A Somerset farmer was left utterly unnerved after discovering what he believed to be human bones near a churchyard following severe flooding. Stephen Bartlett, 61, was checking for flood damage around his local church in Mudford when he came across the skeletal remains scattered on the road on January 29.
The ex-soldier, who recognised the bones as human due to his military background, feared they might be washed away by another deluge and decided to take them into his care. He recounted: “There had been a weekend of heavy flooding so I went out to have a look to see if there was any damage anywhere.
“I was walking along and I saw what looked like a legbone sticking out, then when I looked down on the road I found an ulna [forearm], an arm bone, and a collarbone.
“I couldn’t leave them there on the road sticking out, because they could end up being washed away in the next flood.”
Bartlett suspects that the bones may have surfaced from multiple graves at St Mary’s Church, which became waterlogged after the River Yeo overflowed.
He expressed his alarm: “I said ‘Christ alive’. I was fearful of walking a bit further along and seeing an actual skull looking out of the soil, I was really spooked.
“Because it’s a well used road right next to the church, I didn’t see anyone else picking them up and taking them away.”
Initially hiding them behind a gravestone, Bartlett later secured the bones at home following police advice: “At first I hid them behind a gravestone in the churchyard, but the police said ‘keep them all together and keep them secure.’”
The graveyard, which contains a Commonwealth War Grave for Ordinary Seaman W J Pearce who passed away on July 19, 1918, has sparked an investigation by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Parishioners are reportedly “totally shocked” by the discovery of human remains floating outside the church.
Stephen, a former army personnel who served in the Balkans, confirmed that the bones were indeed human, stating: “[They said] ‘are you sure they’re not dog bones? ’”No, they are human. I know, I was in the army, I was in the Balkans, so I know exactly what I’m looking at.”
The older generation of parishioners are particularly distraught, as some of them have personal connections to individuals buried in the churchyard. They have also noticed that the flooding is worsening and lasting longer.