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Welcome from the President of the Federation.
On behalf of the Federation of British Cremation Authorities, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to out new website.
As promised at our recent Conference in Buxton, we gave a commitment to continue to improve the service that we give you, our members, and the website is part of that improvement. I do hope that you find the content valuable in the provision of a first class service to the bereaved and friends.
We welcome your comments and ideas on the future development of the website and look forward to hearing from you.
Isabel Mattick
President of Federation of Cremation Authorities.
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| An Introduction to FBCA |
The Federation, originally named the Federation of Cremation Authorities in Great Britain, was formed at meeting held at the British Empire Exhibition, Wembley, on 1st August 1924, and Rules were adopted.
These Rules as amended from time to time were entirely redrafted as Constitution and adopted at the fourteenth Annual Meeting held at Edinburgh on the 28th June 1938. In 1949 a radical change in the membership of the executive committee occured in consequence of the increasing influence of municipal authorities in the cremation movement.
To improve the benefits to the federation's members, a technical sub-commitee was established in the post-war era. This Sub-Committee meets frequently to consider and advise in the design, construction and operation of crematoria and the development of crematorium equipment and apparatus. The work of the Sub-Committee is extended on a personal basis by Technical Offers who assist operating and prospective Cremation Authorities with advice and guidance on local problems.
Standards of performance have been devised and informative publications produced of which this Guide to Crematoria and Cremation is the latest. However, the most important document has been the Code of Practice. This Code, first produced in 1945 and periodically updated and revised, is essential in the maintainance of standards at the crematoria and the observance of the Code is an obligation of membership of the Federation.
The Federation's quaterly journal "Resurgam" was first published in 1958 and continues to enjoy a wide circulation within the cremation movement both in the UK and overseas.
The first Joint Conference between the Federation and the Institute of Burial and Cremation Administration was held in 1932 and, with the exception of the war years, it has been held annually attracting professionals and those concerned with the disposal of the dead and the many allied and sensitive matters associated with that service.
By 1968 it became necessary for an extensive revision of the Federation's Constitution to be considered so as to make it more suitable to the Federation's substantially increased membership and influence and the greater scope of its work in the Cremation Movement. The revised Constitution was adopted at the 44th Annual General Meeting held at Brighton on the 30th September of that year.
In 1977 at Bath at the 53rd Annual General Meeting further amendments were made with the object of increasing the membership of the Executive Committee and defining more precisely the Officers of the Federation and in 1984 at the Sixtieth Annual General Meeting another minor amendment was passed which permits the transfer of the office of President to take place at the time of the annual Joint Conference.
Nearly all crematoria in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are represented in the membership of the Federation whose authority on the subject of cremation has long been respected nationally. Government Departments consult the Federation on matters affecting the law and practice of cremation which is now recognised as an essential part of public health services.
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