About Mortuary Services

Dorian Harries was born and raised in the county of Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. Being the son of a Funeral Director Mr. Gethin Harries of G. Harries & Son’s of Pencader he was brought up into the Funeral Profession from a very young age.

At the age of 27, Dorian enrolled with the late John Davis at The Midland School of Embalming, at Redfield in Bristol, England. His practical knowledge was obtained and experienced, with his qualified colleague Mr Chris Hanson-Brown in Cardiff, Wales. After gaining his qualification Dorian was accepted into The British Institute of Embalmers and The European Association of Embalmers.

Very soon, Dorian’s high quality of work and professionalism to his clients became widely known and his portfolio was increased in year 2000 when he was deployed by Global DVI (a mass fatality disaster management team) as an Embalmer to assist with work on a high profile situation that had arisen in the UK.

In an effort to increase his knowledge of embalming and post mortem reconstructive techniques he enrolled in the prestigious Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming Skills in the United States.  Fountain National Academy has an eighteen-year history of providing post-graduate education to embalmers and is recognised worldwide as the leader in this area of instruction and teaching ability.  Dorian’s involvement with Fountain National Academy began in 2000 and continues to this day. He has attended numerous seminars/workshops at the Academy.

Mr. Vernie R. Fountain, a Licensed Embalmer, post mortem reconstructive specialist and CFSP (certified funeral service practioner), is the Founder and main Instructor of Fountain National Academy located in Springfield, Missouri in the USA.  Fountain along with the late Mr. John Davis, who served for nine years as FNA’s European Representative and instructor conducted the seminars and workshops.

Dorian’s education at Fountain National Academy has included workshops such as “ Embalming Skills”, “Soft Tissue Injuries, Waxing and Airbrush Cosmetics” and “Advanced Post Mortem Reconstructive Surgery” and in 2002 Dorian along with Mr. Glyn Tallon, a colleague and fellow Embalmer from Ireland attended the Academy’s world debut of the newly developed “Advanced II Post Mortem Reconstructive Surgery Seminar”.

This highly specialised course of instruction is the only one-of-its-kind offered in the WORLD and the information obtained has enabled Dorian to further enhance his specialist skills especially in the field of facial reconstruction.

In 2007 Dorian and his colleague Glyn attended their second “Advanced II Post Mortem Reconstructive Surgery Seminar” at Fountain National Academy to further maintain their portfolio of expertise. On the basis that both Dorian and his colleague had attended more seminars than anyone else they have achieved the distinction of accumulating more seminar contact hours than any other Fountain National Academy attendee and they still hold this record as of today. Attendance at all the workshops and the numerous “Hands-On” courses of instruction at Fountain National Academy has gained Dorian a vast and in-depth knowledge of techniques that will enable him to convert many severely traumatised conditions from an unacceptable appearance to an acceptable and identifiable appearance to allow for open casket viewing of the deceased by family and friends, a crucial aspect of the final closure often required by family and loved ones of the deceased as he/she is put to rest.

While Dorian and his colleague were attending their second Advanced II seminar at Fountain National Academy in May of 2007 Mr. Fountain asked them if they would be willing to accept the positions as European Representatives for Fountain National Academy in order to fill the vacancy left following the death of John Davis. Both men felt it was an honour and accepted the position immediately.

Over the course of his career as an embalmer and reconstructive specialist Dorian Harries of Carmarthenshire, West Wales has become a well-known name and face in the field of serving Funeral Directors and their families. He currently provides embalming and reconstructive services for 36 Funeral Directors across 6 Counties.

Managing our Health and Safety Risks

We at Mortuary Services believe that providing a high level of service to our clients should not mean any compromises in health, safety of welfare standards resulting from our activity. Our Health & Safety Policy Statement is the fundamental platform of our health and safety business risk management framework and our documented systems are evidence of this.

All our activities are fully risk assessed by our in-house expertise leaving our clients confident with the knowledge that they are receiving a professional and highly dignified level service for their loved ones.

Environmental Management

Making a commitment to the sustainability of our environment is critical to our business which is why we have made an Environmental statement. From the use of environmentally friendly and sustainable resources through to strict waste management controls, we pride ourselves on being at forefront of such standards in the field of embalming.