C W Lyons & Son Funeral Director, Canterbury

Charles William Lyons started the company as a combined carpenters and undertakers in 1911 and remained Managing Director until his death in 1942. His widow Nora, and his three surviving children, Ella, Bill and Phyllis then took over the running of the business.

Ownership of the company subsequently passed on to Christopher Laming (Phyllis’s son) in 1968. Christopher owned and ran the company until his death in the autumn of 2007. The business is now run by Christopher’s wife Muriel (Chairman) and his son Mark (Managing Director).

Without interruption for 24 hours of every day, 365 days a year over the last 100 years, C W Lyons has served local families through their most trying times. Members of the family fought in two world wars whilst others in the family carried on business as usual. And whilst a funeral today costs considerably more than the £7 2s 6d total of C W Lyons’ very first funeral in 1911, the team continues to offer local people the standard of service it believes can only be achieved by a local business with a century of experience behind it.