How do I arrange a Funeral without a Funeral Director?

Most people use the services of a Funeral Director who organise the funeral by collecting and removing the body, arranging embalming and viewing of the deceased, providing a coffin, hearse and other vehicles. He will also contact the Crematorium, Clergy and Doctors to ensure that all necessary arrangements are made, as well as the newspaper if you wish to have an obituary notice published.

There is no reason why you should not make all the arrangements yourself, including the provision of a ‘coffin’ and transportation of the deceased to the Crematorium.

Copies of all the necessary forms are available from the Crematorium and the staff will be happy to assist you in arranging their completion.

Registering the death

Today, most deaths occur in hospital or at home after an illness and the deceased has usually been attended by a medical practitioner who can certify the cause of death and issue a notification of the cause of death which needs to be taken to the Registrar of Births & Deaths, so that the death can be registered. The majority of Registrars now operate an appointments system and it will be necessary to arrange a suitable appointment.

The Registrar of Births and Deaths will issue a Certificate for Burial or Cremation which should be forwarded to the Crematorium or Cemetery/Churchyard administrator.

Where the death is caused by an accident or the deceased has not recently been attended by a medical practitioner, i.e. within 14 days prior to death, it will be necessary for the cause of death to be ascertained.

This is done by a Coroner who will investigate the circumstances surrounding the death and then issue a notification of the cause of death which is transmitted to the Registrar of Births & Deaths.

The Coroner will issue a Coroners Order for Cremation or a Coroners Order for Burial.

Cremation

Cremation services may take place at Walton Lea, Monday to Friday between the hours of 9.00am and 4.00pm at 20 minute intervals and should be booked with the Crematorium at least two working days in advance.

It will be necessary to inform the hospital or medical practitioner who last attended the deceased that a cremation is to take place. The medical practitioner will then complete a Statutory Form B setting out the cause of death and other circumstances surrounding the death. He will then pass this Form B to another qualified medical practitioner who will examine the body and complete a confirmatory certificate known as Form C before arranging for both forms to be delivered to the Crematorium. There is a charge for the completion of both these forms.

Where the Coroner has been involved in establishing the cause of death and has issued a Coroners Order for Cremation, Forms B and C mentioned above are not required.

You will need to sign a Statutory Application for Cremation (Form A) in the presence of another person who will be required to certify that you are known to them, and that they have no reason to doubt the answer given to any of the questions on the form.

The Crematorium will also need written instructions for the service and disposal of the cremated remains. All statutory forms, including the Coroners Order for Cremation or the Registrars Certificate for Cremation or Burial, must be delivered to the Crematorium by no later than 10.00am on the working day prior to the funeral service.

The full service, which will last approximately 30 minutes, can take place in the Crematorium Chapel or part of the service can be held in your own church with only a short Committal Ceremony, lasting approximately 5 minutes, being held at the Crematorium. Should you wish to have a longer service, or expect a large number of people to attend, it is possible to arrange for additional time on payment of a small charge.

As an alternative, the full service may be held in your own church and the coffin brought for cremation with no further ceremony. In this case the coffin will still be br