Category: Special services

Exhumation

Sarah

Sometimes, it is necessary to exhume a buried coffin (or indeed a coffin which is in the crematorium building which is yet to be cremated).

This may be immediately – for example, if the coffin has been sealed and the family wishes to have an item out of the coffin but the act of committal has already taken place – or 50 years or more later. It can be for a number of reasons, and not always at the request of the family.

We are able to provide a full exhumation service including liaising with all third parties including the cemetery and Environmental Health department. We provide a full professional service  from the initial enquiry until the coffin is laid to rest for the second time, and beyond.We also arrange for the completion of all paperwork including Coroner’s Warrant, Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA, formerly the Home Office) Licence or an Ecclesiastical Faculty.

For more information, please contact us at our Sutton Coldfield Funeral Home.

International Repatriation – taking someone home

Sarah

In today’s world, it is quite common for people to pass away not only away from home, but not even in the same continent. This requires ‘repatriation’. We can provide a repatriation service to any part of the world.  Each country and airline has their own regulations so full advice, guidance and price can only be given upon application.

As a general rule, you will need to know of a funeral director in the home country who will receive the coffin and make arrangements for the funeral, once the coffin has arrived.

It is possible to have a funeral locally prior to leaving for the airport. You may also wish to travel on the same aeroplane, once we know the details.

Through consultation we are able to provide a bespoke service to you and your family. We may need to bring third parties in to the arrangements, particularly where a translation of documents is needed.

If you are wishing to repatriate your loved one (in Birmingham it is quite common to repatriate to areas of Eire, for example) then try to remember to tell the Registrar when you attend to register the death.

Our services are provided as per our funerals carried out locally in areas around Sutton Coldfield and Erdington. We will arrange for any specialist coffin required, and if you wish to visit your loved one in the chapel of rest at our funeral home in Eachelhurst Road, Walmley, prior to the repatriation, then you are welcome.

This service is often not as expensive or as complicated as people first think. The only additional costs generally come from the transport costs by the airline, and the fact that two Funeral Directors have to be involved (one in each country).

Alternative funeral vehicles in Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham

Sarah

 

Daniel Ross Funeral Directors in Sutton Coldfield pride themselves in offering families every available option to personalise the funeral.

As pictured, the VW Beetle stretch Limousine is an alternate vehicle to use in place of our traditional black Daimler Limousines.

In addition to the limousine, a VW Hearse is also available.

 

Alternative funeral vehicles we can offer

As standard, many families chose to use our black Daimler Hearse and Limousines for a traditional and prestigious funeral but at Daniel Ross Funerals we can also offer:

  • White or Black Horse Drawn Hearse
  • Rolls Royce fleet
  • White or Pink Hearse
  • Estate Cars
  • Land Rover Hearse

Do contact us here to discuss any special funeral vehicle that you would like to use.

Chapel for a funeral service in Sutton Coldfield

Sarah

Here at our funeral home, Grace Mary House, we are able to offer our families a private and intimate chapel for a funeral service. Many families choose for the funeral service to be a small private affair therefore our facilities here at Daniel Ross Funerals have proved invaluable as we are the only funeral directors able to offer a chapel in Sutton Coldfield to such high standards.

Our Chapel has received both blessing and dedication for all religions and can comfortably seat up to 16 mourners or family members. In addition, there is ample room for the coffin to rest within the Chapel alongside the lectern which is the stand from which the officiating minister/priest/funeral celebrant would take the funeral service from.

 

 

Our Chapel has been also used to take non religious services, as we are able to personalise the Chapel with religious symbols for each denomination or with more personal items such as photographs or family pictures. Our Chapel also has the facility to have CD music played and/or piped music to sing hymns to. Should a family prefer to have a live organist or soloist at the funeral service, this also can be arranged.

 

 

 

Our flexibility and our accommodating approach guide our families and assist them to finding a truly personal way to say goodbye to their loved one. At Daniel Ross Funerals, we are proud to help our families create a truly personal and intimate funeral service.

 

 

 

Military Funeral in Sutton Coldfield

Sarah

For those who have previously served, Daniel Ross Funerals in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, is proud to offer a military funeral service that reflects the right amount of military input that the family would like, ranging from simply draping the coffin with a suitable flag , right through to a uniformed chaplain, relevant flag on the altar, regimental prayers, Last Post and the deceased’s medals displayed on the coffin. Military funeral music can also be played, eg a Regimental March etc.  Ex-members of the Royal Navy often have a version of “For those in peril on the sea” sung as a hymn, adapted for use at funerals by a local Navy Training Corps Chaplain who works closely with us in Sutton Coldfield.

At a Military Funeral, for members of the  Royal Navy – the White Ensign  is used,

At a Military Funeral, for the army the Union Flag is generally used,

At a Military Funeral, for the Royal Air Force the RAF standard,

For folk who have served in the Merchant Navy then the Red Ensign is used.

The British Legion is normally available to send volunteer members as a Guard of Honour, along with a standard bearer who will normally “dip” for Last Post. The Commemoration (We shall grow not old…”) can also be recited by one of their members or the Chaplain.  For those not in the British Legion a nominal donation should be made to the Branch from which the members attending are associated.  These are things we can easily arrange through our local contacts with the various ex-servicemen’s association, eg The British Legion, Normandy Veterans Association, National Ex Services Association, Royal Naval Association and the Royal Air Force Association.

Generally these forms of services apply to ex-serviceman from the Second World War, although not exclusively, and it is recognised that due to the experiences they had during those dark times there are some who do not want any military style input. But for the greater majority their families are keen to honour the memory of what their loved one did for King and Country and therefore include a degree of military input.

Orders of Service can also have a military feel about them with Regimental or Service badges and flags/colours/ensigns used. Daniel Ross Funerals in Sutton Coldfield has previously created very unique and personal Orders of Service for a military funeral in Sutton Coldfield.

Not all family want a “religious style” service and so we also offer a non-religious form of service that again can contain any amount of military style input that the family request.

Although the funeral service is a farewell to the deceased, it is also, importantly, for the families as well and having a military style feel to it, where appropriate, so often gives great satisfaction to families and friends as the memory of their loved one is honoured in this way.

At Daniel Ross Funerals, we would be honoured to serve and your family and to deliver a personal military funeral in Sutton Coldfield.

Reception Venues

Sarah

Following a funeral, people often wish to gather and to share their memories of their departed loved one over a meal, or afternoon tea. Traditionally this was done in the deceased persons home, but today there is a move towards using another venue.

Please ask us if you would like assistance in organising catering in a private home, or suggestions for venues to hold the reception.

Some of our past clients have used the following local venues:

  • The Three Tuns – High Street, Sutton Coldfield.  Telephone 0121 355 2996
  • Four Oaks Carvery  – Belwell Lane, Sutton Coldfield. Telephone 0121 308 1460
  • Walmley Social Club – Fox Hollies Road, Sutton Coldfield. Telephone 0121 351 1253

Direct transfer service

DanielRoss

When there is to be no religious or secular service and mourners will not be attending, we are able to offer the following service:

Collection of the deceased from a local hospital or mortuary, provision of a simple coffin with direct transfer to a local cemetery or crematorium on a day to suit us.

All charges must be pre paid.

This is currently £995.00 plus disbursements