'They get forgotten': The Nottingham funeral home reuniting families with unclaimed ashes

Nottingham Funeral Director holding ashes
Matthew Lymn Rose, Managing Director of A.W. Lymn Credit: ITV Central

A Nottingham funeral parlour says it's part of a national mission to reunited hundreds of thousands of unclaimed urns with their families.

A.W. Lymn's shelves are lined with the final remains of 136 people.

The parlour has uploaded the details of every urn they hold since 2000.

The oldest remains in A.W. Lymns store is from 1952 Credit: ITV Central

They are the first funeral home in the UK to use the 'The Ash Register'. The website uses a map display to show unclaimed remains across the UK.

Matthew Lymn Rose, the home's Managing Director, told ITV Central how even the slightest problem in someone's life can lead to remains being forgotten.

He says:

"Just the slightest indecision, just the slightest bit of conflict between family members, and the slightest conflict in someone's life can cause those cremated remains to be forced down the list and in some cases and unfortunately, they become forgotten."

Those left behind

Sitting in A.W. Lymn's storage room are the ashes of George Maxwell Lawson CBE.

Mr Lawson first enlisted in the Royal Leicestershire Regiment in 1915 and served for thirty years.

He was decorated for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in the First World War and he helped lead Britain's air defence in the Second World War.

His remains have been there for over six decades.

Mr Maxwell Lawson served his country in France and Flanders, UK, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia Credit: ITV Central

Mr Lymn Rose said:

“As a fifth-generation family business that has been supporting the bereaved in the region for nearing 120 years, we feel a deep sense of responsibility and duty of care to look after cremated remains in our possession, in the hope that they will one day find their way back to someone."

Richard Martin, the founder of the Archive, said:

“Our goal is simple and it’s to reunite as many people as possible with the ashes of a relative or loved one. We feel so passionate about history not being lost in time, which is why we set up this website to provide a space for people to document someone’s final resting place."