About us
Allcock Family Funeral Services has been run by the Allcock family since it was founded in 2002. From footballing fame to funerals, we’d love to tell you about our journey so far.
Our family background
Terry and Barbara Allcock first met in Blackpool. Terry was an aspiring young footballer signed to Bolton Wanderers and Barbara worked in a department store.
They first met on a blind date, however, not so blind as Terry, ever the pessimist, did a little window shopping in the store to assure himself that Barbara was a suitable candidate.
Clearly, that date was a success! Following a courtship, which included Terry serving two years national service in the RAF, they married in 1956. The following year their first son Mark was born. The family was by now living in Bolton where Terry had become known as Nat Lofthouse’s understudy.
Success with Canaries
In 1958 Terry was transferred for the princely sum of circa £8,000 to Norwich City Football Club. During the first full season he played for Norwich they had an outstanding run in the FA Cup. The Canaries reached the semi-final, beating the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs along the way.
Terry’s career at Norwich culminated with him becoming the first holder of the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy for player of the year. To this day he still holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season, with a total of 37 to his name. Only in the last few years has Terry relinquished his role with Norwich City as the club’s host representative to the match day sponsors.
A growing family
During the 1960’s, Terry and Barbara welcomed four more children: Peter, Sharon, Philip and Paul. The family was by this time happily settled in Norwich.
Of the five children it was Paul, the youngest, who first took employment in the funeral industry with Peter Taylor Funeral Services in Norwich. By the age of 23, Paul had been appointed manager of what was at the time the largest independent funeral directors in the area.
Time for a fresh start
The following ten years saw many changes at Taylor’s, culminating in the sale of the company to the Canadian Loewen Group. It was at this stage that Paul decided to break from the company. In 2002, along with Terry, who had also spent the previous six years in the funeral industry, they formed Allcock Family Funeral Services with Mark, Peter, Sharon and Philip as partners.
Still a family business
In the beginning only Paul and Terry worked full time. Part-time office support was however provided by Sharon and Paul’s wife Alison. Over the years the workforce has grown to include more family members. Mark, Sharon and Philip (our in-house accountant) all now work full time, with Natalie and Kurt (two of Sharon’s children) and Leanne (Mark’s youngest) adding to the increasing number of family funeral directors.
As a family-run business, we feel it’s important to treat our clients as part of our extended family during their time of need.
Silver funeral cars
Our silver limousines and hearses offer an attractive and brighter alternative to the more traditional black funeral cars.