Mass salute to ‘unknown soldier’
MORE than 100 people attended the funeral yesterday of a former Royal Marine they never knew.
James “Jimmy” McConnell, 69, died of a chest infection after living out his last days in a care home. With no known relatives to mourn him, staff at the home feared he would be buried with nobody but them in attendance. But after a rallying cry went around the Armed Forces and social networking websites, scores of people turned up.
The Rev Bob Mason, who conducted the graveside service, at Milton Cemetery in Portsmouth, Hants, said it was “well-deserved send-off”.