Hundreds of people turned out to attend the funeral of a well-liked Scots homeless man in his local town square. Good Samaritans raised thousands of pounds to give George Murray a fitting send off in Northampton.
George, 51, lived on the streets of the town for 15 years after moving south from Ayrshire. He passed away on September 21 and well-wishers from the Northampton community clubbed together to raise over £6,000 to pay for the service.
On Sunday morning, more than 400 people gathered to pay their respects to George at the open-air service in Market Square. His cortege was led by a lone bagpiper, a touching tribute to George's Scottish roots, and the funeral featured readings, songs, poems and stories of his life.
Those attending the service included some he had lived on the streets with George, charity workers who supported him, members of his family and local residents. Street pastor Stan Robertson, who runs the Project 16:15 homeless organisation, said it was an "honour" to conduct George's service.
He added: "It was an amazing turn out from across the many support networks, faith groups and individuals from all walks of life. To see how much impact one man can have on a community was quite breathtaking, and to have had the privilege of organising and conducting both services was an absolute honour.
"My hope remains that if George's passing is to leave a legacy, it has to be the recognition of the humanity behind every blanket and the value, the worth of every individual faced with life on our streets.
"George, like all those we are privileged to serve, and all those we have lost to the streets, was a man who despite not being able to see his value beyond the circumstances he found himself, was a man who held immense worth to us, and who so often brightened up our day with his cheeky smile."
The service started at 10.30am, with George's coffin heading down Abington Street, where he used to sit, to the sound of bagpipes from Rod Elder. From 11am until around midday, tributes were paid to George in Market Square, before he was played out to Amazing Grace and taken to a crematorium.
Portraits of George by local artists and bouquets flowers were also placed near his coffin. A memorial was also set up in a doorway where he used to sit in Abington Street and a two minutes' silence was also held in his memory. A local taxi firm also donated two cars so family members could travel with the cortege.
Paying tribute to George, Northampton resident Nicola Frost said: "Everyone knows him and how lovely kind and polite he always was. He never asked for a thing and was grateful for even a smile or a conversation. He touched a lot of hearts. Town won't be the same without him."
Laura Verlander, who is part of the Tuesday Night Team group that supports rough sleepers, told the BBC: "We'd see him frequently, feed him or just stand and have a chat. George was the sort of person who, if he didn't need it, he wouldn't take it. So if he wasn't hungry he wouldn't take the food. He'd let somebody else have it. He always had a smile for us and a grateful word - a lovely, kind man."
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