Rowland Brothers 150 years

Veteran Stories – Lesley Albert Bates

Lesley Albert Bates, Royal Navy, World war Two Les was commissioned during the war in the arctic convoys and d day landings. He was on a survivor/coffin ship in the arctic picking up survivors and bodies from the sea. He received the arctic star medal and the Russian Ushakov medal from the Russian government to [...]

2021-04-09T14:02:55+00:00March 5th, 2021|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Lesley Albert Bates

What to Say to Someone Who is Grieving

https://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/what-to-say-to-someone-who-is-grieving/ April 11, 2010 — Pat Bertram I mentioned to a friend that, after receiving notification of my mate’s death, few people from a certain online group sent an acknowledgement, and she said perhaps it was because they did not know what to say. This is probably true. Most comments posted to me on the various threads began [...]

2021-04-09T13:50:36+00:00December 4th, 2020|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on What to Say to Someone Who is Grieving

Christmas Memorial Tree 2020

Rowland Brothers and our associated branches in Selsdon, Addiscombe and Orpington have been privileged to serve you, and we are aware that the approaching season of Christmas can be difficult to cope with.We would like to help you through the season in a small way by suggesting you might like to place a small memorial [...]

2021-04-12T13:34:07+00:00December 2nd, 2020|News|Comments Off on Christmas Memorial Tree 2020

Veteran Stories – Antoinette Chambeyron

The Honorary President of the Association des Auvergnats de Grande-Bretagne as well as the Federation of French Associations in Great Britain, Antoinette Chambeyron is an emblematic figure of the French community in London. Daughter of Anne Dunne, British artist born in Liverpool, and Georges Chambeyron, member of the famous juggling troupe "The Mongadors", Antoinette could [...]

2020-11-05T10:31:06+00:00November 3rd, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Antoinette Chambeyron

Veteran Stories – Charles

Charles served in the Second World War as a blacksmith in the Royal Air Force working on aircraft repairs. He started at Pembroke in Wales working on flying boats and witnessed a very heavy bombing raid from the Germans causing mass casualties. He was then posted to RAF Kenley and Biggin Hill to work on [...]

2021-04-09T13:38:11+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Charles

Veteran Stories – Edward

At St Christopher’s church was the funeral of ex Flt Sgt Edward McRae aged 93 a veteran of 50 Squadron RAF Bomber Command he volunteered in 1944 he was the mid upper gunner in a Lancaster he completed 19 missions over Europe. Crash report from the War Office 1945: BOMBER COMMAND Ferry flight in connection [...]

2021-04-09T14:40:22+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Edward

Veteran Stories – Jones

Jones was a 6-year veteran of the RCT and RLC. Vivian was a Lieutenant and is a veteran of the first Gulf War in 1991. He passed at the age of 56 with no family and no friends. The military preparation college of training carried the coffin, 3 standard bears were in attendance, Royal British [...]

2021-04-09T14:19:23+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Jones

Veteran Stories – Raymond (Razor) Kinder

Raymond kinder was 3 months short of reaching 101 years old when he passed away. Raymond “Razor” Kinder was in the army before the outbreak of World War 2 and he was in India in the Wiltshire Regiment. Upon the outbreak of war he was sent to Belgium and was part of the British Expeditionary [...]

2021-04-09T14:01:16+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Raymond (Razor) Kinder

Veteran Stories – Herbert Smith

Herbert was a Normandy veteran. Herbert joined the Territorial Army before the war and was conscripted in 1939. He was initially sent to Scotland and then was waiting for the big day, 6th June 1944. Herbert’s landing ship had mechanical problems so he was delayed with his troop and set foot on French sand two [...]

2021-04-09T14:21:00+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Herbert Smith

Veteran Stories – Len Rowe

Len's war years - As told by his daughter 23.09.1940 to 26.08.1941 During the London Blitz Len served with the 52nd (London) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment. 313 AA Battery stationed at Hyde Park Corner together with gunners on the Ack Ack guns shooting down enemy aircraft. He told me “how he gave the order to fire [...]

