Bungard Funeral Directors raises £595 for the Martlets
The Martlets plays a vital role in helping people to live life as fully as they can, right up until the end. Through expert clinical care provided by highly skilled and experienced doctors and nurses, they ensure that wherever possible peace, respect and dignity is retained – it is a very simple and very human ethos. Emma Knight, Head of Corporate and Major Donor Giving was presented with a cheque for £595 to support their many activities.
The cheque was presented by Richard Whittle of Bungard Funeral Directors, Brighton & Hove’s oldest independent family funeral directors. The business was founded in 1906 by Richard’s great, great grandfather and has become a cornerstone of Hove for over 110 years.
Richard was delighted that they were able to raise so much money. “We chose the Martlets to be our Charity of the Year because they provide such an invaluable support to the area. They care for people across our local community, yet the hospice is not part of the NHS. Financial support from individuals and community groups is essential for them to continue providing these vital hospice services. The Martlets is your local hospice and they do need your support.”
To find out more about them then please go to http://www.the martlets.org.uk
Bungard aftercare Coffee Morning Launch
As part of our “aftercare” I am pleased to announce that we will be launching our first aftercare Coffee Morning on
Thursday 15th June 2017 @ 11.00am – 12.00noon
We then plan to have a meetup four times a year with these dates as the next three planned for the next 12months.
Wednesday 13th September 2017 at10.30am – 11.30am
Wednesday 6th December 2017 at 10.30am – 11.30am
Wednesday 7th March 2018 at 10.30am – 11.30am
The coffee mornings will take place upstairs at “The Hive Café & Community Centre” in Stoneham Park Stoneham Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 3FD.
We hope that these events will help you meet others who have been bereaved and provide support to each other by offering company, chats and hopefully a little fun and laughter over cake and tea/coffee all on us!
We hope you will be able to support us as we start this new aspect of our aftercare and if there is anything else we can do to be of assistance or if you have any questions then please do give me a call.
New Bungard aftercare Bereavement Counsellor
We are delighted to announce that Kristina Burvill-Ridler has joined the Bungard aftercare team. In her own words here is a little bit of information about her.
I am a qualified humanistic psychotherapeutic counsellor in Brighton and Hove.
I understand how extremely difficult, painful and stressful life can be and it can be a hard job to try and manage things on our own. I appreciate that living with daily pressures can mean we can feel lost and lose direction of what we want from life. You may be seeking counselling to talk about the daily struggles in your life, or to gain support with a specific issue such as bereavement or relationship issues. Whatever your reason, I believe that sharing your emotions and feelings freely within an empathic and therapeutic relationship can be incredibly healing.
I aim to provide you with a safe and confidential space where you can explore what may be bothering you and have a chance to express your thoughts and feelings.
My approach is humanistic and I believe that we all have the ability to make the right choices and decisions for ourselves. I will encourage you to trust in your own process, and work with you to identify your inner resources in order for you to re-gain a sense of freedom and direction.
We are looking forward to working with Kristina and together growing the aftercare service that we provide. Kristina will be helping us roll out a series of coffee mornings and luncheons over the next few months for the recently bereaved.
Family firm celebrates its 110th Anniversary
A lovely article in the Argus today 01/11/2016
ONE of the oldest established businesses in Sussex is celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2016.
There has been five generations at the helm of Bungard Funeral Directors, who are based in Sackville Road, Hove.
And current MD Richard Whittle is hoping there may be a sixth in the future with his son being born earlier this year.
Richard said: “We are very proud of our company, of what we have achieved over the years and what we continue to offer the community.
“We may be 110 years old this year but we certainly aim to continue for many years to come.”
It all began in April 1906 when Oliver Bungard, a monumental mason, conducted the first funeral for the company..
His two eldest sons, James Oliver and Ernest, joined the firm on leaving school and when their father died in 1919 they carried on as partners until Ernest died in 1928.
Ernest’s place was taken by younger brother and youngest son of James Oliver, Hervey Arnold, in 1922.
In 1930 they employed their brother-in-law William Wilmer who worked for the firm for the next 30 years.
James Oliver died in 1941 at which point the business was run under the direction of Hervey until his retirement in 1971.
In 1939 Leonard Whittle – who married one of James Oliver’s twin daughters, Margaret – joined the firm.
During the war Margaret took Leonard’s place in the business.
