A Welch and Sons Ltd

Alfred Welch, the 'A' of A. Welch & Sons was born in 1876. Like his father and grandfather before him Alfred became a coachman. Alfred married Ellen Tritton and they had 8 sons and 2 daughters. In time 5 of the sons joined their father in business, and so A. Welch & Sons was born, carrying out household removals, taxi work and supplying horses, carriages and coffin bearers to the four local funeral directors in Herne Bay.

One of the sons, Harold, also assisted one of the funeral directors, initially with coffin making and later with arranging and conducting funeral services. When the sons returned from the second World War, and, in 1948 the family decided to undertake funeral arrangements in their own right alongside the other work the company was doing.

When motor vehicles replaced the horse and carriage our stables were converted into workshops, timber stores and a Chapel of Rest.

In 1960 the decision was taken to concentrate solely on funerals. Our premises were continually updated and improved, refrigerated storage facilities and an embalming theatre were installed and we became the first fully equipped funeral directors in the Canterbury district. During the seventies we had 4 private viewing chapels and a private service chapel built. In 1994 we opened a second branch in Canterbury.

Our premises undergo regular improvements and modernisation. Our funeral vehicle fleet is regularly replaced and we currently run a fleet of 'BINZ' Mercedes purchased at the end of 2008. A. Welch & Sons remains a family owned, independent funeral directors. The current Managing Director is Tim Welch, Alfred's great-grandson. Mr. Peter Welch, Alfred's grandson, is retained as a valuable consultant following his retirement in 2006, having served 40 years in the business.

We have 3 full time funeral directors, 6 full time funeral service operators and 3 part time administrators. We consider it a great privilege when we are entrusted with arranging a funeral for a family. We are also very aware of the huge responsibility we have to that family. A funeral is one of the most important, stressful and emotional experiences a family or individual has to endure so it is essential that the arrangements are handled professionally, with dignity, respect and care.

Our philosophy is a simple one: every funeral we arrange is the most important funeral we have ever conducted because it is so important to you. Every person whose funeral arrangements are entrusted to us is somebody's son or daughter, and, in most cases somebody's mother or father so we care for them as we would want our own children or parents cared for.

It is a fact that a funeral will always be a sad occasion but that doesn't mean that it has to be miserable. A funeral should be a celebration of that person's life, a time to remember the joy they brought into your lives and the happiness they shared with you in their life. It is our aim to help you achieve that goal and assist you to make the funeral service as comforting as possible.

We can guide you through the whole process, using the experience we have gained by arranging 25,000 funerals in the last 60 years, but ensuring that you retain control of how the funeral is to be conducted.

Tim Welch MBIE DipFD LMBIFD - Managing Director

I am the 4th generation of the Welch family to be entrusted with running the family company. I joined A. Welch & Sons Ltd in 1992 as a driver/bearer.

I qualified as an embalmer in 1996 and was accepted as a member of the British Institute of Embalmers. I then studied for the Diploma in Funeral Directing, passed those exams in 2004 and became a licensed member of the BIFD.

The driving force behind our business is customer service. I am constantly aware of the huge responsibility we have to our clients and my aim is to make the process of arranging and attending the funeral of your loved one as easy and as comforting as possible through maintaining high professional standards, continually looking for ways to improve our services and, perhaps most importantly, simply caring deeply about the funerals we provide and the families we serve.

Alan Philpott DipFD LMBIFD - Funeral Director

I started my funeral career in 1990 at the Cooperative Funeral Service and am now in my nineteenth year within the profession. I joined A Welch & Sons Ltd. in 2000.

On joining A. Welch & Sons I was given the opportunity to study for the Diploma in Funeral Directing and successfully passed the examinations in 2004. This has also enabled me to become a Licensed Member of the British Institute of Funeral Directors - The BIFD.

I have since enjoyed the friendly family atmosphere that the company promotes from the staff right through to the families we look after. Working to provide an excellent service, with the highest standards of customer care, guidance and help for families at a very stressful time of their lives is what provides the rewards that drive me to excel within this profession.

Brian Hood - Funeral Director

I first came into the profession back in 1978 as a driver/bearer with Co-operative Funeral Service in Canterbury. After about three years, I had the chance to train as a Funeral Director and Embalmer. After my training I then become a Branch Manger looking after Dover, Folkestone and Deal offices.

I wasn't comfortable working for a large group. I felt very strongly that a funeral requires the personal touch that you can only get from a small, independent funeral directors.

I then had the opportunity to join A. Welch & Sons in 1990, who were an established family funeral directors. They had the facilities that many of the larger groups offered but the attitude and level of personal care that can only be found at the independent funeral firm.

On joining A. Welch & Sons I knew straight away that care and professionalism is one of their highest priorities when dealing with bereaved families at their time of need.