Dozens of civic dignitaries, friends, family and fellow town criers bid a fond farewell to Burnham-On-Sea’s former town crier, Fred Smith, on Wednesday (November 11th).

Mr Smith’s funeral was held in Bridgwater’s St Mary’s Church, where Burnham’s Mayor, Cllr Derick Cooper, read the lesson, Cllr Neville Jones led the tributes, and two town criers rang their bells in his memory.

More than 100 mourners paid their last respects to Fred, who died aged 72 on October 23rd. Rev Charles Chadwick, vicar of St Mary’s Church, led Wednesday’s service and among mourners was Fred’s wife, Shirley.

Fred became town crier in 1985 when the town council revived the position following a period of around 50 years with no-one in the position.

He maintained the role for 24 years and, although he suffered from serious health problems, continued to attend civic functions and shout the traditional cry of ‘Oh Yeaz, Oh Yeaz’ with gusto.

A collection was made during Wednesday’s service for BARB and the RNLI local branch.

Pictured above was the scene outside St Mary’s Church on Wednesday (Photo: Andy Slocombe for Burnham-On-Sea.com) and Fred Smith earlier this year

 
Subscribe to our free news updates and join our other subscribers.
No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission. View our privacy page
Select all options that you require: