RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Heirloom1690 on Monday 29 December 25 14:45 GMT (UK)
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Hi everyone just a thorny topic,
Your thoughts are welcome on this ..
I have a near relative deceased GRO 2011, I couId buy the certificate being public records I quoted address from electoral register and say 5 yrs ago contacted the Council..in Suffolk looking for a cremation - who quoted gdpr rules to me - were unhelpful, couldnt tell me or they would be able to help..I tried a couple of years ago again and got a similar response. How can I find cremation or burial - nothing on deceased online either.
Is there a central list of all funeral directors,
I dont mind if someone PMs me on this
All the Best for 2026...and thanks for all the help :-\
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If the death was published in the local newspaper it may have funeral details.
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I don't know how long funeral directors keep records as it's 14yrs since the death. Why not try Googling for info on FD's in that area & giving them a ring.
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I would check newspapers as Milliepede has suggested :)
Rosie
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I'm assuming that you do not want to/cannot afford to purchase a copy of the death certificate to verify your assumptions. :-\
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A few years ago we went to a Crematorium and the staff let us look through their book for records of relatives.
We then went to the nearby Cemetery where the staff their even walked us to the graves we wanted to see.
So if you can go in person or perhaps a Chatter who is in the local area could pop in.
Many years ago a chatter looked up records for me that were not online.
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The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) only apply to living individuals. By law, all burials need to be recorded in public burial registers and grave registers. Cremated remains interred in a cemetery are not required to be recorded in burial registers.
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If it is West Suffolk, Ipswich, or Seven Hills the East Anglian Daily Times lists the (public?) cremations taking place that day. But just the person's name and age.
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"I don't know how long funeral directors keep records as it's 14yrs since the death"
I needed to check something about my husband's grave 30 years after his death and the funeral director was able to give me the information.
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A few thoughts:-
1. Unless it's changed recently, UK death certificates don't give dispositions of remains (burial, cremation etc.) as they are issued shortly after death when this may not have been decided. Frequently offered advice to get a DC stems from elsewhere, like the USA.
2. Whilst Data Protection rules don't apply to the deceased, cemetery/crematorium records may include details of living relatives. That alone shouldn't prevent council employees answering your basic question, but some have excessive privacy rules.
3. Many cemeteries charge fees, sometimes substantial ones, for burial/scattering of ashes, even if it's on a family grave and you take your own trowell, so I'd be surprised if they didn't have records, except for those who didn't realise they had to pay, or wanted to avoid it ;) If a grave is re-opened for a burial, the staff need to know to look out for urns or set aside a top layer of soil for replacement.
4. Many crematoria have online Books of Remembrance, though they sometimes aren't indexed, leaving you to guess dates, which may be death, birth, cremation, (possibly of a relative in a combined entry) or who knows what? It's not always certain whether they include both cremations and burials, and not everyone wants to pay for an entry.
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You say it’s a few years ago when you last tried, I think.
From Wikipedia, there are only a few crematoria in Suffolk. If you have the death certificate and address, then you have the date and perhaps the closest crematorium to try.
Ipswich has an online book to search, for example.
Others may have similar records or may offer lookup services.
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You may find something here https://www.deceasedonline.com/
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There is often no record of what happens to the Ashes of the cremated once they are handed over to the Undertaker or family member. Some people scatter them at sea or in a favourite place. A friend of mine took her husband's ashes back to scatter them in Ireland, someone else brought them from Australia back to their relatives birth place in England.
Not so long ago there was a lot of talk about a problem caused by so many people scattering their relatives ashes on Mount Snowdon.
My own husband died years ago, I still have his Ashes, they are in a cupboard waiting to mixed with mine when I go and then scattered at sea.
These days if you have spare Thousand pounds you van have your ashes fired into space.
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Thank you all for your comments. Happy New Year to all Rootschatters.
I appreciate the comments Chris gave here, for taking the time to reply, I have drawn a blank.
I know the address from electoral registers in Mildenhall and that is where I checked
the crematoria.
I guess some things are not meant to be found.
:'(