The Union flag draped over Sir David Amess’ shoulders, with Vera Lynn echoing above the white caps of local Sea Scouts and the Union banner, was carried by the local fire brigade.
It is also more sincere.
The murdered MP was applauded by constituants of all political views as he made his way from one end to the other of Southend-on-Sea. They were united in their appreciation of the man they considered the best example of what a Member of Parliament should look like.
After Sir David Amess’ funeral yesterday in beautiful autumn, his coffin was carried by pallbearers from St Mary’s Church Southend.
‘I’m just so glad that the last time I saw him I told him what a wonderful constituency MP he was,’ said Frances Neil, whom I met in the crowd during the two-mile procession.
‘And David replied: “You know me, Frances. I’ll help anyone”. And he did.’
Frances was, as it turned out, a stronghold of the local Labour Party. This didn’t seem to matter one row of beans yesterday.
Everybody was there, from Tory leaders to the most ardent socialists out in the cold to come and pay their respects.
At Sir David’s funeral, his family. Southend-on-Sea’s murdered MP was applauded from all sides by constituants of every political party.
They all have to give Sir David the credit for their move from a small town to a larger city.
His long-running campaign was to get city status for the sprawling conurbation he built on the coast of South Essex.
It was both a testament to the devotion of the man as well as the shock that followed his death six weeks ago in the middle of constituency surgery. The Prime Minister freely granted his wishes for a posthumous tribute.
Sitting on the shoulders the local fire brigade’s firefighters, with the Union flag draped over him and Vera Lynn waving above the white caps of local Sea Scouts, Sir David couldn’t have asked for a better patriotic farewell.
The political establishment today will honor Sir David with a Westminster Cathedral requiem Mass.
Yesterday, the Essex people sent the MP to Westminster for nine straight times (formerly for Southend West, and previously for neighboring Basildon).
Julia, Julia’s widow, and the five children he had with him chose the Anglican Church of St Mary the Virgin Prittlewell.
Though Sir David was a devout Roman Catholic, this handsome old Saxon church is by far the largest in Southend (indeed, it may now be upgraded to a cathedral thanks to Southend’s new-found city status).
Sea Scouts members walked through the churchyard to carry Sir David’s coffin.
St Mary’s was packed with 450 family, friends and representatives of the various organisations championed by Sir David.
As Mark Francois (an old Tory friend) pointed out in his eulogy, the list was long.
Quoting Tennyson’s Ulysses –‘Strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield’ – Mr Francois went on: ‘The David Amess that I knew, never yielded on an important point of principle, to anyone. So, we will too. Despite this awful tragedy, we are going to “Keep Calm and Carry On”.’
Born on the edges of London’s East End just over six years after the end of the Second World War, Sir David was of a generation raised on an old-fashioned love of country, on tales of the Blitz, on the importance of looking after one’s neighbours. These values were often mentioned throughout the day.
Mourners paid respect to Sir David (Conservative MP for Southend West), who was fatally knifed last month as he met with constituents at Leigh-on-Sea.
We learned that Sir David was prouder than ever when he was invited by Windsor to receive his investiture.
‘I never dreamt that, one day, a boy from Forest Gate would be made a knight, by a Queen, in a castle,’ he had told his local paper.
‘David had recently joined a campaign to help raise funds for a memorial to Dame Vera Lynn,’ his family explained, in a statement which was read out by his old friend and ex-MP, Ann Widdecombe.
‘To him, she epitomised the strength and courage of our nation.’
Sure enough, the choir sang Dame Vera’s signature tune, ‘We’ll Meet Again’, as the coffin made its way out into the sunshine where hundreds more people had been following the service on speakers in the churchyard.
The four-black-plumed horses pulled Sir David on an East End-style hearse.
Following the tragic death of his mother Maud at the age of 104 in 2016, he planned an identical send off for her. He would now ride in a similar fashion through Southend.
The procession was escorted by police motorcycle-outriders as it passed the local council offices on Victoria Avenue.
Sir David, a beloved constituency MP was fondly remembered by many people.
The staff rushed to Sir David’s aid and applauded him. He continued his journey through town, passing the railway station.
Julia, Julia’s children and his family were reunited at the front door to say goodbye.
Unusually high numbers of people who were grieving with their dogs was something I observed. Sir David was a great pet owner and would always stop to chat with people on the other side of his lead.
‘I don’t think we could have asked for a better MP,’ said retired builder Mike Capp who had brought his eight-year-old bulldog, Matilda, to say goodbye since Sir David had once admired her jowls at the local dog show.
Musician Andy Schurer had come to honour ‘a different sort of Conservative’.
Sir David – whose coffin was seen arriving at St Mary’s yesterday – was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery he was holding at Belfairs Methodist Church
Jan Oliver was honored to honor a man who worked hard to bring her son’s body home when he unexpectedly died overseas.
‘David even got the coroner’s report translated for me and then came round to the house to pay his respects at the coffin.’
Peter Spencer Lane, the headmaster of St Pierre primary school had brought his students along to pay respects.
‘They actually got to know David quite well,’ he explained.
‘He was always attending school events and trying to talk them all into becoming MPs!’
Christina Kyprianou said that Sir David had been a regular at her father’s café and that three generations of her family had been happy to go out canvassing for him.
‘I used to bring him Greek cakes when he was holding meetings in there,’ she said, pointing to the local Conservative Association headquarters, Iveagh Hall.
As the horse-drawn funeral procession for Sir David Amess took place, members of the public filled the streets.
‘In fact, I used to go to pilates classes in there under his portrait.’
John Lamb (chairman of the local association) invited me to come inside and see the portrait. The photograph was done by a local painter.
This is a rare example of Sir David being serious. A point made by everyone I met yesterday was that Sir David was one of life’s smilers.
Later today Sir David will be buried with his family in East End.
His local Conservative Association would then set out to search for a new MP with heavy hearts.
Southend now faces a more difficult task. What does a place do to immortalize its founder?