We are very proud of our team of funeral directors and consider them to be among the very best in their field. Some of the team specialise in a particular aspect of funeral service; some have decades of experience. Above all and without exception they are normal people whose aim it is to help families through the difficult time of bereavement.
Peter Crutcher
Peter joined Tapper Funeral Service in 2001 after 40 years running Barrow Bros Funerals of Nursery Lane, Ringwood. Peter has lived in Ringwood all his life and attended Brockenhurst Grammar School 1948-1956 followed by a spell at Imperial College. He ran a local hardware and electrical store until 1977 and has operated Ringwood Public Address Service for nearly 50 years throughout Hampshire, Dorset and the West Country. Chairman of Ringwood Town Council 1975 - l978 and at sometime involved with Ringwood United Charities, Ringwood Motor Cycle & Light Car Club, The Meeting House Association, Ringwood Carnival, Ringwood Chamber of Trade, Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society and the National Association of Sound & Communications Engineers. Peter was President of the Bournemouth Association of Funeral Directors in 1983.
Colin Hayley
The Hayley name has been associated with serving bereaved families in Highcliffe, New Milton and the surrounding areas for more than forty years. Colin began his career in the funeral business in 1956. Throughout, he has always been very supportive of the National Association of Funeral Directors and was instrumental in the formation of the inspection of Funeral Directing premises within the UK and for a period joined the inspection team.
In 1993, Colin and the Tapper Family joined forces and opened their funeral home in Old Milton Road, New Milton followed by Lymington Road, Highcliffe in 1995.
Although no longer involved in the day to day activities of the New Milton and Highcliffe offices, he continues to support the company as a Director and occasionally conducts funerals for the two offices.
Colin, like his son Julian, is a past member of the New Milton Round Table. He continues this association as a member of ‘41’ club.
Colin lives with his wife Janice in Highcliffe. They both enjoy travelling and their six grandsons manage to keep them extremely busy!
Julian Hayley
Julian has been part of the funeral service since he was 16 years old. He began his career working alongside his father, Colin when he owned and ran funeral homes in New Milton and Highcliffe. Colin and Julian joined forces with the Tapper Family in April 1994 and continued to offer the highest levels of service to families in the Highcliffe and New Milton area. Following Colin’s retirement from day to day activities, Julian became Manager and Funeral Director for our offices in Lymington Road, Highcliffe and Old Milton Road, New Milton with the addition of our Milford-on-Sea funeral home later.
Julian is married to Sue, who oversees our Highcliffe office and they live in Highcliffe with their two Birman cats, Angel and Phoebe and Julian’s huge collection of Books and CDs.
Julian holds the Diploma in Funeral Directing and is an ex. President of the Bournemouth Association of Funeral Directors. He is also an ex. Chairman of New Milton Round Table and continues to work closely with local community groups and clubs to raise funds for charity. His interests are music, film, literature and wildlife.
Kevin Howitt
Tapper Funeral Service prides itself on having staff with local roots, and Kevin is no exception having spent the majority of his life in the area. He joined the funeral industry in 1993, and the ensuing years saw him gain the all round skills and experience to gain not only the Diploma in Funeral Directing but also the Diploma in Embalming. Kevin joined Tapper Funeral Service in 2002 and now chooses to specialise in Funeral Directing.
Kevin is married to Claire and they live in Poole. They are both very keen on travelling and the outdoors and in 2005 Kevin took a year long sabbatical from Tapper Funeral Service, for a round the world trip, taking up his position again in 2006. Kevin and Claire's love of travelling saw them married in Kenya in 2008.
Tony Jones
Although born in Wales, from the age of five Tony grew up and was educated in the New Forest. Initially employed at Tapper Funeral Service in Poole, he moved to manage our Ringwood Office in 2002 where he has been involved in all aspects of the funeral service. Tony has four grown up children (2 girls & 2 boys) and lives with his wife Jenny in Bournemouth. His interests include fishing, boating and walking his bearded Collie "Fred".
