The ICCM Journal | Summer 2020 | V88 No. 2
Being part of a free society means that there will be differences of opinion and it is interesting that the Governments of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not all giving exactly the same advice but what we as cremation and burial authorities, and as individuals, must continue to do the best that we can to serve the bereaved. Many families are having not only to cope with their grief at the loss of a loved one, but have also in many cases, had the pain of not being able to be with them in their final days and hours and in addition have the prospect of only very close family members allowed to attend the funeral, or in many instances now, unable to attend the funeral either. We as burial and cremation authorities in particular, must do what we can post coronavirus to provide the opportunity for families to hold private memorial services for those who wish to arrange these, and organise public memorial services for others at our crematoria and cemeteries. So far during the first month of the pandemic, Westerleigh has been able to offer families all the usual service times and options including webcasting, but has, after consideration of
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Government advice, restricted attendance to close family members with a maximum number of people able to attend a service to 10. In order that there is a clear understanding of how all our 34 sites are coping during the pandemic in terms of staff sickness, availability of PPE and many other factors, the operations team has had three conference calls a week, led by Kate Davidson our Commercial Director, and these have, and continue to be, invaluable. It is over 100 years since the Spanish flu outbreak in 1919 and the coronavirus pandemic is certainly the biggest challenge that we in the bereavement sector have faced during the last century. I am proud that we as dedicated professionals working not only together as crematoria and burial authorities, but also closely with our funeral director colleagues, will continue to work as hard as we can for the bereaved during these difficult times. Alan José FICCM Westerleigh Group Ambassador
Kate Davidson joins Westerleigh The Westerleigh Group is delighted to announce that Kate Davidson has joined the company as Commercial Director where she will lead the operations side of the business overseeing the portfolio of 34 crematoria and some 20 cemeteries located across England, Wales and Scotland. Kate began her career in the bereavement sector at Stourbridge Crematorium, operated by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council as an Administration Assistant where she found that she enjoyed the different disciplines that are so important in providing a successful and caring service to the bereaved. Kate moved on to join Dignity and worked at Telford Crematorium. Here, Kate’s drive and enthusiasm for the Industry led to her becoming more involved with the wider management of the portfolio of 46 sites that made up the Crematorium and Memorial Group. Kate studied for the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management Diploma which she completed in a relatively short time and was awarded the highly coveted Eickhoff Medal for outstanding achievement in all modules. Kate also more recently found time to study for her Executive MBA at Warwick Business School where she achieved a Distinction for the Masters. For the past two years or so Kate has been working closely with the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities as Lead for the fully revised Crematorium Compliance scheme which was formally launched at the House of Lords last year. Kate is also a Tutor for the ICCM Law Module. Kate is one of the leading personalities within the burial and cremation sector who has shown that with hard work and determination it is possible to reach a pinnacle of the profession and is real role -model for youngsters, especially young women, who wish to make a rewarding career serving the bereaved and helping to make a difference to people at a very difficult time in their lives. With the celebrating of women’s achievements on International Women’s day (8th March) it seems appropriate that Kate has taken on her role with Westerleigh, the leading developer and operator of Crematoria in the UK. Kate says: “I am really excited to be joining Westerleigh as Commercial Director and I look forward to leading my colleagues in providing a first class service to the bereaved through our sites across the UK". Alan José FICCM Westerleigh Group Ambassador