Rupert Hervey Bungard, Hervey Arnold’s son, joined the firm in 1970 and became a director of the firm in 1971. Rupert retired in 2000 after 30 years at the family firm.
The current director team was established when James Whittle joined in 1968 and became Joint Managing Director with Rupert when Leonard Whittle.
James retired after 44 years with the company in 2012 and handed the reins over to his youngest son Richard as the fifth generation of the Bungard family lineage to join in 2011.
Richard says he has joined at a particularly exciting time for the business.
He said: “My key challenge is to ensure that the business and also importantly Bungard Funeral Directors location meets modern customer needs but preserves the history and tradition of the property and the family.
“In the early years of the business a Chapel of Rest was not required as families usually laid their deceased at home.
“As this tradition changes the need for a chapel became apparent and therefore renovation took place to include a chapel.
“Since I joined the entire shop front and chapel have been updated with a modern clean look and soon the shop signage will reflect the new modern branding that has also been introduced with our new website.”
Bungard Funeral Directors has worked with the local community for five generations, two world wars and over 100 years and remains committed to helping local families, charities and businesses to the best of their ability.
Richard and his wife Amie welcomed a possible sixth generation this year with the birth of their son Luke in May.
Richard hopes that one day his son will be inspired to carry on the family business one day.
He said: “We are 110 years old, we are still the original family and we believe in serving the community in the best possible way we can.”
The Natural Death Centre – Recommended Funeral Director
We are delighted to have been accepted as a “Recommended Funeral Director” by the Natural Death Centre for 2015 – 2016. The Natural Death Centre seeks to inform, empower and inspire the public in all matters relating to death and dying, and in particular to increase awareness of funeral choices outside of the mainstream.
Recommended Funeral Directors have to agree to support and promote the following
- To be flexible with the public and provide the service they request.
- To state clearly what their services entail, including a clear breakdown of costs for each part.
- To provide a very basic disposal service if requested.
- To provide information regarding all disposal options to all clients.
- To assist families who only want a part service, and not to make this difficult by offering ‘packages only’.
- To inform customers that they can send feedback about the services provided to The Natural Death Centre.
- To explain that embalming is optional – and also explain what embalming entails.
- To inform families that they may like to help with some aspects such as washing and dressing the person who has died, or carrying the coffin.
- To state clearly if they are a member of a larger ‘group’.
- To inform families whether the person who has died is being kept at another facility.
- To provide families with options for other types of celebrant beyond simply a minister or a humanist.
- To meet and make arrangements at the family home at no extra charge.
Despite their long running links with environmentally friendly funerals, they are not a green pressure group, but primarily a movement for social change.
They have played a central part in demystifying the traditional funeral, encouraging thousands of families in having the kind of funerals they wanted, and helping create opportunity for new rituals to emerge.
They are, and will continue to be an informed and reflective presence on issues such as dying at home, caring for our dead and changing funeral practices and actively promote natural burial as an option that should be offered to everyone.
Bungard Funeral Directors raises £480 for the Carer’s Centre
The Carers Centre, is a charity that is passionate about looking after Carers in Brighton and Hove. The Carers Centre offers different kinds of services working with and supporting young and adult carers in the city. Chris Lau, the Director of the Chairty was presented with a cheque for £480 to support their many activities.
The cheque was presented by Richard Whittle of Bungard & Sons Limited, Brighton & Hove’s oldest independent family funeral directors. The business was founded in 1906 by Richard’s great, great grandfather and has become a cornerstone of Hove for over 110 years.
Richard was delighted to receive in return a card created by the children at the Centre and said “We chose the Carer’s Centre to be our charity of the year because we have found a lot of crossover with the families that we help and support. Many people do not realise they have been carer’s for years and it is important to help make people aware and that their is support for them out there. With all this they truly benefit the local community and that is something we want to support.”
To find out more and to help support a local charity go to http://www.thecarerscentre.org/
Guest Blog – White Dove Release
Eighteen months ago my 92 year old mother finally released her hold on her physical body. None of us who had travelled her journey with her for the previous two years were sad she’d finally chosen to go, we were more relieved for her that now she was free of what had become an increasingly intolerable and painful burden. I knew one of my cousins, Clive, had run a white dove release business from his home in North London for several years and on the day of her funeral he brought two beautiful doves down with him in a pretty white basket for us to release after the ceremony. We’d never taken part in a release before and had no idea what to expect.
