The British Register of Memorial Masons, the register being established by the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM), is to become a separate limited company, the organisation decided at a general meeting on 31 March.

It was also decided that the board of directors of BRAMM, as the register is commonly known, should include representatives of cemetery managers and non-NAMM members.

BRAMM is being established in response to cemetery authorities\' concerns about the safe fixing of stone memorials. Several people have been hurt by falling headstone and two have even been killed in the past decade.

When councils have carried out \'topple tests\' a high proportion of relatively new lawn memorials have often found to be incapable of withstanding the sort of forces they are required to resist according to NAMM\'s Code of Working Practice, which has been adopted by many councils as the standard to which memorials should be fixed.

NAMM\'s proposal to create the register has not gone unopposed, even by its own members, some of whom feel it could put them out of business simply because they are small businesses and the requirements for showrooms and samples are beyond them, and others who resent the idea of their work having to be vetted when they have many years of experience.

Originally it was proposed that NAMM members would pay cheaper fees to join the register - and there has to be a fee because the register has to be self-financing - but that has now been changed so that the BRAMM fees are all the same but BRAMM-registered masons will get a reduced NAMM subscription rate.

NAMM have also decided that perhaps they do need someone in a senior position to represent them from head office. They have not had an executive officer since making Barri Stirrup redundant early last year. He was appointed in the summer of 2001. But now they are investigating the possibility of employing a part-time consultant to investigate legal matters, be a spokesman for NAMM, and represent the Association as required.