Friday 16 July 2021

"A most awful tragedy"; Medi Oliver Mehra (2003-2014) Kensal Green Cemetery

 

When an 86-foot-long half circle of Corinthian columns, suddenly appeared in Kensal Green a few years ago I was slightly puzzled to see such a large new structure in the cemetery and assumed it was a memorial garden for the crematorium. Only one memorial ever appeared inside it, a life-sized statue of a boy who according to the inscription had died shortly after his eleventh birthday in 2014 but it still never crossed my mind that this enormous structure was a single grave memorial until I read ‘A Tomb with A View’ by Peter Ross. Kensal Green is the most exclusive and therefore the most expensive cemetery in the UK.  A 6’6” x 2’6” standard burial plot in a path side location costs a hefty £22,000; that is £1375 per square foot (plus £1550 for the excavation by mechanical digger). I don’t know the total area of the Medi Garden, as it is officially known, but it must be at least 3000 square feet. I have no idea either what the General Cemetery Company charged for the ground but if the rate was the equivalent of its grave fees, it would have cost millions. The memorial itself was built by Sino Sculpture using 350 tonnes of granite, 150 tonnes of steel and 200 tons of concrete. It is decorated with angels holding torches, books and flowers. 


There is no other monument on this scale in any UK cemetery. The price tag for the memorial reflects the enormous grief of Iranian businessman Mehdi Mehra and his wife Mary-Ann Bowring at the loss of their 11-year-old son Medi Oliver Mehra who died in a horse-riding accident in 2014. The Hampstead & Highgate Express of April 15 2015 carried the story of the inquest:

An 11-year-old Hampstead schoolboy died of severe head injuries after hitting a tree in a horse riding accident, a coroner has ruled. University College School (UCS) pupil Medi Mehra died on July 15 last year after he fell off a horse and hit his head at a polo club in Oxfordshire. He died at the scene despite wearing a riding helmet. Medi, of Maida Vale, lost control of the horse he was riding without stirrups when it cantered while he was also controlling another horse on a rope, known as leading. Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter ruled his death was an accident, and said: “It was apparent Medi was a relative beginner in terms of riding ability. I do think there was a significant increase in the risk by having Medi leading a horse with no stirrups.”


The court heard that Medi’s father, Mehdi Mehra, asked friend and professional polo player Pedro Harrison to look after Medi and have him work in the stables at the club for a few days. Mr Harrison’s groom William Newman was the only adult with Medi when he died. He was riding one horse and leading four others at the time. Mr Newman told Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court: “Medi seemed quite confident on a horse, he seemed happy. I thought I’d push him a bit more and told him to take his stirrups up and have a canter. “But then there was a gradual increase in speed as Medi lost control, and I quickly lost sight of him over the crest of the hill.” Mr Harrison, who was in his yard at the time, said: “I heard Medi scream. “I looked up and saw him riding past on the grass, still leading the horse, and going very fast. I got in my car immediately and went after them. When I found Medi he was lying by the tree and had blood coming from his nose and ears.” Mr Newman told the court: “I obviously over-estimated his riding ability and hugely underestimated the horse’s quietness. It’s something I regret hugely.” Before Medi died, his mother Mary-Anne Bowring had specifically chosen an older horse called Rubia for Medi to ride on. But on the day he died, he was riding another horse. She said “there was no way in hell” she would have left Medi stay with Mr Harrison if she knew he would ride a different horse. But Mr Harrison said Mr Mehra had told him to give Medi “whatever horse I thought was suitable.”

Mr Salter told the court: “This is obviously the most awful tragedy, an accident.”


26 comments:

  1. Sitting on a bench in his structure reading about Medi; very sad to think of the pain him and his family went through and continue to go through.

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    1. That is how I always envisaged someone using the blog - being in a cemetery and looking up a memorial. Good to hear that it actually happens! Thank you.

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    2. I also used your blog for this purpose, as I was bowled over by this wonderful but sad garden memorial. I took a group of friends here very recently, and we found the boy's father tending the flowers, very poignant. He told us his mother and father were also interred in the same plot.

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    3. What happened to Mr. HARRISON?

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    4. Nothing as far as I know but no doubt the incident keeps him awake at night from time to time.

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    5. I also did the very same today, saw the memorial and sat down on one of the benches to google the name and found this blog. 5 minutes later, a lady arrived and we got chatting, she was a friend of the family. Very sad accident.

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  2. Very sad to hear about this boy, may Allah reward him Janah "Paradise". his parents truly did him a little paradise here with us.

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  3. Thank you so much for this article, I saw the monument yesterday and was very saddened to learn of the tragedy.

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  4. I'm here now and wanted to know more about this tribute to a much loved son.
    RIP Medi

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  5. Thank you for this article. I was in Kensal Green cemetery today and wondered how it had come about. From a distance I presumed it was some sort of memorial garden or older family plot. Very interesting read

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    1. Hi Amy, you are welcome! Glad this was of some use to you.

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  6. Truly beautiful place....was deeply touch xdd

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  7. I visited here today absolutely amazed at what I saw

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  8. How sad. Was in the cemetery today to look for my husband’s parents grave and came across this amazing monument and read this article while looking at it. Such a sad story.

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  9. Seating opposite to Medi’s sculpture reading about him💔 such tragedy for everyone. What a loss of a young life😭

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  10. Thank you for publishing. It’s a tragic story but I too am sitting in the memorial and it’s such a beautiful tribute to him.

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  11. Amazing tribute to a life cut short

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  12. May his soul Rest in Peace and May he and all his kith and kin enjoy the silence, serenity and quietness the graveyard can provide them . May the gods of Mors Intua Virtæ be given chances and opportunities to develop the heavens of St Mary’s Cemetary into a wonderful place as described in the motto on the foyer of the church of the transfiguration. I pray the gates of hell do not prevail and the truth is told like our lives a tale that is told. Amen.

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  13. Please pray for the prisoners of war surrounding some of the issues regarding the legacy of the goings on at the Cemetary and believe to love and to serve us pro bonum jus per gaudium et pense. Ave Maria, Quis ut Deus. Turrisca Davidica. Amen.

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  14. I was in Kensal green today, and I could smell the flowers in the breeze way before I could see the glorious garden. A beautiful tribute to a loved son.

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  15. I was there, beautiful memorial place I can see all the family pain. I know the sadness of loss a child, I am with all of you in my prayers.❤️

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  16. Although l understand the family's grief this memorial is too much, it over powers others place of rest. l feel the money could have been more beneficial to those supported by the foundation.

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    1. You have a point I think. It's size is impressive but as you say that can be a little overpowering for other memorials.

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  17. I used to go to primary school with Medi, he was an amazing person and one of my few friends. I was thinking about him recently and came across this, I didn’t know this had been built but I’m going to go visit it now. Thank You for writing this in his memory, he was truly a kind person and i’m glad he won’t be forgotten.

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  18. This morning my German husband and I visited the Kensel Green Cemetery and as we approached Medi's resting place, a rainstorm took us by surprise. We were able to shelter under the pavilion and blessed Medi for giving us safety. Rest in peace.

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