Bristol funeral directors help nephew fulfil his aunt's dying wish

A nephew will be able to fulfil his aunt's dying wish of being laid to rest next to her late husband – thanks to a Bristol funeral directors.

Ron Salisbury was desperate to find the resting place of his uncle Frederick Salisbury so he could ensure his recently deceased aunt, Frederick's wife Dorothy, could be laid to rest alongside him.

He had no idea where he had been buried because, at 93, Dorothy couldn't remember. But after Ron's plight was highlighted in the Evening Post, a funeral directors came to the rescue and identified where Frederick was laid to rest 42 years ago.

When they read the story, staff from Southville-based funeral directors Thomas Davis trawled through their files and discovered that Frederick's ashes had been scattered on a garden of remembrance at Arnos Vale.

A delighted Mr Salisbury, 77, who lives in Church Lane, Yatton, said he was now preparing to scatter Dorothy's ashes over the same garden.

He said: "It's wonderful news. I never expected to find out so fast. My phone was red hot on Monday and I've never had so many calls in all my life from people trying to help – I had more than 30.

"Now I should be able to fulfil the wishes of Dorothy."

Derek Gunningham, a director at Thomas Davis funeral directors, said: "We've found out that we handled the arrangements back in 1967 and this gentleman was cremated at Arnos Vale and remains were scattered in a garden.

"When we saw the story we thought we ought to look through our records. They go back to 1840 so we have quite a good record. Sometimes we can find things that Arnos Vale can't find themselves.

"We found that he died in December and was cremated on January 6. We pride ourselves on keeping records of our clients and this kind of thing crops up quite often when people can't find out where their relatives were buried or cremated.

"When I spoke to Mr Salisbury, he was thoroughly thrilled with the news and he said it had made his day."

Frederick lived in Bedminster with wife Dorothy after they met during the war. They were married on November 12, 1946, at Bristol Register Office.

In their 21-year marriage they lived near Redcliffe Church and ran an off-licence in Wells Road.

War hero Frederick died of a heart attack 42 years ago, when he was 60. Dorothy died in May, aged 93.

No other relatives who may have known Frederick's whereabouts are still alive.

Dorothy was cremated at Bristol crematorium in May, having spent her last days at the Yatton Hall nursing home.