Books of Remembrance provide a permanent memorial to people who have been cremated at Bournemouth Crematorium.

The books are beautiful, with tooled dark red leather covers and high-quality parchment pages. Each inscription is handwritten by a calligrapher.

Entry details

Your entry can be between 2 and 5 lines, with 30 characters per line. The entry always begins with the surname and first names of the deceased. You can then choose the rest of the text.

If you’d like to see the year, you must include it in your entry. The book of remembrance displays the date at the top of each page but does not display the year. This is because each volume covers several years.

We reserve the right to vary any inscription as necessary or to refuse any entry which is considered unsuitable.

Illuminated entries

An entry can be illustrated with a picture, such as a spray of flowers, coat of arms or regimental badge. This is called an illuminated entry.

If you’d like a non-standard illustration, or a particular image, please provide a good quality picture that the artist can copy.

The artist cannot copy an image if it’s covered by copyright unless you include written authorisation from the copyright holder with your application. The picture will be returned to you once the entry is complete.

Illustrations can only be added to entries of between 3 and 5 lines and they cannot be added later.

Memorial cards and miniature books

These feature a copy of the inscription as it appears in the book of remembrance.

They are for loved ones and those who cannot easily visit the crematorium to view the original entry. The bereavement services team at the crematorium can show you examples.

Memorial cards, which are approximately 14cm by 14cm, are inscribed by the artist on a high-quality cream paper insert with embossed card cover and envelope.

Miniature books can feature more than 1 entry. The remaining pages can be used for photographs or other mementoes.

Placing an entry

You’ll need to complete a book of remembrance application form and return it to us with your payment.

Check spellings, dates and other details carefully as it may not be possible to correct any mistakes once the entry has been inscribed in the book. If errors can be corrected, you may be charged.

Please note, once an entry is inscribed into the book of remembrance it cannot be removed.

If you have any questions, please email bereavementcare@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.