Official record will provide future generations with details of cremated loved ones’ final resting places
Richard Martin, founder of Scattering Ashes, is to launch an innovative register that records the final resting place of people who have been cremated in the UK, The Ashes Register.
Following his recent report ‘The Lost Generation: the problem of scattering ashes in the modern era’ he discovered that historically the final resting places of those who opted for a cremation have been in churchyards or cemeteries, however since the late 1960s more families have collected the ashes from the crematorium themselves, choosing scattering locations of personal significance but without any means to record the date or place.
The report estimates that up to 6.45 million sets of ashes have been scattered, without any formal record, relying instead on those present to remember the details and pass them on to future generations. These numbers of formally unrecorded resting places have not been seen since the plagues of the Middle Ages.
The Ashes Register, has been launched to ensure that families can record a scattering of a set of ashes for free, capturing basic information supplied by crematoria and funeral providers much like that found on a death certificate.
Richard Martin founder of the Ashes Register said: “With an increasing focus on the cremated remains, thanks in part to the rise of direct cremation, families have been creating farewells that are more personalised to the lifestyle, tastes and preferences of the deceased, which we thoroughly support. But a direct consequence is the inability of future generations to know the location of their ancestors final resting place.”
He went on to say: “The Ashes Register will allow every family to record the location of where a loved one’s ashes are scattered plus their date of birth and death, you can even create an entry for someone who passed away decades ago.”
The Ashes Register can offer its basic listing for free thanks to significant industry support, with founding sponsorship from key industry providers: Pure Cremation and Memoria Group, alongside support from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management where the report was presented.
Catherine Powell, co-founder of Pure Cremation said, “We are proud to sponsor this important project because it will allow grandchildren and great-grandchildren the opportunity to make remembrance visits to the places that mattered to their family.”
Please Contact:
Richard Martin 07768278363
The Ashes Register
Facultatieve Technologies (FT) with 145 years of experience in cremation is the international market leader in the design, construction and maintenance of cremation and filtration equipment.