2021-04-09T14:04:28+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Len Rowe

Veteran Stories – Clive Knowles

We conducted a funeral for Clive Knowles a veteran of The Royal Fusiliers. This was a social services funeral and at the funeral only 6 people were in attendance. There were three Standard Bearers from the Royal British Legion. In their own words when I thanked them “It’s no more than they deserve mate you [...]

2021-04-09T13:37:41+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Clive Knowles

Veteran Stories – Steven Wilson Undy

Stephen served in the Royal Engineers from 04/07/1951 as career soldier and he served in the Korean War and Japan. Stephen was demobbed 01/01/1957. After he left the regular Army he was a reservist and was called up to serve again during the Suez Crisis in 1959. He finally left the reserves in 03/07/67 and [...]

2021-04-09T15:04:48+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Steven Wilson Undy

Veteran Stories – Tony Pacitti

Tony was captured in Singapore along with many thousands of his comrades. He was marched through the Far East working on both the Burma Railway and the Bridge in the Kwai. He ended up being taken to prisoner of war camps in Japan where he was brutally treated. He was deafened in one ear from [...]

2021-04-09T15:04:23+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Tony Pacitti

Veteran Stories – Desmond Warner

At the outbreak of WW2 Des lied about his age and joined the Home Guard at 13 years old. He became a Sergeant by 15 and was mentioned in dispatches for rescuing people from a bombed building. When he was old enough he joined the Reconnaissance Regiment who were tasked to go to the front [...]

2021-04-12T13:33:30+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Desmond Warner

Veteran Stories – Edward (Ron) Jackson

We conducted the funeral of Ron. He was a veteran of the Royal Navy having been posted to two mine sweepers in the English channel, a frigate and the most notable posting was on HMS Belfast. Not many veterans can say they have served on the Belfast. He was on board when the first salvo [...]

2021-04-09T14:41:18+00:00October 21st, 2020|News, Veteran Stories|Comments Off on Veteran Stories – Edward (Ron) Jackson

COVID-19 Notice

At Rowland Brothers, we recognise that amid this pandemic, we all have fears and concerns for the safety of our families and loved ones. Unfortunately, death and grief do not pause during a crisis. For over 145 years, Rowland Brothers has been taking care of members of this community and we stand ready to help [...]

2020-08-07T14:56:48+00:00March 18th, 2020|News|Comments Off on COVID-19 Notice

Christmas Memorial Tree 2019

Rowland Brothers and our associated branches in Selsdon, Addiscombe and Orpington have been privileged to serve you, and we are aware that the approaching season of Christmas can be difficult to cope with. We would like to help you through the season in a small way by suggesting you might like to place a small [...]

2020-06-04T11:17:20+00:00December 3rd, 2019|News|Comments Off on Christmas Memorial Tree 2019

Are You Struggling With Grief This Winter?

The cold weather can have an impact on our mood. Less sunshine and more dark evenings can make us change our normal social activities and we could end up feeling isolated. A lack of vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, can affect our immunity which often makes us poorly. Layer on a bereavement and this time [...]

2021-03-05T10:47:06+00:00November 22nd, 2019|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on Are You Struggling With Grief This Winter?

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior: A History

Lying in Westminster Abbey since 1920, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is not just a lone soldier from the war. It is a National Act of Remembrance, representative of all those we lost in the Great War. A Reverend on the front lines, Reverend David Railton, was the first to establish the idea. He [...]

2020-06-04T11:18:33+00:00November 8th, 2019|News|Comments Off on The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior: A History

Anger in Bereavement – How Counselling Can Help

Article from Counselling Directory Anger is a common, normal response to bereavement. We get angry when we cannot control what is happening to us. It can be one of the most confusing feelings during bereavement, and is at the root of many problems in the grieving process. If anger is not expressed in a safe way it [...]

2021-03-05T10:47:05+00:00October 9th, 2019|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on Anger in Bereavement – How Counselling Can Help

Multiple Losses: How to Cope with Loss & Change

Article from Grief In Common When I first started facilitating bereavement groups, I sort of assumed that people would be coming for help for “just” one loss. Of course one loss is more than enough…it’s already too much. Yet so many grievers I met were experiencing multiple losses. And while in most of my writings the word “loss” [...]

