The Cremation Society of Great Britain

THE FEDERATION OF BRITISH CREMATION AUTHORITIES
  
CODE OF CREMATION PRACTICE
(Original version, approved at the Annual General Meeting of the FBCA on 20 September 1945 - the text is taken from a copy in the Cremation Society's Archives (CRE/P/2E Box 2))
 
(Displayed on the Cremation Society's website by kind permission of the FBCA)

1. The cremation of a human body is a highly emotional occasion for those taking part in the service. This should never be forgotten by the officials of the Crematorium, who should combine to create and maintain an atmosphere of reverence and respect throughout the entire proceedings.

2. The funeral director shall observe the regulations drawn up by the Cremation Authority. He is responsible for the provision of sufficient bearers to convey the coffin reverently from the hearse to the catafalque. When the coffin is in position on the catafalque or deposited in the Rest Room or Chapel of Repose at the the Crematorium his responsibility towards it ceases, and that of the Cremation Authority begins.

3. No official of a Cremation Authority shall conduct the business of a funeral director.

4. A body shall not be removed from the Crematorium after the Service of Committal.

5. No portion of the coffin or its contents shall be removed following the Committal Service: they shall be put into the furnace exactly as they are received on the catafalque.

6. Once a coffin, with its contents, has been placed in the furnace it shall not be touched or interfered with until the process of incineration is completed.

7. No person shall be permitted to enter the committal room without the express permission of the superintendent. In cases where the representatives of the deceased express the desire to witness the placing of the coffin in the furnace, the superintendent shall give permission to two representatives to enter for this purpose.

8. Each body, whether adult or child, given to the care of the Cremation Authority, shall be cremated separately. An exception shall be permitted where death is due to childbirth, when mother and bchild may be cremated in the same coffin, provided the necessary Authority to Cremate has been granted in both cases.

9. It frequently occurs that ornaments and rings, or dentures, of gold and other precious metals, are present on the body brought for cremation. In the process of cremation these metals are not destroyed, but are present in dull, misshapen form among the ashes. Care should be taken to separate such metals from the ashes, and a receptacle should be provided in which they should be retained for subsequent disposal in accordance with the directions of the Cremation Authority, or higher Authority.

10. The utmost care shall be taken to ensure that the ashes Remains resulting from each cremation shall be kept separate. Following their removal from the cremator, the ashes shall be reduced and placed in separate containers whilst awaiting final disposal. If the ashes are to be scattered on the Garden of Rest, the ceremony shall be conducted with the greatest reverence and respect. In cases where the ashes are to be sent by rail or through the post, specially constructed containers shall be provided for this purpose, suitably labelled.

11. All mechanical apparatus used in the Crematorium shall be regularly overhauled and cleaned to ensure its being kept in perfect working order, and to prevent friction noises which will are calculated to distract or disturb the mourners. Special attention should be paid to mechanical devices which are particularly prone to develop imperfections.

12. The greatest care should be taken in the appointment of members of the Crematorium staff, any one of whom may, by conduct or demeanour, detract from the atmosphere of reverence which it is endeavoured to create. In addition, it should be realised that the wrong type of person is capable of comment outside the Crematorium which can bring the Crematorium and Cremation into disrepute.