AW Lymn supports launch of UK’s first uncollected ashes database

Midlands-based independent funeral directors, A W Lymn, has supported the launch of an uncollected ashes database – the first of its kind in the UK – to address the lack of formal regulation of uncollected ashes in the industry. 

The new online initiative – The Ashes Register – was created by founder Richard Martin. It’s a free service where information of all cremated remains in A W Lymn’s possessions since before 2000 can be uploaded. 

The option to find lost ashes is a new element to the website, with A.W. Lymn being the first funeral directors to use its register.

A total of 136 ashes have been uploaded to the online database by A W Lymn, with the oldest dating back to 1952. Amongst this list also includes decorated veteran, Air Commodore George Lawson CBE MC.

Uncollected ashes have been a “longstanding” challenge in the funeral industry, A W Lymn states, with an estimated hundreds of thousands of unclaimed urns sitting in funeral homes across the UK – some of which date back to the 19th-Century.

In the immediate aftermath of a funeral, it is the funeral director’s duty of care to look after the ashes. Stored in a Columbarium, they are kept safe until whoever made the funeral arrangements is ready to collect them, with records kept in paper format as well as electronically.

Matthew Lymn Rose, MD of A W Lymn, said: “It’s a saddening thought to think of ashes that have been left uncollected, however there are many reasons why this might occur. Sometimes, in the aftermath of a funeral, people can be in denial and taking possession of the ashes can be a hard thing to do. 

“In other instances, there is a breakdown in communication amongst a family as to who will collect them. As ashes do not belong to anyone under British law, unless the person who made the funeral arrangements collects them, they go unclaimed.”

He added: “As a fifth-generation family business that has been supporting the bereaved in the region for nearing 120 years, we feel a deep sense of responsibility and duty of care to look after cremated remains in our possession, in the hope that they will one day find their way back to someone.

“We do, however, strongly believe that everyone deserves a final resting place, which is why we are so passionate about this new register. We hope that by leading the way in adding our records, other funeral directors will follow suit and hopefully reduce the number of uncollected ashes stored at funeral branches across the country.” 

The NAFD recommends its members store ashes for at least five years, with efforts being made to locate the rightful recipient before a funeral company can dispose of them. This often includes scattering them in a garden of remembrance or at a beauty spot with land owners’ permission.

Richard Martin, founder of The Ashes Register, said: “Our goal is simple and it’s to reunite as many people as possible with the ashes of a relative or loved one. We feel so passionate about history not being lost in time, which is why we set up this website to provide a space for people to document someone’s final resting place.

“We have received lots of support from leading companies and organisations in the cremation sector on the Ashes Register but A.W. Lymn is the first funeral director to step forward and be involved in the unclaimed ashes section of the website. They are really paving the way in the industry and we hope this is the start of other funeral directors following suit.”