Humanists UK launches first ever funeral tribute archive

Humanists UK has launched a new initiative with the Bishopsgate Institute, to create the first national online archive of funeral tributes from the thousands of funerals conducted by its celebrants each year.

The Humanist Funeral Tribute Archive has been launched today (24 April) and will be accessible through the Bishopsgate Institute’s online Catalogue. Over 50 tributes are now online, with more being submitted continuously.

Anyone who has a funeral conducted by a Humanists UK-accredited celebrant is eligible to have their story lodged in the archive, with scripts submitted at the request of families. Photos are also being stored to give a full picture of the person who is being commemorated.

Humanists UK celebrants conduct thousands of funerals a year, across the country, and estimates that maybe as many as a million people could have tributes to add to the Archive from funerals conducted so far alone. In consequence, it expects the Archive to rapidly become a significant repository of life stories from the 20th century and beyond.

Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK, said: “The most important part of a humanist funeral is the tribute or eulogy. It tells the life story of the person who has died. This new archive will preserve these stories and make them available to future generations, so that people can live forever with a humanist funeral.”