Clive explained he’d bought two doves to symbolise Mum’s re-union with Dad now, and said they could be released from the basket or we could hold them and offer them up for their homeward flight. We chose the latter, and it was interesting to notice that as he explained what was about to happen to our gathered family and friends, the mood of the group changed from insular grief to a sense of curiosity that connected and lifted us.
Gently cupping the beautiful dove that was handed to me was magical. The softness of her feathers, her pure white colour, the innocence in her eyes, and her acceptance of my touch whilst yearning to fly free, enchanted me. At Clive’s command I lifted my arms and opened my hands. ‘Fly free Mum, fly free…..’ my heart cried. And she did. Strong, graceful, light as a feather, in an instant my dove rose in the air, returning to the freedom that was her birth-right.It is easy to understand why these beautiful, gentle birds have for thousands of years been universally accepted as symbols of love, peace and new beginnings. As she rose and circled above, quickly joined by her companion, everyone watched intently. They circled twice more, as if saying goodbye before they took off on their homeward journey. Looking up, arms still outstretched, my breathing had changed, and amazingly so had my feelings. Somehow the doves had left their blessing: they’d connected me with the love that Mum’s life had gifted to me; the love that lived on in my heart. “Be ever ready to release that love and I am with you always’ was the whisper that carried on the wind.
A few months later my daughter and I took receipt of our first batch of baby doves from Clive, and Lambert’s White Dove Release – Brighton, was born. It was time to share the blessings down here in Sussex.
If you’d like a White Dove Release at a funeral or occasion you’re organising, or you feel it’s the right time to release in memory of a loved one already passed, give Laura a ring on 07746 450814, or join us in a 30 dove release at our Wings of Love ceremony at the Sussex County Cricket Ground on Sunday 31st July at 3pm: www.doverelease.eventbrite.co.uk.
Best wishes, Viv & Laura
Lambert’s White Dove Release, Brighton
Forward thinking funeral director improves aftercare service
Bungard funeral directors in Hove are improving their free aftercare service for its customers in a bid to offer much needed practical and emotional support to people who have recently been bereaved,
Bungards have teamed up with experienced bereavement counsellor, Eve Miller to offer two free counselling sessions. Eve has been practising as a counsellor in Hove for over 10 years and was previously an accredited Bereavement Counsellor for Cruse Bereavement Care and helped launch the aftercare service.
In addition to offering emotional support Bungards have also teamed up with Home & Company, a local home help organisation, to offer practical help in the home. Home & Company will provide up to four free hours of their service and can provide help with shopping, cooking, laundry and any other help around the house that is needed.
“At Bungards Funeral Directors we believe that we have an important responsibility to care for our families, not just by offering support during the funeral, but also providing aftercare in the difficult days, weeks and months that follow” says Richard Whittle, Managing Director.
A recent report by The National Council for Palliative Care said that 75% of people who have been bereaved said they didn’t get the support they needed. After the inevitable busy period immediately following someone’s death it can be particularly lonely and difficult to get back to doing the things you did. By offering aftercare in the form of counselling and practical home help Bungards hope to help with the grieving and healing process.
#the big conversation – Twitter chat in Dying Matters Week
- Monday 9 May: The importance of making a funeral plan
- Tuesday 10 May: Planning for your future care and support
- Wednesday 11 May: The importance of making a will
- Thursday 12 May: Signing up as an organ donor
- Friday 13 May: Making sure your loved ones know your plans
- Saturday 14 May and Sunday 15 May: Your choice – chat about anything and everything related to dying, death and bereavement.
40 Years with Bungard Funeral Directors
Simon Jupp being presented a plaque for 40 years service by James Whittle and Richard Whittle (Great Grandson and Great Great Grandson of the founder)
This week we have been celebrating the long service of Simon Jupp who is one our part time Funeral Assistants. Simon has worked with us for 40 years and started in 1976 when he was 18.
Simon is now the 3rd longest serving employee in the history of the firm having overtaken his brother in law Rupert Bungard (who is the grandson of the founder) several years ago. James Whittle is second having been with the firm for 44 years. James retired in 2012 but is still involved as company director. The current longest serving is Hervey Bungard (Rupert’s father) who joined in 1922 and retired in 1971 and working for 49 years.
We would like to congratulate Simon again on a fantastic achievement. We know how proud he is of his work. Congratulations Simon.