Kind-hearted strangers attend funeral of World War Two veteran who died without family

A guard of honour was performed outside the church Credit: SWNS

Hundreds of strangers have turned out for the funerel of a World War Two veteran who died without any family members.

Following a social media appeal about 200 people turned out for the funeral of Richard 'Dick' Norris, filling All Saints Parish Church in Driffield, East Yorkshire on Monday.

Mr Norris, who fought in the famous Battle of El Alamein, died at the age of 97 two weeks ago. His wife Sybil had died several years earlier.

His funeral was expected to be a small affair, but members of the public, veterans and military association standards were all in attendance, and a guard of honour was performed outside the church.

Among them were mourners from a number of regiments of the Royal Tank Regiment Association, different branches of the the Royal British Legion (RBL), the Royal Armed Forces and the Prince of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment.

Robin Ellwood, 63, had taken two buses and a train to travel alone all the way from Darlington, Durham.

Mr Ellwood, who served in the RAF from 1971-1976 as an air photography operator and now works as an actor, said: "I live in Darlington, but I am self employed and I had some free time today so it's nothing to come here and pay my respects to the man.

Mr Ellwood said he was surprised by the size of the turnout.

"I probably could count on both hands how many people there were who actually knew him in there - two friends and five carers," he said.

Mr Norris had few family members after his wife Sybil (right) died in 2010 Credit: SWNS

Mr Norris was born in Leeds and joined his local Territorial Army group in 1939.

He fought Rommel's Afrika Korps at the Battle of El Alamein in 1942 in Egypt, and was later stationed with the 8th Army in Egypt before moving to Palestine as an instructor in the base workshops with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

After the war, he returned to his role as a type operator with the Yorkshire Post newspaper before retiring in 1982.

Paul Ramsay, who is the branch secretary of the Scarborough branch of the Royal Tank Regiment Association, said: "I wasn't surprised by the turnout today. Social media has changed everything. But, I also expected a good turnout because that is what military people do - we are a family."

The 63-year-old added: "Dick would be extremely proud, especially because members of his regiment were here."

It is believed a second cousin of Mr Norris' was in attendance at the funeral, but the two had never met each other.