The London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston-upon-Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton, Wandsworth and the surrounding areas including north Surrey.
Anyone within the funeral profession – owners, managers and funeral directors, funeral arrangers, administrators – or connected thereto e.g. crematoria, cemeteries, nursing homes, mortuaries, registrars.
Meetings are held quarterly on Monday evenings and are followed by supper.
Recent topics have included the operation of a cemetery & memorial gardens, the history of embalming, GDPR and the new FFMA testing protocol.
The District Committee is chaired by Tony Pearson;
Vice-chairman Gary Valentine-Fuller
Email address for the Officers : lafdsouthern@outlook.com
A busy meeting was held at Shirley Park Golf Club.
Simon Rolfe, of East Surrey Mortuary, provided a well-received presentation that prompted a lively discussion.
London Association President, Adam Ginder, provided a report on matters raised at the recent NAFD General Meeting and an update on regional developments.
The next meeting will be in January.
The meeting was held at a new venue – Shirley Park Golf Club – which proved an excellent host to the Association’s members and guests.
London Association President, Adam Ginder, provided updates on recent national and regional developments.
The next meeting will be in October.
London Association Vice-President, Adam Ginder, was in attendance at the 2019 Annual General Meeting and provided updates on LAFD/NAFD recent developments and events.
The evening included elections to the Committee.
New Chairman Tony Pearson will be supported by Gary Valentine-Fuller (Vice-chairman), Frank Meilack (continuing as Hon. Secretary) and Barbara Ward (continuing as Hon. Treasurer).
Retiring Chairman Emily Sharma thanked the Committee and members for their support during her year in office, which she had thoroughly enjoyed.
There was discussion of the trial of the Medical Examiner process, conducted very successfully by Croydon Crematorium and local funeral firms.
The evening concluded with dinner, as usual. The next meeting is being planned for early July.
The meeting welcomed Howard Pickard, Managing Director, Resomation LBBC, who gave a presentation on “water cremation”.
As is customary, attendees enjoyed a convivial supper to complete the evening.
New London Association President, Richard van Nes, was delighted to be invited to attend the Southern District Association’s AGM and to welcome its newly elected officers.
Retiring Chairman Ben Walkling was thanked warmly for his service during the past two years.
Despite then being a recent recruit to the Committee, Ben had picked up the chain of office when the previous Chairman relocated away from the area and had done a sterling job keeping the District organisation flourishing.
New Chair Emily Sharma informed the meeting that the Committee’s focus for the year will be on growing the membership and improving communication and engagement with members across the District.
To this end, she announced the creation of a new, dedicated email address for the District Committee (see above).
The meeting welcomed Dr Chris Rose and Mr Alex Keen, of Ascension Flights, who gave a fascinating presentation, which was very well received.
The well attended meeting was pleased to welcome guest speaker Simon Allen, who gave a timely, informative presentation on the new General Data Protection Regulations, being introduced in May.
The evening also included the customary supper.
The meeting was attended by a good mix of people from a variety of funeral services.
Those present enjoyed an interesting presentation from a carriage master and a lively debate covering diverse matters, such as the Social Fund, Coroner services and an update on ME Implementation in England.
The enjoyable evening concluded with a hot buffet supper.