The View: Insights from the funeral industry

After working as an actor, Oliver Towner made a sharp career pivot in 2021 when he took over the family business – a funeral directors established in 1875 by cabinet maker Frederick Edward Towner.

Guided by strong family values and a commitment to building a sustainable future, Oliver here shares his vision for the next era of funeral care and his philosophy on leadership. He also plays an active role in SAIF, with a particular foc...

Continuing our focus on the next generation of industry leaders, in this episode we welcome Daniel Devall to the podcast, Managing Director of Devall & Son Family Funeral Directors in Nuneaton.

In 2006, Daniel followed in his parents' footsteps and began the third generation of Devalls to join the funeral industry. By the age of 18, he was arranging and conducting funerals and went on to complete his NAFD diploma in funeral dir...

In this episode of The View, we're joined by Ross Hickton, Managing Director of Hickton Family Funeral Directors.

Ross has always been a prominent member of SAIF, and it was a significant milestone recently when he took over the reins as National SAIF President from Declan Maguire. As he said himself, Ross wasn't even born when the organisation was created, so in this episode we'll hear how the youngest leader of SAIF to-date sees ...

In this episode of The View, we welcome onto the podcast Emily Houghton, Director of Operations at Rosedale Funeral Home in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Emily started working in the funeral profession at the age of 19 in London, and has now been in the industry for over 20 years. She has held various positions throughout her career, from funeral arranger to funeral director, to working as an area manager. She says she has been lucky enough...

There may never have been so much regulatory change in the industry as we're seeing at present, so who better to discuss the likely changes and potential outcomes for the sector than the NAFD's Director of External Affairs.

Rachel Bradburne spearheads most of the external engagement on behalf of the association with government, press and cross party initiatives. She joined the funeral sector in January 2021 and is responsible for t...

Every years funeral directors across the nation are frustrated by the SunLife 'Cost of Dying' report, which doesn't seem to truly capture what it promises.

So this year, The National Society Of Allied And Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) has aimed to address this with a new report titled 'What is the real average cost of a funeral in the UK in 2024?'

In this episode, Dec Maguire – both National and Scottish president of the soc...

Our current focus on multigenerational funeral firms this week takes us to Douch Family Funeral Directors in Dorset, UK.

The family business was founded in 1910 by Frederick Charles Douch and grown by his eldest son, Jack. A talismanic figure not only for the company but in the wider Dorset area, Jack played a key role as a telegrapher on the wartime destroyer Bramham, before becoming a prominent batsman...

This week on The View we welcome Tim Purvis, owner, chairman and director of William Purvis Funeral Directors to the show. William Purves is a business that is family owned and goes back five generations, based in Edinburgh but extending into the North East of England.

William Purves prides itself on delivering a caring service for all families across its locations, but also has a strong connection to the Royal Family, and among ot...

As part of our current focus on industry leaders of multi-generational funeral firms, in this episode we welcome Jeremy Field of CPJ Field to the podcast. CPJ Field is a 300-year-old business founded in the 17th century. The board of directors features five family members, and ten generations of the family have been involved with the business, which is currently led by Jeremy alongside his siblings Charlie and Emily. We hear how...

Terry Tennens has been CEO of trade association SAIF since 2016 and is committed to ensuring the views of the independent funeral directors are heard throughout the UK.

He has been at the forefront of supporting the sector through the numerous challenges of the last few years and remains a firm advocate of navigating change to ensure all members can be the best they can be in this competitive market. 

Andrew Judd is Chief Executive of the NAFD, being appointed by the association's governing body in December 2022. He is a former member of the NAFD Executive Committee, President of the NAFD Western Counties Area Federation and Operations Director for Dignity PLC.

Besides operating at a senior level for many years in the industry, Andrew has also been a funeral director himself and knows what it's like to help families in their tim...

In the first episode of The View, we sit down with industry legend Howard Hodgson, CEO of Memoria. 

A fourth generation funeral director, Howard took over the family business in 1975 and went on to lead an expansion that culminated in the sale of his 546-branch group. He has also served as CEO of Ronson PLC and is now the founder and CEO of Memoria, the fastest growing crematoria company in the UK. He has written four books, includ...