The Development of Cremation, 1914–1939

Abstract

The First World War effected changes in many spheres of life, including attitudes to death. In the new, post-war, environment the Cremation Society pressed its case through a number of different channels. These included its offspring, the Federation of Cremation Authorities,¹ Parliamentary legislation, local authorities and the Church of England, as well as many promotional activities. Through the Federation, it collaborated during the 1930s with the burials and funeral directing interests, emphasising cremation as a funeral reform. By 1939, whilst the UK cremation rate had only reached 3.5%, 54 crematoria had opened. The inter-war years thus laid the foundation for the future expansion of cremation as a municipal solution to the urban problems of the disposal of the dead. The period ended with a growing consensus on the part both of Government and of the burial and cremation interests to provide for less expensive funerals.