The Polish consul general in the UK has pledged his support to bring dignity to the dead at Horton Cemetery after being "appalled" by the treatment of the dead buried there. 

The Epsom Guardian was contacted by Hanka Januszewska, of the Polish Heritage Society (UK), after she read the newspaper’s articles about the cemetery, off Hook Road in Epsom, which contains 8,000 bodies of those who died at Horton Hospital - part of the Epsom cluster of mental hospitals in the 1990s and a war hospital during the World Wars.

The cemetery is privately-owned by Marque Securities, who bought it for a nominal sum from the NHS in the 1980s and has left it to decay. 

This newspaper has been charting the research of ex-Epsom and Ewell mayor Councillor Sheila Carlson into the cemetery since human remains surfaced at the site in March.

She is hunting for the names of soldiers buried at the cemetery, in a bid to have them officially commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and to impress upon the owners a sense of moral responsibility.

Ms Januszewska said it is believed a number of Polish soldiers were treated at the Epsom cluster of hospitals during the wars and could have been buried in Horton Cemetery.

She said: "Ireneusz Truszkowski, Consul General of the Polish Embassy in London was appalled to hear of this situation with a cemetery where there are undoubtedly Polish ex-servicemen buried.

"Hopefully we will find at least one Polish ex-serviceman’s name who was a patient and who presumably could be buried in Horton Cemetery."

Coun Carlson welcomed the support, after her bid to see the death records of soldiers at Horton Hospital was frustrated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in July.

She said: "The MoD’s response was very disappointing so I went back to the metropolitan archives in Farringdon.

"According to the death records there, no one died at Horton Hospital during WW2, which is not true.  It was a war hospital so the records must be held elsewhere and that leads me back to the MoD."

Coun Carlson said she found the records of the two soldiers known to be buried in Horton Cemetery and who are commemorated in Ashley Road at the metropolitan archives - but was surprised to find the cause of death at Long Grove Hospital was recorded as ‘mental illness’ .

She added: "There’s nothing in the archives saying they died of their wounds which is odd as that’s what I thought was required for commemoration by the commission."

If you have any information about Horton Cemetery email Coun Carlson on scarlson@epsom-ewell.gov.uk or call her on 01372 723093, or contact Hardeep Matharu by emailing hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk