A Heartfelt Thank You to James Whittle
Today, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to James Whittle, Dip.FD, MBIFD, for his unwavering dedication, hard work, and service to our family firm since 1968 as he steps down as a Director of the Company.
The son of Leonard and Margaret Whittle (née Bungard) and educated at Brighton College, James joined the company over five decades ago, becoming a Director in 1971 and later Company Secretary and Joint Managing Director in 1973. His commitment to the profession led him to earn a Diploma from the National Association of Funeral Directors in 1975, and he was also a founding member of the British Institute of Funeral Directors in 1982—a testament to his passion for excellence in funeral care.
Beyond his professional achievements, James has always been dedicated to his community. Having lived in Henfield, he served as a churchwarden and trustee at St Peter’s Church and Primary School and has been Honorary Treasurer of both St Peter’s Church and Henfield Youth Club for over two decades.
Now residing in Scaynes Hill with his wife Ann, James is a proud father to Mark and Richard and a loving grandfather to five grandchildren—two of whom are twins, just like his mother and aunt!
James, your commitment, kindness, and leadership have left a lasting impact on our firm and the families we serve. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do. 💙
#ThankYouJames #FamilyBusiness #DedicatedService #CommunitySpirit
Team Domenica strikes again!
Please click on the Autumn Update link below to read about all the amazing things that our charity of the year has been up to recently – including their new status as a Specialist Further Education Provider in Brighton! Team Domenica provides invaluable support for many of the city’s disabled young people, and with help from local businesses many graduates from their ‘Supported Internship Programme’ are now in paid work and are absolutley thriving in their new roles, click the ‘Success Stories’ link to read just how peoples lives have been transformed!
To make a Donation or find out about Fundraising please visit: https://teamdomenica.com/get-involved/fundraising/
For Job Opportunities please visit: https://teamdomenica.com/join-the-team/
To read T.D’s success stories please click here: https://teamdomenica.com/our-impact/success-stories/
Baby Loss Awareness Week
Baby Loss Awareness Week has been running for 22 years, this years event starts today, Monday 9th of October and culminates this Friday 15th October with the global ‘Wave of Light’. This globally recognised event invites families from the UK and across the world to light a candle at 7pm (UK time) and to leave it burning for at least one hour to remember all babies that have died too soon. You can also take part in the ‘Virtual Wave of Light’ where you are invited to take a photo of your candle and share it to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using: #WaveOfLight.
For more information on Baby Loss Awareness Week 2024, or to find help and advice for yourself or someone else who may be experiencing the trauma of losing a child please visit their website https://babyloss-awareness.org/support/. Here you can find information on so many different topics, such as pregnancy after baby loss, losing twins, miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancies, fertility, stillbirth, prenatal diagnosis, where to access counselling, bereavement support and trauma therapy.
Book Recommendations for tackling grief
If you are going through a bereavement, and you need a helping hand to process your feelings and emotions, we have put together a small list of books about dealing with grief for you to consider. This selection looks at grief from many different angles, with a variety of approaches and experiences included from first person accounts to Tibetan teachings.
We hope that if you are seeking information and help that you can find something of comfort here, and if you have any recommendations for us from your own experiences with reading about grief and bereavement please do let us know so we can help other families.
On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Dr. Kubler-Ross first explored the now famous five stages of death: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Through sample interviews and conversations, she gives the reader a better understanding of how imminent death affects the patient, the professionals who serve the patient, and the patients family, bringing hope to all who are involved. Click here to purchase.
A Grief Observed by CS Lewis
This classic text of grief is still one of the best books on this subject, even though it is viewed through the lens of a religious feeling in an increasingly secular world. This book was written from the four journals that Lewis kept whilst dealing with the loss of his wife to cancer after only three years of marriage. This is a ground level study of grief, and the observations that Lewis makes in response to his wife’s death are moving and profound. Click here to purchase
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway wrote his memoir at the end of his life to address the writer and man he was at the beginning of his life. It details his years in Paris with his first wife, Hadley, and it is an account of a man grieving for the happiness that accompanied those early years. The grief, in old age, for ones youth, comes to us all in some form, and no one expresses this grief so beautifully and poignantly as Hemingway does in this little book. Click here to purchase
A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir
When someone is dying of cancer there is a kind of pre-grief that happens while the dying person becomes less themselves through to the changed to their physical body brought about on by the cancer. This short memoir is a powerful account of De Beauvoir’s mothers last days, written in a brutally honest prose that spares the reader nothing of the horrors of an individual life coming close to death. Click here to purchase
Healing Grief by Barbara Ward
A practical guide to help people through all kinds of grieving processes. The author considers divorce and separation, life-threatening illnesses, living with handicap, bereavement and children, death and dying. In each case, her material is illustrated by stories of people she has worked with. Click here to purchase
The Courage to Grieve by Judy Tatelbaum
This unusual self-help book about surviving grief offers the reader comfort and inspiration. Judy Tatelbaum gives us a fresh look at understanding grief, showing us that grief is a natural, inevitable human experience, including all the unexpected, intense and uncomfortable emotions like sorrow, guilt, loneliness, resentment, confusion, or even the temporary loss of the will to live. The emphasis is to clarify and offer help, and the tone is spiritual, optimistic, creative and easy to understand. Click here to purchase
The Early Days of Grieving by Derek Nuttal
This simple and straightforward book is for those who have recently lost a loved one, offering direct and personal support, explanation, and information. Click here to purchase
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Written by the Buddhist meditation master and popular international speaker Sogyal Rinpoche, this highly acclaimed book clarifies the majestic vision of life and death that underlies the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It includes not only a lucid, inspiring and complete introduction to the practice of meditation, but also advice on how to care for the dying with love and compassion, and how to bring them help of a spiritual kind. But there is much more besides in this classic work, which was written to inspire all who read it to begin the journey to enlightenment and so become ‘servants of peace’. Click here to purchase
‘You’ll Get Over It’: The Rage of Bereavement by Virginia Ironside
The death of a loved one is the most traumatic experience any of us face. No two people cope with it the same way: some cry while others remain dry-eyed; some discover growth through pain, others find arid wastes; some feel angry, others feel numb. Virginia Ironside deals with this complicated and sensitive issue with great frankness and insight, drawing on other’s people’s accounts as well as her own experiences. Click here to purchase
“Roll up the first woods” of the 2024 season at the Drive Bowling Club.
Introducing our new Charity of the Year!
Alice presenting Richard with a Certificate of Appreciation
Based in Brighton & Hove, Team Domenica is a charity and specialist further education college that supports people with learning disabilities to acquire the skills, confidence and independence they need to access meaningful employment.
Founder and Chair Baroness Rosa Monckton MBE – whose youngest daughter, Domenica, has Downs Syndrome – set up Team Domenica in 2016, after Domenica finished college and found that there were very few accessible employment opportunities open to her. They discovered that Domenica was far from alone, and founded Team Domenica to help people with learning disabilities find and retain employment.
Eight years on, and Team Domenica now delivers tailored and impactful employment programmes to over 100 people with learning disabilities – known as their ‘candidates’, to better reflect their status as people ready for work. These programmes prepare candidates for the workplace through class-based learning, enrichment and in-house training across their three training cafés (Café Domenica) and coffee roastery. They also partner with 60 local businesses across Sussex, including Premier Inn, Pizza Pilgrims and Brighton i360, to create accessible work placements and employment opportunities – working towards a future where all people with learning disabilities can access meaningful employment and achieve their full potential.
Their proudest achievement is that, since 2016, 81% of candidates have achieved paid work through their Supported Internship Programme – compared to a national employment rate of just 4.8% of adults with a learning disability (NHS Digital, 2022).
But that’s not all. Team Domenica also provides lifetime support to candidates in employment, helping them grow their career or sustain the jobs they love. In fact, nationally, just 25% of people with learning disabilities who complete supported internships are still in employment after one year. At Team Domenica, 95% of candidates remain in their role for a year or more.
“It’s hard to describe how proud I am for getting a job. It’s something I never thought I’d achieve, and now it just feels so amazing.” – Katie, candidate and Brighton i360 employee
“We are very excited to begin our partnership with Bungard Funeral Directors! The support of incredible local businesses is what makes our work possible, and all the money raised will help Team Domenica to continue creating brighter futures for people with learning disabilities in our shared Brighton & Hove community” Alice Caldecott, Fundraising Manager
Qualification Update!
End of our current Charity of the Year – Flourish Mentors.
Golden Charter raises huge amount for the Royal British Legion!
Golden Charter raises a huge amount for the Royal British Legion! Our Funeral Plan provider, Golden Charter, is proud to continue it’s ongoing support of @OfficalPoppyLegion and has raised a staggering £49,175 since the 1st of September last year! The Royal British Legion helps members of the Royal
Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, reservists, veterans and their families. The charity works hard to provide lifelong support for serving and ex-serving personnel, every day of the week, all year round. That support is needed now, more than ever, which is why we’re currently donating £25 for every eligible @GoldenCharter funeral plan purchased. It means that when you take out a funeral plan, you’ll also be helping to provide that vital, lifelong support for our Armed Forces. If you are considering taking out a funeral plan please do think about speaking to us so we can continue to help provide life saving help for our veterans. For more information on the amazing work the RBL does please visit: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/
Bungard Funeral Directors is also really proud to be part of the Armed Forces Covenant, we are here to aid all serving personnel and veterans if needed, please visit https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/ if you would like further information about the covenant and how it works. If you are in need of our services please do call us on 01273 820018.
Aftercare Coffee Mornings return
This morning saw the return of our Aftercare Coffee Mornings, we sadly had to stop due to lockdown but now we are back!
We had a lovely morning with some of our families catching up, and most importantly eating cake! We also couldn’t resist making little goodie bags and creating a pretty table. If any of our past families would like to attend the next coffee morning, we will be holding it at the office on Wednesday 12th June at 11am, all are welcome.