Arthur Ian Hazel

Arthur Ian Hazel, (know as Ian ) is a fourth generation of the Hazel family to be in the Funeral Profession. Named after his Great Grandfather (Arthur Hazel) who started as a gravedigger and an undertaker at the local parish church of Erdington St. Barnabas , an old well established parish within the Aston Diocese of Birmingham, in 1901. []

The original business of “A.Hazel” expanded in the late 1920’s when Arthur took three of his sons into partnership to form “A.Hazel and Sons”. Ian’s Grandfather Walter being one of them .In the late 1930’s the business moved into purpose built premises in High Street Erdington. It expanded further after the Second World War when Ian’s Father ( Wallie ) and Uncle ( Douglas) joined the firm.

Even as a schoolboy Ian knew that he wanted to follow in the family traditions and join the profession. As a child he was always aware of the fact that his Father had to be available 24 hours a day for families who had suffered a bereavement. Deciding not to rush into the profession at a young age, Ian studied business studies for three years, whilst on a commercial apprentice with GKN Hardy Spicers in Birmingham. Once qualified as a Procurement Officer he then went on to work for Jensen Motors in West Bromwich, and then Wolsley Webb in Witton Birmingham.

In January 1977 Ian decided it was time to join the family business. He gained his Diploma in Funeral Directing ( Dip. F.D.) in May 1979 and passed his exams to become a fully qualified embalmer ((M.B.I.E.) in June 1979, and stayed working in the business until 1987. By that time Ian’s Father (Wallie) had died and his uncle (Douglas) had retired, so Ian was running the business, on a day to day basis, but did not have overall control of it. It had previously been sold to Hodgson Holdings who later became Dignity Funerals plc. being the second largest funeral group in the UK next to the “Co Operative Funeral Care Group”

In June 1987, Ian took the opportunity to leave the old family business and start up on his own, trading as “Ian Hazel Funerals” after finding suitable premises in Belwell Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield. Not everyone wants a Funeral Director close to them, so he tried hard to find discreet and tasteful premises in the local shopping area that did not offend any local residents or fellow businessmen having realised that whilst people do not want to be surrounded by death and funeral directors, they are always glad to have someone local to turn to for friendly advice and guidance when the need arises.

This means that “Ian Hazel Funerals” is totally independent of the old family business and no family members have any connection with “A.Hazel and Sons” these days. This move has allowed Ian to concentrate on providing a more personal and caring service to his clients, than can be provided by the larger national concerns. Ian feels his company is providing the right service by putting themselves out to provide anything the clients want as long as it is not in bad taste and is dignified.

In December 2013, Ian Hazel oversaw “Ian Hazel Funerals” move to new purpose built premises located at 274, Lichfield Road, still in Mere Green Sutton Coldfield. These modern state of the art, eco-friendly premises received an Energy Performance Certificate of (A) rating, and a National Energy Award in the “Innovative Saver” category in 2016 for all the Eco Friendly features built into the premises making it the “Greenest Funeral Home” at that time. Ian is still constantly looking at ways to maintain the “Green Credentials” of the company, having now started to change over to PHEV vehicles.