A veteran died as somewhat of a nobody, with no living family members who could attend his funeral.
So a notice was placed by undertakers in a newspaper in Lancashire, asking any service personnel who could to attend the funeral.
The man, Harold Jellicoe Percival, died at age 99 in a nursing home. Percival served during the Second World War.
By the time his cremation happened on November 11--about two weeks after the newspaper notice--at least 300 strangers turned up in the rain, reported the Guardian.
Bernard Worsfold, 88, was one of them. Chair of a local veterans’ association, he wasn’t sure how many people were going to show up.
“I thought I'd be one of perhaps six people,” said Worsfold. “I never expected this.”
Or as the vicar said: “We marvel at the power of the printed word, whether on paper or on screen.”
Nephew Andrew Colyer-Worsell said that it was unbelievable.
“It’s just staggering. It just shows how great the British public are,” he told ITV. “We were expecting a few people, a few local veterans but suddenly it snowballed. It’s the sort of send-off you would want to give any loved one. It’s very emotional.”
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