From Peter Cox
In her article on medical research into death by fire, Linda Geddes states that it is a myth that bodies usually sit up as they burn (23 May, p 32).
As an apprentice electrician in the mid-1950s, I was working one day on a thermostat control in a newly built crematorium. An operator directed me to look through a furnace’s inspection window, where I saw a skeleton sitting up surrounded by flames from the gas burners. While I watched in amazement, the skull fell off and the bones collapsed.
Soon afterwards, the tray was removed and when the ashes had cooled down, the bones were ground up in a large electric mincing machine. My will now states that I wish to be buried.
Horley, Surrey, UK
