He died with nobody to attend his funeral, but this 99-year-old war veteran was honoured in the most amazing way

Harold Jellicoe Percival, a veteran of World War II, died with nobody to attend his funeral. But what happened next was incredibly moving...

veteran

by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

When Harold Jellicoe Percival, a veteran of Bomber Command in WWII, died last month aged 99, the death notice in his local paper said that there was nobody to attend his funeral.

But, when the story was picked up on Twitter, something truly amazing happened.

After the death notice began to gain attention, Sgt Rick Clement - a fellow war veteran - put out an emotional appeal for serviceman to turn out and remember a fellow hero of the Second World War.

And, amazingly, people did. Hundreds of people.

People stood outside in the rain, unable to get inside the crowded church, in order to pay their respects to the fallen soldier.

We were incredibly moved to see so many people turn up and say goodbye to Harold, who sounds like he was an amazing man. But there are still many elderly people in the UK who are without close friends and family. Thankfully, there is a solution.

To tackle the problem of loneliness among older people, Age UK has developed an extra-special befriending service. This works by joing up an older person with a befriender, who provides friendly conversation and companionship on a regular basis over a long period of time.

This relationship not only promotes wellbeing and confidence, but can also help people in later life to remain independent in their own homes - and, as it's something you can do via letter, telephone or face-to-face visits, it's easier than ever for you to sign up.

Find out more about Age UK's befriending service here.

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