Incredible moment hundreds attend funeral of WWII hero, 96, who died with no relatives – thanks to The Sun’s campaign
WAR hero Peter Brown may have died alone – but yesterday he got the moving send-off he so richly deserved.
The 96-year-old was one of the last Pilots of the Caribbean who came to Britain’s aid in World War Two.
Just 16, he had lied about his age, joined the RAF and travelled from his home in Jamaica to the UK, where as a Flight Sergeant wireless operator he flew in a Lancaster bomber on five missions.
When he died in London nearly 80 years later last December, his neighbours feared only a handful of people would be at his graveside to mourn, and no relatives.
But yesterday — thanks to a Sun campaign — an astonishing 550 well-wishers packed the RAF’s church to bid Peter farewell.
The funeral service at St Clement Danes on the Strand in central London was set to go with military precision at 11am sharp.
But the Reverend Group Captain Ruth Hake had to announce to the packed congregation that Peter’s cortege had been delayed by traffic for the Chelsea Flower Show.
The congregation, which included dozens of former servicemen and women from the Black British Military Veterans Association, began good-humouredly whispering: “You’re not on Jamaica time now!”
Yet nobody minded waiting an extra 20 minutes for Peter, the modest man who found himself at the centre of this extraordinary story.
Good send-off
After serving six years in the RAF, including a spell in 625 Squadron, where he flew missions in Egypt and North Africa, he spent the rest of his career with the Ministry of Defence.
A week before Christmas he died alone in his ground-floor flat in Maida Vale, near Lord’s cricket ground. He had never married and neighbours in the street where he lived for half a century had never heard him mention relatives.
Neighbour Julian Futter, a retired antenna manufacturer who lived opposite Peter for 40 years, feared he would be buried virtually unmourned.
But in March The Sun stepped in and helped to track down Peter’s family in Jamaica, the US and Canada.
Among the packed congregation yesterday were Brooke Alexander, 31, Peter’s cousin’s granddaughter on his mother’s side, who travelled 4,600 miles from Kingston, Jamaica, to be at the moving service.
And the Bird family — Rosie, 62, Brian, 65 and Michael, 65 — relatives of Peter’s dad William, flew in from Vancouver.
Rosie told The Sun: “When I heard, I just knew it was him, it was someone from our family.
“It was such a lovely service. I was thinking of my family in church and how so many people must be so proud to be related to him. I feel like I know him.”
Michael thanked The Sun for helping to spread the word, saying: “He’s getting a good send-off today because you guys blew this up.”
The congregation included air cadets and a large contingent from the RAF led by Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, the Chief of the Air Staff.
He said: “Flight Sergeant Peter Brown epitomised the selfless commitment of the generation who fought for our freedom in the Second World War. Their courage and resilience is an inspiration to us all.
“I am very proud the Royal Air Force has been able to provide a fitting tribute to one of our own.”
They were joined by dozens of Peter’s friends and neighbours.
BBC newsreader Clive Myrie — whose Jamaican parents came to Britain in the 1960s — was among the mourners who watched Peter’s coffin, draped in the Union Flag, carried into the church by six RAF gunners from the King’s Colour Squadron. Clive, whose uncles Cecil and Rennie also served in the RAF, said: “This man died alone but we couldn’t let him go to his grave alone.”
A cushion on top of the coffin displayed two new medals which Peter had earned — the World War Two campaign medal and the Europe service medal.
The RAF hastily had them made when it was found that Peter’s original medals were missing.
The Jamaican flag stood proudly near the altar, which was draped with a silk RAF ensign — the ultimate tribute to a flier.
During the hour-long service ex-Corporal Peter Ramrayka, of the Royal Air Forces Association, paid tribute to Peter. He said: “Heroes come in all shapes and sizes but some tower above the rest.
“Surely those heroes that save our land have to be the best.
“Flight Sergeant Peter Brown, you are right up there, in your Lancaster, flying through the air, a Pilot of the Caribbean.
“You were not only a World War hero but an upstanding human being.
“A thank you could never be enough. We wave you on your final flight, through adversity, to the stars.”
In a moving tribute, neighbour Melvyn Caplan described Peter as a “quiet, thoughtful man” who had never spoken much about his time in the Armed Forces.
The congregation heard how Peter was a big fan of Queen Elizabeth, who he regarded as a “twin” as they were born in the same year, and he was terribly upset by her death last year.
Laughter rippled round the church as Melvyn said of cricket fan Peter: “What a great innings.
“He nearly reached the century but got caught in the 90s.”
It was revealed that Peter had two vices — Bell’s whisky with a splash of ginger ale, and cheese and onion crisps.
Melvyn said: “He was a gracious, private man. He didn’t like to be fussed over.
“He had that old-fashioned charm and politeness. Peter was one of life’s great characters. No one deserved this more than you.
“We thank and salute you, Flight Sergeant Peter Brown. Rest in peace. What a man.”
Veteran Maurillia Simpson, who was wounded in Iraq, received a standing ovation after her stunning performances of the songs Just Be and His Eye.
Peter’s friend, retired travel agent Paul Newman, 77, said: “He would have been gobsmacked by the number of people who came to say farewell.”
Another neighbour, Julian Futter, told Peter’s relative Brooke: “He was a good man and we really miss him.
“We were worried that there would only be five people at his funeral but more than 500 turned up. It’s incredible.
“All we really wanted was a bugler to play for him and maybe a policeman there as a guard of honour.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the Last Post, played by an RAF bugler, rang out to mark the end of the service.
Brooke, a production manager, said: “It was a really lovely service.
“It was so touching and moving to see so many people there. Peter got an excellent send-off.
“It was fantastic to meet the other side of his family, to chat with them and find others who knew him too.
“Thank you to everyone who organised such a lovely service and to The Sun for helping me get here.”
The man on the bench
EVERY day Peter Brown walked to his local newsagents to buy a copy of The Sun and a bar of Dairy Milk.
But in later life, and following a fall, walking became difficult, so he would rest on a bench, chatting to passers-by.
Just before yesterday’s funeral, we took his long-lost relative, Brooke, to meet his neighbours and see the battered bench that is now to be turned into a worthy memorial to Peter.
Yoga instructor Sam Hamilton lived in the flat above Peter for 13 years.
She said: “I used to see him every day. Five months on from his death it still feels odd without Peter here.
“We thought he would be there for ever. He was a fixture in the street and suddenly he’s not there.
“I used to say over and over again, ‘Peter, can I capture some of your life on camera or it will be lost?’
“I wanted him to talk about family, friends and his past but he wouldn’t.”
Brooke told her: “I did not know Peter at all. My grandmother and Peter were cousins but none of the grand-children knew about him.
“It’s incredible that this is happening in our family. I will be able to tell my children and my grandchildren.”
When The Sun’s Natasha Clark first phoned Brooke in Jamaica to find out if she was related to Peter, she thought it was a scam.
Brooke admitted: “If I’d put the phone down I’d would never have known this amazing part of my family history.”