Rachel Lawton
Continuing the local theme of our team, Rachel has lived in Poole all her life, except for a year spent in South West France in 2005.
Rachel is the Cemetery Manager of the Harbour View Woodland Burial Ground and will usually be the first point of contact when visiting the cemetery. Before joining Tapper Funeral Service in 2006, Rachel worked with Cheshire Services for 10 years caring for the elderly and disabled. This has given her an excellent grounding in caring for the more vulnerable in society, and this experience is carried through to her assisting the recently bereaved.
Rachel is married to Kevin and has four daughters. The whole family are very keen dinghy sailors and spend most of their leisure time in Poole Harbour.
Stephen Nimmo
Stephen Nimmo joined Tapper Funeral Service in June 2000. Four generations of his family have lived in and around the Poole area so he can definitely be considered a local boy. His work in the funeral service spans over twelve years with particular experience in dealing with the military. His work for Kenyon International takes him all over the world, dealing with bereaved families following mass incidents such as aviation disasters. Stephen was recently married to Miranda and they live with their seven year old son, Taylor, and Boxer dog, Maisie.in Wimborne. Stephen also oversees the running of our branches in Highcliffe, New Milton and Milford-on-Sea.
John Reighard
John Reighard, Poole born and bred is the longest serving funeral director at Tapper Funeral Service, having joined the company in 1982. He has worked in the funeral service since 1978, and holds the Diploma in Funeral Directing.
Alan Rice
Alan, Bournemouth born and bred, began his career at Bournemouth Crematorium in 1978 as a certified cremator operator and chapel attendant. In 1984, he took the opportunity to train as a funeral director, rising through the ranks to Area Manager, overseeing five branches. In this role, Alan found himself drawn further away from bereaved families, and so welcomed the opportunity to join Tapper Funeral Service in 1996, where he has been able to fully utilise his Diploma in Funeral Directing, and CFSMA Funeral Management Diploma. Alan is a Director of the Company and a former President of the Bournemouth Association of Funeral Directors.
Mark Shearman
Born in London, Mark moved to Dorset in 1989 and now lives with his wife Lynn in Broadstone. He joined the company in 2002, having worked in the monumental industry both locally and nationally for 25 years, gaining valuable experience in manufacturing and retailing. He now shares this experience with our clients and his colleagues as the manager of Living Stones, the company's in house memorial department. Mark's interests include travelling, walking, cycling and music.
Simon Spendlowe
Funeral Manager Simon Spendlowe joined the funeral profession in 1989 . Throughout his career he has acquired nationally recognised qualifications, including the Diploma in Funeral Directing , Diploma in Funeral Service Management and Membership of the Institute of Leadership and Management. Simon is past President of the Bournemouth and District Association of Funeral Directors (2006 - 2008).
Simon is the company's Occupational Health & Safety Practitioner. He has obtained a NEBOSH health & Safety qualification and is a Technician Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (Tech IOSH). He is currently studying for a degree in Ministry through Oxford Brookes University.
Simon is married and has a four and a half year old son and a three month old daughter.
Paul Steele
Paul began his career in the funeral service in 1989, going on to pass his Diploma in Funeral Directing in 1996. Paul join the team at Tapper Funeral Service in 2002 bringing with him special knowledge of Woodland Burials in particular. Paul was instrumental in the opening of our Harbour View Burial Ground, and has now returned to his roots as a Funeral Director. He offers support to our clients when recently bereaved, and also in pre planning funerals for the future.
Having lived for most of his adult life in Poole, Paul now lives in Canford Heath with his wife, Joyce. He has grown up children and is a granddad to three grandchildren including twins.
Christopher Tapper
Christopher Tapper is the third generation of his family to join the funeral business. Retired from day-to-day affairs Christopher remains the senior director of Tapper Funeral Service and keeps a close interest in the business. One time President of the Bournemouth Association of Funeral Directors, Christopher is also a qualified embalmer, passing his diploma in 1965.
