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Centenary for grave concern

Tom Rowley
27/ 8/2003

ONE hundred years on and the firm that bears the name of the founder is still providing funeral services in Hyde.

To mark its centenary, the directors and staff of Frank Massey & Son Ltd held a celebration at Oaklands Hall in the town earlier this month and a raffle raised £230 for Willow Wood Hospice.

Debbie Bambroffe, Frank's great grand-daughter, joined the family business at 16 and at one time was reputedly the youngest female funeral director in the country.

She said: "There's certainly been a lot of changes down the years but we are still an independent funeral directors. We have old pictures of horse-drawn carriages which were used before motor cars."

The hearse also included a silver tea-urn as well as a basket of cutlery for the tea party which always followed a funeral.

Frank set up his business at 8 Edna Street. For many years he carried on as a cabinet-venetian blind maker and furniture dealer, from workplaces dotted around the town and was a founder member of Hyde Seals swimming club. His son Harry carried on the business after he died in 1947 and

Harry's son Alan - Debbie's father - also carried on the tradition. He is still active in the family firm, which is now based on Mottram Road. In 1976 the company carried out the funeral arrangments for the celebrated artist L S Lowry, who had lived in Mottram for many years.