Launched our Bereavement Support Group in Wymondham, our memory boxes and Anne begins to deliver training nationally

Rosedale joined the Salvation Army and BBC local radio to support the Toys and Tins appeal in the run up to Christmas, resulting in over 4,500 gifts being personally delivered to grateful families.

After receiving so many requests from adults for memory boxes, we started to make these available for care home residents to help reawaken memories of special people, experiences and achievements.  We have supplied thousands of these complimentary memory boxes over the years to bereaved children and dementia patients alike.

We launched our Bereavement Support Group in Wymondham run by Funeral Administrator Marion Baynton and her daughter in Law Vicky Goddard.  The aim was to provide practical, emotional and social support through difficult milestones such as birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas as well as going back to work after a bereavement and learning to cook for one.

We benefitted from securing an environmental graduate on an internship to help us calculate and reduce our carbon footprint.  Charlene was only supposed to be with us for 10 weeks and during that time we came up with the idea to pioneer the introduction of the country’s first carbon neutral funeral, launched a cycle to work scheme and worked with the Green Team from Wymondham High School to develop a range of environmentally friendly caskets and ashes urns.  We loved having Charlene on the team, so much so that when her internship came to an end, we created a job for her, and have watched her marry and have two children.  She now heads up our accounts office, but still keeps an eye on our carbon footprint and has a say in our environmental initiatives.

Chloe joins the team with a background in Auxiliary Nursing at All Hallows Hospital.  We immediately recognised her sensitive and caring demeanour which combined with her practical and patient character is ideal to offer support to others when they most need comfort and understanding.

Anne was approached by Bath University to join the teaching staff and began to deliver the Foundation Degree in Funeral Services, lecturing on topics such as burial at sea and military funerals.