Buried Secrets by Harry Pope (Cooden Beach Hotel)

Harry Pope, whose pre-retirement life was spent in the funeral profession, gave us an anecdotal talk about his career. Entering the profession through a chance advert he was employed first as chauffeur/bearer for a company in Sutton, Surrey. He related tales of slipping into a grave beneath a coffin and how a private ambulance was stolen and how when the van was returned by the police no-one had realised the body had been missing for a couple of days. Harry assured us that things like that don’t happen any more. He then moved to another company as an area manager but when that company was taken over by a Midlands company he was sacked when he could not come to terms with the morals of the new owner. He was head-hunted by Kenyon’s, the Royal Undertakers where he was assigned to the overseas office with responsibility for overseas repatriations before becoming head of the Crash Team which attends major disasters. He was involved with the Herald of Free Enterprise and Lockerbie, amongst other notable disasters. Harry spoke of his dealings with the super rich and diplomats: how tips were abundant and how tact and discretion were an essential part of the job. Peter Cocker proposed the vote of thanks.