June 2001
The Director - Features
The Pioneers of Preservation
Despite its success in America, embalming struggled to gain acceptance in England in the late 1800s
Despite success in America, arterial embalming struggled to gain acceptance in England during the late 1800s. In The Pioneers of Preservation, Brian Parsons charts some of the developments in embalming that occurred in England from the 1870s until 1930, and he accounts for the problems and successes experienced by those early pioneers.
Parsons has worked in funeral service directing since 1982 and qualified as an embalmer in 1984. His Ph.D. awarded by the University of Westminster in London, examined the development of the British funeral industry during the 20th century. An active funeral service educator, he tutors for the Diploma in Funeral Directing and has contributed to a number of training initiatives.
