Hundreds of people attended the funeral of former Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Mayor and war veteran Neville Jones OBE on Thursday.
Neville, a four-time Mayor of Burnham and Highbridge, died peacefully at his home on August 16th at the age of 94.
His funeral service was held in St Andrew’s Church in Burnham where tributes were paid from some of the groups with which he was involved.
A guard of honour was formed outside the church by crewmembers from BARB Search & Rescue, where Neville was its President for 24 years.
The coffin was carried into the church to the sound of Frank Sinatra’s My Way and there were emotional tributes from Burnham and Highbridge Mayor Michael Clarke, BARB Chairman Mark Newman, BIARS Chairman Tom Ashton, close friend Mike Murphy and vicar Graham Witts, with a poetry reading by Amanda Owens.
After hymns and readings, the service ended to the sound of Rod Stewart’s I Am Sailing.
Burnham and Highbridge’s current Mayor, Cllr Michael Clarke, said: “It was a wonderful send-off with such a marvellous turnout. It was wonderful to see so many people paying their respects and hearing about the many aspects of life that Neville was involved in.”
“Neville put his heart and soul into Burnham and Highbridge – he pushed and pushed for improvements in both towns over the years. He will be missed by many across our two towns, having been a big part of many local groups, and involved with all aspects of our local community.”
Neville was presented with a civic award for his community work last October in recognition of his 30 years as a town councillor. During that time, he served as Burnham and Highbridge’s Mayor for four terms and was described as a “driving force” behind many local groups.
During World War II, he was a Sub Lieutenant onboard the carrier HMS Speaker, the first Allied ship into Tokyo Bay during World War II. We featured Neville’s role in detail here during the 70th anniversary of VJ Day last year when he was thanked for his service by the Duke Of Edinburgh.
Pictured: BARB’s crew formed a guard of honour for the charity’s late President Neville Jones on Thursday (photos Mo Hunt)
