A.W. Lymn staff mark decades of service to family funeral directors

Chlöe Lymn Rose and Anthony Knowles are marking 20 and 40 years respectively at A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service this year. Anthony, who’s known to his colleagues as Tony, has now become the second longest-standing non-family employee at the 118-year-old company.

Chlöe, who is the daughter of Company Chairman Nigel Lymn Rose and sister of Managing Director Matthew Lymn Rose, joined the business full-time in 2005 following a successful career at an international bank in Leeds. The move was driven by her desire to work in a business which cared deeply for its employees and made a real impact in the community.

She said: “It’s been an incredibly rewarding 20 years with A.W. Lymn, during which I’ve grown to take on more responsibility and direction within the business. I always knew I’d come back to Nottingham, and the desire to work somewhere which treated its people as more than just a staff number was a big factor in why I decided to return home to A.W. Lymn two decades ago.

“As the business has grown and adapted to meet the changing needs of the community and the wider industry, so has my role in the company, and I’m looking forward to what comes next as we expand our offering across the Midlands.”

Chlöe graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in Genetics, before moving into a career at Barclays Bank for four years. But when an administration role came up in the Stonemasons at her family’s business, she decided to move back down to Nottingham and join A.W. Lymn

A pragmatic thinker with a logical mind, Chlöe has worked across multiple roles in the business, including administrator for the stonemasons, PA to Nigel, the Managing Director at that time, Secretary and more latterly Trustee of the A.W. Lymn Centenary Foundation – A.W. Lymn’s charitable arm, in crafting A.W. Lymn’s guidelines during the COVID pandemic, and in processing the payroll for the company.

She has also taken on responsibility for A.W. Lymn’s pre-paid department and, in 2025, was appointed as Managing Director of its most recent acquisition, Serene Funeral Planning – a pre-paid funeral planning company. In 2018, Chlöe was appointed as the Secretary of the Nottingham, Derby & District Funeral Directors Association.

Alongside those celebrating a milestone with A.W. Lymn is Tony Knowles, who is marking 40 years of service to the award-winning funeral directors.

Tony started his career with A.W. Lymn in 1985 as a Driver/Bearer. A former miner, Tony decided to make the career switch at age 25, having always had an interest in the funeral industry.

The 65-year-old has worked his way up through the company, working as a Driver/Bearer, Funeral Home Manager, Funeral Director and Operations Manager.

Speaking on the achievement, Tony said: “I’ve always enjoyed working here, it’s always been a great set of supportive people who have guided me through my career. The key part of our role is helping people. We’re here to serve our communities who put their utmost trust in us, which makes it incredibly rewarding.”

The funeral directors has a number of long-serving members of staff, which is a testament to its supportive environment and caring ethos. Andy Johnson is also celebrating 20 years at the business, and Fiona Hall and Beryl Spencer are also marking 15 years in 2025.

With 25 funeral homes across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and most recently Leicestershire, A.W. Lymn, the fifth-generation family funeral directors, prides itself on offering a variety of services available at an affordable price to the families it has served since 1907.