2021-03-05T10:47:11+00:00September 26th, 2019|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on Multiple Losses: How to Cope with Loss & Change

Never Alone – A New Drop In Facility

The Rowland Brothers Foundation is pleased to present their new initiative 'Never Alone' run in conjunction with Renew 23 Wellbeing Café, an informal place for people who are coming to terms with loss. Never Alone A new drop-in facility for people coming to terms with bereavement run by Rowland Brothers, your local independent funeral directors. [...]

2022-05-31T11:20:14+00:00August 30th, 2019|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on Never Alone – A New Drop In Facility

Grieving

By Aviva Keren Barnett Existential Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Lecturer. “Grief is something all of us have or will anticipate. It is a painful process that forces us to clarify ourselves, our values, and our relationships. It forces us to confront the fragility of life.” Carol Becker (1992). Here I see Becker’s statement about the fragility [...]

2021-03-05T10:47:27+00:00August 1st, 2019|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on Grieving

Event: Bereavement Counselling Training – Child Bereavement

Venue: Jurys Inn Hotel, Wellesley Road, Croydon CR0 9XY Date: : Wednesday 15 May 2019 Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm Cost: FREE Lunch and refreshments will be provided Sheila Elliott, of the highly respected Winston’s Wish charity, and Mary Clair Kelly, a skilled integrated Pyschotherapeutic Counsellor, come to help us understand the particular nature of grief [...]

2020-06-04T11:23:07+00:00February 27th, 2019|News|Comments Off on Event: Bereavement Counselling Training – Child Bereavement

Event: Bereavement Counselling Training – ‘Whats It All About?’

Venue: Jurys Inn Hotel, Wellesley Road, Croydon CR0 9XY Date: Tuesday 14 May 2019 Time: 9.30am – 4.00pm Cost: FREE Lunch and refreshments will be provided Presented by the renowned Dr Bill Webster in association with the Rowland Brothers Foundation Dr Bill Webster, a well-known grief counsellor, author of many books which have become standard [...]

2020-06-04T11:23:21+00:00February 27th, 2019|News|Comments Off on Event: Bereavement Counselling Training – ‘Whats It All About?’

Rowland Brothers Foundation supports four local charities through 2018 Christmas Tree Appeal

Representatives of four local charities received cheques totalling £3,695 from the Rowland Brothers Foundation as a result of Rowland Brothers’ 2018 Christmas Tree Appeal carried out at its branches in West Croydon, Purley, Old Coulsdon, Warlingham and New Addington. The appeal itself raised £1,847.50 in donations from individuals and families for whom Rowland Brothers [...]

2020-06-04T11:23:35+00:00February 12th, 2019|News, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Rowland Brothers Foundation supports four local charities through 2018 Christmas Tree Appeal

Tony Rowland Awarded MBE in New Years Honours List

This year’s New Year’s Honours list, announced today, includes a name well known in the world of funerals, and to many residents of Croydon and the surrounding districts. Tony Rowland, who lives in South Croydon, is director of Rowland Brothers Limited, based in Whitehorse Road, West Croydon, and with branches throughout the area, and is [...]

2020-06-04T11:23:45+00:00January 4th, 2019|News|Comments Off on Tony Rowland Awarded MBE in New Years Honours List

Funeral director who pioneered free bereavement counselling is made an MBE

A funeral director who has supported bereaved families through their grief for 65 years has been made an MBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours. Tony Rowland, of South Croydon, is director of Rowland Brothers Limited, of Whitehorse Road, West Croydon, and with branches throughout the area, and has done voluntary work for many local [...]

2021-04-26T14:10:43+00:00December 29th, 2018|Bereavement, News|Comments Off on Funeral director who pioneered free bereavement counselling is made an MBE

Grief, Wellness, and Moving Beyond the Loss of a Spouse

With a lifelong marriage comes the inevitability of one spouse outliving the other. More than 13-million Americans suffer through this heart-wrenching loss each year. The majority of widowed men and women are seniors, who may have never envisioned a life without their partner. But despite grief, life goes on and the surviving spouse must take [...]

2020-06-04T11:24:25+00:00April 12th, 2018|News|Comments Off on Grief, Wellness, and Moving Beyond the Loss of a Spouse

The Dads Army Challenge 2017

Every year we take part in an event to challenge ourselves and to give us a target to get fit throughout the year. This year our challenge is Race the Sun Isle of Wight. Race The Sun Challenge: It is a difficult team challenge set in the stunning countryside of the Isle of Wight. Our team [...]

