Strangers give veteran a 'heartwarming' send-off

Tony Irwin, 85, was among ex-servicemen and women who attended the funeral

Dozens of strangers came together to give an Army veteran "a nice send-off" after he died aged 102 without close relatives.

Neighbours of William Darnell, from Hull, launched an appeal to ensure he was not "alone on his final journey".

Ex-serviceman Tony Irwin, 85, was among dozens of people who responded. He said: "We always come to pay our respect to any veterans, especially ones with no families. They just need us to give them a good send off."

Funeral director Nicola Mortimer said: "It's heartwarming and lovely to see so many people turned out for a gentleman they didn't know, to recognise what he did for his country."

Nicola Mortimer outside Chanterlands Crematorium in Hull

Mr Darnell, from the Holderness Road area of the city, served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Following his death, his neighbour Joanne Barlow contacted Hull4Heroes, a charity that supports veterans, in the hope of providing him with a good send-off.

The charity issued an appeal on social media, urging people to attend.

Ms Mortimer said: "It would have been really sad if he was by himself. It's quite heartbreaking when something like that happens, especially someone his age and after what he's done for the country.

"He deserves a nice send-off, and that's what he got today from strangers."

Sgt Ross Melon was among people who travelled to the funeral from around Yorkshire

Sgt Ross Melon was among members of 21 Engineer Regiment, based in Ripon, who saw the Hull4Heroes appeal and attended the funeral "to give Bill the send-off he deserved".

"We all feel duty-bound and honoured to come and speak and witness his celebration of life," he said.

Maureen Robinson attended the funeral after seeing the post online and deciding she should be able to "spend 10 minutes to come here and pay my respects for somebody who did everything for us".

She added: "He didn't know me as I wasn't born when he served, but he did everything he could for everybody else. I've been crying already, I just think the turnout's amazing.

"I'm sure he would be proud."

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