Body Donation
Henry’s wish was to donate his body to science after his death. We have a letter from as far back as 1961 from the Ministry of Health, thanking him for his “desire to benefit medical science in this way”.
Henry’s wish to donate his body caused a degree of hilarity in his younger granddaughter who imagined his moustache preserved in a specimen jar!
By the time of his death Henry had completed all the necessary paperwork for donation of his body to the Human Anatomy Centre at Cambridge University.
Unfortunately, because Henry had dementia at the end of his life, Cambridge rejected his body. They did however kindly contact other body donation centres and Henry’s body was accepted by the National Repository Centre at Nottingham University, which uses bodies for medical eduction, training and research.
Henry was cremated at Gedling Crematorium, Nottingham, in December 2023 after a year at the National Repository Centre. His ashes are currently with his widow Katharina. After Katharina’s death their ashes will be mingled and laid to rest at Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge.