Huge crowds expected to pay their respects at Alan Bannon’s funeral

The funeral of Mr Bannon, who died in the blaze at Shirley Towers which also claimed the life of colleague James Shears, is due to take place at St Mary’s Church.

The funeral cortège for the 38-year-old dad will travel from St Mary’s fire station, where both men served on Red Watch, to the church, passing firefighters from across the city and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service’s control room.

From 2pm outside the church in St Mary Street, loudspeakers will broadcast the private service for family and fire personnel to anyone else wishing to pay their respects.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Hampshire’s fire chief John Bonney said he had been “overwhelmed”

by the level of support from the public and that colleagues of the two firemen were determined to pay tribute to them and carry on doing their jobs.

“The biggest tribute we can pay to James and Alan is that, just in the way they did their jobs that night, we will carry on doing our job with the same professionalism and commitment they showed.

“While our heads are bowed, we will not waver in trying to keep the people of Hampshire safe,” he said.

St Mary’s fire station manager Dave Graham will lead the salute before group manager Stewart Adamson, the former station manager, will lead the procession from the station to the church shortly after 1pm.

The cortège will pass along Brinton’s Road before turning right on to Northam Road. It will continue along Kingsway until the junction of St Mary Street at Central Hall where it will turn left and head up to the church.

Since both men were killed in the tragedy on April 6, members of the public from across Hampshire have been eager to pay their respects, with floral tributes lining the side of the fire station and charity events raising thousands of pounds in aid of the fire crews and their families.

A funeral for father-of-two Mr Shears, 35, is due to take place in his home town of Poole on Friday.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging the public to respect the family’s wishes by not attending the church service and plans to hold a memorial service for both men at Winchester Cathedral in July.

WHERE YOU CAN PAY YOUR RESPECTS

THE funeral of Alan Bannon is taking place today at St Mary’s Church, Southampton.

The service will be a family and fire service occasion, but members of the public are welcome to pay their respects along the route of the funeral cortege.

At 12.50pm it will arrive at St Mary’s fire station, in St Mary’s Road, where it will remain for about 15 minutes. Alan’s family will be present while his colleagues from Red Watch, both at the station and across the city, will join control room operators in an honour parade.

St Mary’s station manager Dave Graham will lead the salute before group manager Stewart Adamson, the former station manager, leads the procession from the station to the church.

The cortege will pass along Brinton’s Road before turning right on to Northam Road. It will continue down Kingsway until the junction of St Mary Street at Central Hall, where it will turn left and lead up to the church.

The funeral procession is expected to arrive at St Mary’s Church at about 1.45pm where pallbearers will carry Alan’s coffin into the church past a guard of honour. It will be followed by his family and colleagues from Red Watch. The 50- minute service will begin at 2pm and be followed by a private committal at Southampton Crematorium.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging the public to respect the family’s wishes by not attending the church service. It plans to hold a memorial service for both Alan and James at Winchester Cathedral in July.

DONATE

YOU can donate to the fund set up to help the firefighters’ families by taking cash or cheques, made payable to the James Shears and Alan Bannon Memorial Fund, to your local fire station. Those using Internet banking or paying in at The Co-op can transfer money into Unity Trust Bank, sort code 08-60-01, account number 20111678.