Poignant last post for Bognor Regis veteran Len as comrades turn out for his funeral

When Len died earlier this year, it became clear that, although he’d paid for his funeral, there was a chance no one would turn up, since the former serviceman had almost no surviving family members. Staff at Charlie Charlie 1, where Len was a regular, were devastated to hear their friend might not get the send-off he deserved.

The Bognor Regis cafe is affiliated with Crimsham Farm and both organisations provide pastoral support to armed forces veterans across West Sussex. When Charlie Charlie 1 manager Matt Cole heard about Len, he set the gears in motion to give the 95-year-old a proper goodbye, calling on standard bearers, bugle-players and other veterans from all over Sussex to lend their support.

“Five or six different veterans groups came in, we had seven standard bearers and a strong Guard of Honour. It was incredible. I’ve done a few funeral services over the last few years in this role, but this was the most personal one,” Mr Cole said.

Len was a popular figure at Charlie Charlie 1 and a regular at veteran’s breakfast clubs across the UK, well known for his big smile and cheeky sense of humour, and Mr Cole made clear his death hit everyone hard.

"Doing services like this is always really emotional because it means so much to us, but this one really hit me. As soon as I knew it was over, and people were thanking us, it came home. Don’t get me wrong, it was a team effort. One of my supporters, Lisa, does an immense amount for me, but this one was very emotional,” he said.

"Any veterans out there on their own – there’s no need to be on your own. There’s a massive military family out here. While a lot of people imagined there was no family at Len’s funeral, there was; there was the whole military family; we look out for each other. So if you’re a veteran and you’re lonely, or you’re stuck, reach out. There are a lot of groups who will help you.