Hundreds attend Viking's funeral
A Suffolk village came to a standstill today for the funeral of a popular soldier and passionate cricketer who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
A Suffolk village came to a standstill today for the funeral of a popular soldier and passionate cricketer who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of mourners lined the streets of Stradbroke to say a final farewell to Private James Grigg - a much missed son, brother, friend, team mate, and Viking.
The 21-year-old, who joined the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment 18 months ago, was laid to rest in his home village with full military honours yesterday after he died in an explosion in Helmand almost a month ago.
Fresh flowers covered the war memorial and hundreds of villagers gathered around All Saints Church in Stradbroke to mark the final journey of Pte Grigg.
The soldier's Union Flag draped coffin made the short journey from his family home to the church followed by a walking procession headed by his parents, Michael and Pat, and sister, Victoria.
More than 300 mourners packed into the church and hundreds more gathered outside to hear the funeral service on loudspeakers in the churchyard before his burial at the village cemetery.
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Glowing tributes were paid to the young military man, of A (Norfolk) Company, who was killed by a Taliban improvised explosive device in the Musa Qaleh area of Afghanistan on March 16 during his first operational tour with the Vikings. He died alongside his section commander L/Cpl Scott Hardy, 26, from Chelmsford.
See tomorrow's EDP for more.
