two Victorian chapels, one for burial and the other for cremations, on the site which covers approximately 33 acres.

Among the 1000s of graves in the cemetery are those of Elizabeth Stride, the third victim of Jack the Ripper as well as several other notable people including the activist Blair Peach, actress Beryl Cooke and boxer Terry Spinks. Queenie Watts, the actress who starred in many Carry On films, was cremated here.

There are also several memorials within the cemetery including one to the victims of a stage collapse at the launch of HMS Albion in 1898. The vessel was actually built on the River Thames by workers who went on to found West Ham United FC.

There is also a monument to the 600-700 people who died when the SS Princess Alice sank on the Thames after a collison with the collier SS Bywell Castle - the largest loss of life of any British inland waterway shipping accident. The victims died in terrible cirumstances as 340,000 cubic meters of raw sewage had entered the river where she sank.