"A society grows great when men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit" - Greek origin

Frequently asked questsions

The death is abroad

Death abroad is not at all uncommon and can usually be dealt with very simply.

Quite often, a holiday insurance will cover the cost of repatriation.

While not necessarily complicated, the number of different potential scenarios and different countries are so large, the procedures are too numerous to deal with here.

Please contact one of our offices for immediate assistance and guidance on how best to make arrangements and the options open to the family.

Can we donate the body for medical research?

Donating a body for medical research is completely different to organ donation.

The Anatomy Act of 1832 first made it possible to leave a body to medical science; prior to this only executed prisoner could be used for such purposes and this gave rise to the appalling antics of grave robbers, such as the infamous Burke and Hare.

Little can be done in advance of death other than demonstrating interest but this is not binding upon Executors.

At the time of death contact would be made with one of the medical schools and they will decide whether to accept the deceased or not. The usual place of enquiry for our area is Southampton University School of Medicine, telephone 023 8059 4408. Beyond this, distance makes the likelihood of acceptance less.

Assuming the body is accepted, the medical school will collect the deceased and will use it at their discretion for research and dissection. When they have finished with the body, usually after two years, they will arrange and pay for the disposal by cremation.

Most applications are declined, purely because of supply and demand. However other factors will make acceptance less likely, such as, but not limited to:-

• An autopsy having taken place

• Organs having been removed for donation

• Certain causes of death, particularly Cancer

• If death took place more than a day or so before

While it is difficult to have a traditional funeral when the body is donated, there is no reason why the family should not have a memorial service instead to commemorate the life; we would be pleased to discuss the possibilities with you.

What is an Autopsy/Coroner?

An autopsy is usually performed on the instructions of the Coroner to establish the cause of death. Occasionally an autopsy may be performed by agreement between the hospital and deceased's family for research purposes. A Coroner's autopsy will be arranged and paid for by the Coroner. The autopsy is performed by a pathologist who is a medical doctor specializing in this field; he or she will operate on the deceased, usually opening the cavities to examine organs and sometimes take tissues for analysis.

The family will be advised of the findings.

Please see our page on 'The Coroner' for information in respect of this ancient office.

What is embalming?

Embalming is for preservation and presentation.

Modern embalming involves using the body's own circulatory system to take preserving chemicals around the tissues. In its place, blood is often drawn out. The chemicals are usually from a Formaldehyde origin.

By injecting the chemicals as a fluid the natural process of decomposition is slowed down but not stopped. It encourages a natural complexion to return to the skin rather than being left pale or conversely discoloured by blood clotting.

Our policy is to embalm sparingly on the occasions when our qualified embalmers feel there is a need or benefit; they do not embalm just for the sake of it. Sometimes it is extremely important for general hygiene that the deceased is embalmed promptly.

Please feel free to ask if you would like to know more about embalming; you may even like to speak to one of the embalmers.

All you need to know about cremation

• The coffin is always sealed before it arrives at the crematorium. It remains sealed during the service and is cremated with the deceased person.

• Crematoria welcome questions and have a Code of Practice which is available upon request.

• Precious metal is virtually destroyed during the cremation and any that remains is buried in an unmarked part of the grounds.

• Each cremation is carried out individually and the ashes removed at the end of the process before the next cremation begins. Therefore the ashes at the end of the cremation are, without any doubt, the remains of the person identified on the label attached to the urn.

• All cremations are completed on the day of the coffin entering the crematorium.

• The ashes that we receive are the remains of the body only and not of the coffin.

Decomposition

We suggest some caution before reading this page. You have asked the question; we will explain it to you as it is.

Decomposition is the natural process that all living creatures go through when they die. We are no different; it is nature's way of recycling.

At death, the heart stops pumping oxygenated blood around the body and the cells begin to die.

The cells will deteriorate and break down.

Levels of fluid and gas will increase within the body cavities and the skin will discolour. Unpleasant odour will accompany this.

Over a period of years the body will completely disintegrate; even the bones will decay given time.

Clearly this is an unpleasant process to witness and should be avoided.

As funeral directors, we use refrigeration to slow down the process of decomposition. We may also use modern embalming techniques to work with the refrigeration. It is not desirable, or indeed really possible, to stop the process permanently.