Goodbye Gilbert

GILBERT Clarke was given a hero's farewell as mourners came out in force to salute the Second World War veteran.

- GILES SHELDRICK

The father of eight, grandfather of 12, great-grandfather of 11 and great-great-grandfather of three died aged 100 in May.

His funeral procession was led by a New Orleans jazz band and escorted by five generations of the Clarke family and a cavalcade of black cabs from the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, of which he was a stalwart and valued friend.

The hearse carrying the braveheart's coffin, draped in a Union flag, took him on his final journey to East Ham Town Hall for a service of remembrance.

There it was met by RAF standard bearers as Be Still My Soul was played on a steel pan.

The service, led by Rev Dr Michael King, heard how proud Gilbert "endured much, gave much and remained thankful".

Like many from the Windrush generation, he answered the call to serve without hesitation. He lied about his age to join the Royal Air Force in his native Jamaica before settling in Britain.

Born in Montego Bay on December 3, 1925, Gilbert was just 17 when he signed up. He passed all the required tests and basic training before leaving his family and friends in the West Indies to travel by sea to Liverpool.