There were tears, laughter, love, grief and passion among many, many tributes at the funeral of Bristol civil rights leader Roy Hackett today, but it was his great-grandson Cameron who received the biggest, longest and most heartfelt standing ovation.
The young lad overcame his nerves to pay tribute to his great-granddad, and while he arrived wearing one of Roy’s trademark trilby hats, he left with another - the more floppy black hat awarded to the recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Bristol, which Cameron and his family poignantly received posthumously on behalf of the great man.
It was a fitting moment in a funeral full of fitting moments of emotion, love and mourning, as Bristol, and particularly the city’s Black community of St Pauls and Easton who Roy had served for so many years, said farewell.