Outside of work, Christopher is a keen golfer having been Captain at Broadstone Golf Club in 2002. Along with his wife Karen, he enjoys gardening and in particular growing his own vegetables. Christopher's two sons Steven and Paul also work for the Company.
Paul Tapper
Paul was born in 1972 and has lived in Poole all of his life. Following education at Corfe Hills School in Broadstone, Paul joined the family business in 1988. In recent years, along with his brother Steven, Paul has been involved as Managing Director of the business, working from the Poole Office. Although Paul still arranges funerals, he is principally in charge of scheduling for the whole company - it is his job to see that everything is in the right place at the right time. Paul is a past-president of the Bournemouth and District Association of Funeral Directors; he is married to Rachel, they have two children, Harry and Amelia and live in Parkstone with pet Retriever Archie. In his spare time Paul enjoys golf and walks in the country. He is particularly keen on fitness; in 2006 Paul ran the London Marathon, climbed the 'Three Peaks Challenge' and completed the London Triathlon.
Steven Tapper
Steven was born in Poole in 1969 and living in Broadstone was educated at Corfe Hills School. In 1985 he joined the family business and in recent years, along with his brother Paul, has been Managing Director of the Company. Although having management responsibilities Steven prefers his role of arranging funerals and interacting with the client families, as he says 'that is what I joined the Company for'. He is currently studying a course 'Death and Society' at Bath University, which he hopes will give a greater insight to the bereavement aftercare in particular, that he feels is lacking in today's society. Steven has experience working with Kenyon Emergency Services in Milan following the air disaster in 2001 and with some notable high profile funerals working with both the military and local councils; he is a past-president of the Bournemouth and District Association of Funeral Directors. In his spare time, Steven is a keen sportsman; he will often be found yacht racing with friends around Poole, the Solent and further afield, and in addition likes to play golf and tennis. Steven is married to Jo who worked in the stonemasonry department ‘Living Stones’ until giving up work in 2008 for the birth of their twins Henry and Darcy. They live together with their cat ‘Puss’ in Poole.
Revd John Taylor
John is our newest member of staff having joined Tapper Funeral Service at the beginning of 2008.
His role within the company is varied offering support to client families before, during and after the funeral service. He is available to clients of any Christian denomination and also able to oversee secular services. The death of a loved one can have both immediate and long term effects upon a person’s family and friends, and John will continue to be available to offer support and guidance to bereaved families, long after the day of the funeral.
In 1998, John graduated with a BA in applied theology from Moorlands Bible College in Christchurch, Dorset. He then became the Minister for Canford Heath Baptist Church, gaining his Baptist accreditation in April 2004 following a further six years of study. John’s role within the church has brought him into contact with many bereaved families, and he now brings this valuable experience to Tapper Funeral Service.
John lives with his wife, Aldina and foster daughter in Canford Heath, and spends much of his spare time on the golf course at Broadstone, or can be found on a Saturday cheering on his beloved Southampton FC at St. Mary’s.
Dilys Trickett
May 1993 saw the appointment of our lady funeral director to the Poole office. Dilys Trickett has lived in Poole for over 40 years, and is popular among staff and families alike. Also a holder of the Diploma in Funeral Directing, Dilys is a Salvationist and Rotarian and brings vast experience, especially looking after those who have lost babies and small children.
Jan Wharmby
Jan Wharmby joined the company in an administrative role in 2002. Jan was trained and promoted to the role of Funeral Director in 2005, managing the Broadstone Office and now oversees the majority of funerals for the Broadstone area. Jan qualified as a funeral director, after passing the Foundation Course in Funeral Service Examination in June 2006 and the Diploma in Funeral Directing Examination in September 2006. Originally from the Channel Islands, Jan now lives with her husband in Lytchett Matravers and is a regular worshipper at Broadstone Methodist Church.