MBE FOR GOLDEN LEAVES FOUNDER The history of the Golden Leaves founder includes the New Year’s Honours list of 2020 which included a name well‐known in the world of funerals, and to many residents of Croydon and the surrounding districts. Director of Rowland Brothers Limited Tony Rowland was honoured with an MBE for his long career serving the community, both through his services to undertaking and the many local charity and community projects in his home town of South Croydon. His drive to help create an equal society too helped him achieve the MBE ‘For services to undertaking and the community in Surrey’.
Tony’s Story THE work to which Tony was ap‐ prenticed at the age of 15 in the year of the Queen’s coronation quickly identified to him that sup‐ porting people through the grief and loss of bereavement was an area in which he could make a dif‐ ference. From that time on, his family funeral business has always been much more than a means of making a living. Now, at the age of 80 and still working full time, he can look back on innovations for which he was personally responsible, which have become standards the undertaking profession seeks uni‐ versally to attain. He is a man who has changed things with his initia‐ tive and practical achievements. One such innovation was setting up, four decades ago, a continuing bereavement aftercare programme for all individuals and families mak‐ ing use of his firm’s services ‐ at no extra cost to them. He established this at a time when professional be‐ reavement counselling was yet to become generally available to griev‐ ing people. Dedicating specific mem‐ bers of staff solely to this purpose, Tony ensures that sympathetic con‐ tact is made immediately following a funeral, and continues for at least a year afterwards, and often much longer. Both practical assistance and emotional support are readily and sensitively provided to people who are sometimes unsure how to cope in the often‐heartbreaking situation in which they suddenly find them‐ selves. A second innovation was the es‐ tablishment of a worldwide network and support structure improving hugely the efficient and compassion‐ ate repatriation of deceased British nationals who die while on holiday or working overseas, and citizens of other countries who die in similar
Tony Rowland, Golden Leaves founder.
circumstances in the UK. Since 1971, Tony has been responsible for more than 40,000 such repatriations, util‐ ising his personally established net‐ work of 500 agents throughout the world. He has always regarded this as so much more than an adminis‐ trative exercise and frequently goes far beyond the call of duty in his ex‐ tra‐mile service. The 40,000 repatriations included the return of all the UK citizens who died in the South Asia tsunami. Tony is continually involved in the conse‐ quences of disasters around the world, including the 9/11 and 7/7 bombings, travel disasters, extreme weather emergencies and overseas hostage situations. Such work involves Tony in discus‐ sions with the Foreign and Com‐ monwealth Office and its embassies
and consulates around the world, overseas diplomats and foreign gov‐ ernment offices, coroners, airlines, travel companies, insurance bodies and health organisations. As a result, Tony is regarded as an expert in in‐ ternational repatriation and lectures at Scotland Yard to police family liai‐ son officers and to the Rapid Re‐ sponse Team at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Tony is also a training officer for new UK diplo‐ mats being prepared for overseas assignments. Tony’s company, which was an of‐ ficial supplier to the 2012 London Olympics, provides the official repa‐ triation helpline for the National As‐ sociation of Funeral Directors. Another innovation was the de‐ velopment of his funeral planning company, Golden Leaves, which was
originally developed in 1984 and was one of the first funeral plan providers in the UK. The company has now grown to be one of the most reputable fu‐ neral plan providers in the industry and is now based at the No.1 Croydon build‐ ing outside East Croydon station. Tony was instrumental in develop‐ ing the first standards in the funeral plan industry when he helped devel‐ op the National Association of Pre‐ paid Funeral Plans of which he was chairman in the 1990s. Golden Leaves is also a founding member of the Funeral Planning Authority, pro‐ vides funeral plans to all UK resi‐ dents, to British expatriates living abroad and include in their innova‐ tions a green burial plan and the in‐ dustry’s leading insurance plan. The Trustees in charge of all funds are very highly individuals including a re‐ tired vice present of the OFT and the President of the European Stan‐ dards Committee and Chairman of the UK National Consumer Federa‐ tion. Tony’s work has also been charac‐ terised by his ability to relate to peo‐ ple of all ethnic origins and religious affiliations, and ‐ increasingly impor‐ tantly ‐ to those with no faith at all. Not only does he expertly meet the needs of the whole gamut of Chris‐ tian denominations, but he is also equally adept at understanding and complying sympathetically with the customs of all major world faiths. For example, he is particularly ap‐ preciated by the African‐Caribbean community, being almost unique in some of the services he provides. Tony has served as Chairman of the Croydon Association of Funeral Directors and President of the Lon‐ don Association of Funeral Directors. In this capacity, he has been a men‐ tor to many young people coming into this business as well as a staunch advocate for continually im‐
proving standards. In addition to his exemplary pro‐ fessional work, in which he exhibits great personal credibility, integrity and compassion, Tony is involved in local charitable and community work to a quite remarkable, often sacrificial, degree. As well as con‐ tributing actively to the work of such groups as Rotary, the Round Table, the Royal British Legion, Freemason‐ ry, Scouting and schools he has per‐ sonally raised considerable sums of money through his tireless fundrais‐ ing efforts on their behalf. To facili‐ tate its charity work, Rowland Broth‐ ers set up the Rowland Brothers Foundation, whose income is boost‐ ed by regular donations from the family businesses. One ongoing contribution to his local community is as Chairman of the Thornton Heath Business Part‐ nership, in which role he organises the annual Thornton Heath Festival, which he inaugurated 11 years ago. This highlights the work of youth groups such as Scouts, Guides, the Boys’ Brigade, and Cadet Corps, with the aim of influencing young people to join them rather than the often knife‐carrying street gangs which op‐ erate in South London. Many people, even if they spare a thought for these dire circum‐ stances, do little but bemoan hope‐ lessly the way things are. Tony has thought through the situation and tenaciously done something practi‐ cal about it. As a result, hundreds of young people have been influenced in the past 11 years. He works tire‐ lessly towards this end, both behind the scenes and with his sleeves rolled up on the front line. The festi‐ val in its first year alone led to 170 young people enthusiastically joining youth groups in the town. For a man so intimately involved in caring for those who have died, and their loved ones, Tony Rowland is passionate about making life bet‐ ter for coming generations.