How SpeedLink Started Transporting Ashes

Wanting to Take Mum Home

After Mum died, I knew that I wanted some of her ashes to return to Canada — a country where she had spent such a large and important part of her life.

We also had family in Northern Ireland, and I wanted them to have the opportunity to say goodbye too.

We therefore arranged for Mum's cremated remains to be divided between two scattering tubes.

It was during this process that I began to realise how difficult it can be for a bereaved family to understand what things should cost and what arrangements are actually necessary.

At a time when you're grieving, you're suddenly expected to make decisions about cremation certificates, containers, documentation, transport and regulations — subjects that most people have never had any reason to think about before.

I found the whole experience frustrating.

But the biggest question was still to come.

How Do You Send Ashes to Another Country?

I needed to answer what seemed like a very simple question:

How do I get Mum's ashes to Canada — and the other part to Northern Ireland?

I started asking questions.

What documents would I need?

Could cremated remains be sent by courier?

Could they travel through the postal system?

Were there airline restrictions?

Would customs be involved?

How much should it cost to transport ashes internationally?

The more people I asked, the less clear the answer seemed to become.

I received conflicting information about rules, regulations, documentation, transport methods and charges. Nobody seemed able to explain the complete process clearly.

For a family already dealing with bereavement, it was far more complicated than I believed it needed to be.

And that's when my wife Joanne and I looked at each other and had essentially the same thought:

“We're running a specialist courier company. Why aren't we doing this?”

Mary Became Our First Cremated Remains Repatriation Client

So we started researching.

We looked carefully at the regulations governing the transport of cremated remains, the documentation involved, airline and postal restrictions, customs requirements and the practicalities of safely transporting ashes between countries.

We discovered what could be done, what couldn't be done and, importantly, where there were better alternatives to the traditional options families were being offered.

And that was it.

Mary — my dear Mum — became SpeedLink's first cremated remains repatriation client.

Several months later, I found myself sitting beside the Fraser River in British Columbia.

As I watched Mum's ashes gently enter the water and slowly disappear into the river, I had time to reflect on everything that had happened since losing her.

I kept thinking about how difficult the process had been at a time when our family was already trying to deal with grief.

It wasn't simply about the cost.

It was about how vulnerable people can feel following a bereavement and how difficult it can be to know whether the information, advice and prices they are being given are reasonable.

Sitting beside the Fraser River, I decided that we could do something about it.

There Had to Be a Better Way

That experience became the foundation of SpeedLink Repatriation.

I wanted to create the sort of service I wish had existed when I needed to transport Mum's ashes.

One where someone would simply explain:

• what could and couldn't be done;
• which documents were actually required;
• how the cremated remains would travel;
• what would happen at customs;
• how long the journey was likely to take; and
• what the complete service would cost.

Most importantly, I wanted families to have somebody they could talk to who understood that this wasn't simply another courier shipment.

Behind every set of cremated remains is a person.

And behind that person is a family.

That principle still guides SpeedLink today.

From One Journey to an International Ashes Repatriation Service

What began with one very personal journey has grown into a specialist cremated remains courier and repatriation service supporting families and professionals throughout the UK and around the world.

Today, SpeedLink transports cremated remains domestically and internationally, helping families navigate routes where conventional courier, postal or freight options may be unavailable, unsuitable or prohibitively expensive.

Our services now include:

• UK cremated remains courier services
• International ashes repatriation
• Economy international cremated remains transport
• Expedited and time-critical ashes courier services
• Customs clearance for cremated remains
• Collection and final-mile delivery
• Splitting and repacking of cremated remains
• Secure ashes storage
• Pet ashes transportation
• Specialist support for complex international destinations

Through our international gateways and transport network, we help connect families across the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and destinations worldwide.

But although SpeedLink Repatriation has grown considerably since Mum's first journey, our purpose has remained remarkably simple:

Making worldwide cremated remains transport simpler and more affordable. while treating every person entrusted to us with dignity, compassion and care.

We Understand That This Is More Than a Delivery

Over the years, I have personally placed cremated remains into the hands of families at airports, homes and meeting points in different parts of the world.

Those moments stay with you.

For us, successful delivery isn't simply a signature or a tracking update.

Sometimes it means finally bringing someone home.

Sometimes it allows a family to hold a memorial or scattering ceremony that has been waiting months to take place.

Sometimes it fulfils a final wish to return to a country, town or landscape that meant everything to the person who died.

That's why we never want SpeedLink to become just another logistics company moving boxes from one place to another.

We know what those boxes contain.

We know what they mean to the people waiting for them.

And I know that personally because, before SpeedLink ever transported somebody else's loved one, we transported mine.