A gravedigger from Oxfordshire who has dug the final resting place for more than 1,000 people has been named Gravedigger of the Year for the second time.
Jonny Yaxley, who lives in Drayton, near Abingdon, received the accolade at the Good Funeral Awards at the end of last month.
Jonny has been digging graves for more than 20 years in locations including North Moreton, Waddesdon, Checkendon and the Fairmile Cemetery, near Wallingford, as well as Leedam Natural Burials in Henley.
He first won the award in 2014 and said he was “blown away” to repeat the feat this year.
“I view what I do as an honour,” he said. “I look at it as if you are putting people to bed for the last time. It is something that needs to be done with dignity and compassion. It just resonates with me and I take immense pride in what I do.
Jonny said he believed it was his “personal touch” that led to the win.
He said he makes sure he always knows the name of the person he is burying and goes out of his way to meet the family if that’s helpful for them.
On one occasion he arranged for a mother who left behind young children to be buried in a plot where she had a view of sheep, as her children had requested.
“It is the greatest honour to be able to help someone when they have suffered a loss,” he added. “To be able to offer them some comfort and some help is an incredible thing to do.”
Jonny explained that he wasn’t sure that gravedigging was for him when he was first starting out.
“It wasn’t really what I set out to do. But I started to do it not long after my nan had died, and she was the first grandparent I lost. Then, the first three burials I did, all three of them were nans.
“It brought it home to me. Through my own experience, I realised it was an important job and it needs to be done with compassion and love.”