What is a Direct Cremation?

What happens at a direct cremation may be very basic but is none the less respectful. The aim is to separate the cremation from the farewell, giving families more time options and fewer constraints than that of a traditional crematorium service. As a nation with a current rate of 2000 Direct Cremations per year, now really is the time to embrace newer ways of saying goodbye.

What is a Direct Cremation?

A Direct Cremation is a cremation that takes place solely for the purpose of a cremation alone; there is no service for mourners. You may think this to be sad but families can now organise a personalised memorial service without the coffin being present. There are many advantages, one of which being, the whole family including children, can now say goodbye at a time and location of their own choosing.

At Clear Cremations, we believe the best advantage of having a Direct Cremation is the inspiration for a personalised send-off. Whether this is a simple lighting of a candle, a drink at a local inn or a full memorial service, the ways of making it personal to the person who has died are endless.

Also, with savings of £2500 or more, this also gives the ability to arrange something a little more special than the norm.

In 2018, I arranged a direct cremation where the person who had died had outlived many of their relatives, leaving a total of four people to attend their send-off. Between them it was decided, while the Direct Cremation was taking place, the family would meet at their local inn. It was the place where historically they all met for birthdays and Christmas dinners. So between them, they spoke of fond memories and when it was time to say goodbye, they each bid farewell by hand releasing a dove.

In contrast to this, at a different funeral, A family arranged for a memorial service to take place after the direct cremation. They had transferred the cremated remains into a beautiful casket, which they took along to the memorial service. A civil celebrant led the service at a function hall. There was a eulogy, tributes, live music and poems. Also, they had a beautiful photomontage, which played on a large screen as the service took place. Then, after the memorial service had taken place, everyone was able to stay behind to reminisce over some food and drink.

What Happens at a Clear Cremations Direct Cremation?

At Clear Cremations we use a reputable purpose-built crematorium with state of the art facilities. Using a specialised vehicle, we collect the person who has died directly from the hospital or coroner’s mortuary and transfer them straight onto the crematorium. They are then placed into an elegant solid pine eco coffin until it is their commital time, at which point they are respectfully taken to the crematorium’s chapel and placed onto the catafalque where the commital takes place. A catafalque is the platform that the coffin rests on before the cremation takes place. The cremated remains are then brought back to our office from where we take them back to a location of choice, free of charge, within a 15 mile radius of our office.

What are the advantages of a Direct Cremation?

While low cost is the main advantage of a Direct Cremation, it is not the only advantage. Many of our older generation are now opting for this, as it provides a fuss-free funeral without all the trimmings. This is proving to be more appealing as time goes on. There is a strong preference of our older generation wanting their remaining family to have fond memories of them, not memories of being themselves being overwhelmed at the sight of their coffin. Please don’t be fooled into thinking it is only the older generation opting for direct cremations. Take David Bowie, for example, who sadly passed away of liver cancer in January 2016. His wishes were to be cremated secretly without his friends and family being present.