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We will not forget: 'Staggering reaction' to campaign as mourners pay respects to war veteran

An old soldier born in south London has been honoured by hundreds of mourners at his funeral in Lancashire after fears his passing would be forgotten. Harold Jellicoe Percival died aged 99 without close friends or relatives at hand at a nursing home, where staff worried no one would be at his funeral to mark his passing.
But after a public appeal for the Second World War veteran, roads were blocked with traffic and the crematorium unable to hold the numbers of mourners at his funeral. Harold served as ground crew with RAF Bomber Command. He never married and had no children, and when his close family couldn't attend the service, funeral directors Roland L Whitehead and Daughter appealed for armed service personnel to attend. The appeal, placed in newspapers, prompted hundreds of veterans, personnel, and members of the public to give Harold the send off he deserved.