2020-06-04T11:24:54+00:00June 30th, 2017|News|Comments Off on The Dads Army Challenge 2017

Caring for our Emergency Services

  Over the last few months, the UK has experienced several very public disasters in London and Manchester. 3 of these have been terrorist attacks and the horrific 'Grenfell' tower block fire. All of our emergency services have shown us worldwide how professional, dedicated, determined and fearless they are in the face of such danger. [...]

2020-06-04T11:28:50+00:00June 16th, 2017|News|Comments Off on Caring for our Emergency Services

Coping With Father’s Day When You Have Lost Your Dad

Father’s day is a difficult time for grieving sons and daughters and coping on such a day is especially hard. None of us know how we are going to react to grief, it’s unpredictable until we experience it and every time it’s different. Don’t be surprised to how you react on the day. Be kind [...]

2020-06-04T11:28:58+00:00June 14th, 2017|News|Comments Off on Coping With Father’s Day When You Have Lost Your Dad

Rowland Brothers Grief Seminars Offer Support On Six-Month Anniversary Of The Croydon Tram Disaster

This article was originally featured on http://www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk/ Six months after the tram tragedy in Croydon, South London, which killed seven people, a full-day seminar was run, free of charge, by the town’s independent family-run funeral directors Rowland Brothers. The seminars, which took place on 9 May, were for the benefit of bereavement professionals and volunteers affected [...]

2020-06-04T11:29:10+00:00June 5th, 2017|News|Comments Off on Rowland Brothers Grief Seminars Offer Support On Six-Month Anniversary Of The Croydon Tram Disaster

Tailored to fit: One hundred per cent assistance

What inspires and motivates your team? RBI International Ops Manager Fiona Greenwood knows that despite the tragic situations her very good team encounters every day, there is still huge satisfaction in helping families at their lowest ebb. ‘When I turned from global emergency assistance to global funeral repatriation six years ago, every day brought just [...]

2020-06-04T11:29:22+00:00June 5th, 2017|News|Comments Off on Tailored to fit: One hundred per cent assistance

3 Things That May Help After the Loss of a Spouse

This week, after 71 years together Wilf and Vera Russell passed away within minutes of each other, while three miles apart. Their granddaughter Stephanie said that she believed that Vera was waiting for Wilf to pass. Losses like these can strengthen the idea that it is possible to die from a broken heart, and so [...]

2020-06-04T11:29:53+00:00April 7th, 2017|News|Comments Off on 3 Things That May Help After the Loss of a Spouse

How to handle Mother’s day if you have lost your Mum

‘A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.’ – Agatha Christie Nothing can compare to the loss of a mother. Grief can affect us all in different ways, but the [...]

2020-06-04T11:30:10+00:00March 13th, 2017|News|Comments Off on How to handle Mother’s day if you have lost your Mum

Flowers or Charitable Donations?

Over recent years we have seen floral tributes sharing a memorial with a charity donation, one that is close to the deceased and family, feeling that this will carry on assisting with medical research or even support for the family. Funeral Flower Etiquette Floral baskets can be sent to the funeral parlour, church or home [...]

2020-06-04T11:30:19+00:00December 5th, 2016|News|Comments Off on Flowers or Charitable Donations?

What Music Are We Playing At Our Funerals?

Everyone has a song that means something to them. As the belief of what a funeral is has begun to change, the music we play at ceremonies is expanding to fit. Everyone has different taste and so the most requested songs range through a variety of genres. The songs most requested don’t just include old [...]

2020-06-04T11:30:32+00:00November 24th, 2016|News|Comments Off on What Music Are We Playing At Our Funerals?

Teen Wins Right to be Cryogenically Frozen

In a recent landmark court case, a 14-year-old won her case and her choice to be cryogenically frozen after her battle with cancer. The court ordered that she may be frozen after her passing, and she is now the first British child to have been cryogenically frozen. What is Cryonics? Cryonics is the way a [...]

2020-06-04T11:30:41+00:00November 22nd, 2016|News|Comments Off on Teen Wins Right to be Cryogenically Frozen
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