Further down the street, Roger Haydock, a bellringer at St Bartholomew's and All Saints parish church, is waiting to hear over a police radio that the cortege has left Lyneham. As soon as it is on his way, Haydock nips up the wooden stairs to the bell tower, and waits for a call on his mobile to signal that the cortege has stopped outside the church.
Then he pulls on the thick green and gold chord and the tenor bell rings its lament. Haydock says: "I am told it changes the mood on the street as soon as the bells start ringing. The sound they make goes deep into the psyche.
And so it does. The bell brings a hush that makes the noise of the police motorbikes all the more pronounced. As the cortege comes to a halt alongside the war memorial, the silence settles down, backs straighten like ramrods and, for those who wish to, hands are raised in salute.
Almost all of those sitting in mobility buggies have got to their feet. A voice gives the signal "Up", and the 25 standards brought by the out-of-town legion members are hoisted into the air. Then comes the wailing, as the shock of seeing the flag-draped coffin for the first time hits family and friends. Mourners step forward to lay roses and other flowers on the roofs of the funeral cars. They grip each other for support, and wail as the cortege moves off towards the M4.
Now the tenor bell is silent again; within a few minutes, people will begin to move off. The Legion Riders get their mounts roaring, and mourners take refuge in the Cross Keys, the pub that has become the unofficial repatriation headquarters. The manager, year-old Kirsty Lambert, says at first there was just the odd person coming in, but now she sees coachloads.
The town is for the family and friends to pay their respects. I am up early in the morning, making all the tea and coffee and sandwiches. My kids see me dressed in black and say, 'Another repat, mum?
Later, when the pub is almost empty, the emotional impact of the day is laid bare as a man explains that he attended purely by accident, but was profoundly moved. I put it all in a box but seeing this has brought it back. Later that evening, in his mobile home, Ken Scott flicks through a large folder in which he has placed cards and notes left at the side of the war memorial. There are photos of soldiers holding baby children in their arms; of others in dress uniform or in desert camouflage on the battlefield; notes that say "never forget you, you're my best mate" and "you will truly be missed, you're a braver man than any of us".
They shouldn't be blown away on the high street," Scott says, as the lights dance and flicker out of his window. History will know that Wootton Bassett respected the fallen that have passed through their town. We just didn't forget them. Follow Us Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram. Royal Wootton Bassett. Wiltshire SN4 8EU. Open in Maps. Local bus service and taxis available. The first repatriation service took place in Wootton Bassett in April when the bodies of military personnel began arriving at the nearby RAF base at Lyneham.
Since then thousands of people have turned out to pay their respects to servicemen killed in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last cortege passed through the town in August, after which RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire became the landing site for planes returning from conflict zones. The last town to be given royal status was Tunbridge Wells in Kent, in In pictures: Crowds in Royal Wootton Bassett. Royal town's new signs unveiled. Wootton Bassett donations urged. In pictures: Wootton's final service.
The area is rich in bird life and contains wetland habitats, ancient woodlands and grass areas. The Town Council is about to invest heavily in the site in the hope of securing the much coveted Nature Reserve Status. In the last two years, Wootton Bassett has become a very British version of Arlington, the US cemetery where respect is paid to the fallen especially from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Until April , the bodies of the fallen were repatriated to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, to be taken from there to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where they are examined by a coroner before being released to the families.
From Brize Norton the route does not pass through a town centre, but five miles east of Lyneham, on its way to the M4, the B passes through Wootton Bassett. The Royal British Legion of Wootten Bassett started the idea of lining the high street and saluting in respect of the passing cortege.
As the hearses approach, the tenor bell of St Bartholomew's Church begins to toll. Business stops while shoppers and shopkeepers join the crowds lining the pavement. When the cortege reaches the war memorial, the president of the British Legion says a single word,"Up", to mark the moment when ex- and serving members of the forces should begin their salute, "Down," he says 60 seconds later, as the hearses move on.
The British Legion get notified by RAF Lyneham when there will be a funeral procession but people wanting to take part as interested on-lookers have been known to wait for up to 3 hours to view the proceedings.
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