A PAUPER’S funeral is not necessarily a dismal send-off, as Barrow proved last year.

A simple service was held following the death of homeless man Derek Foster, who passed away, age 65, on March 27.

Mr Foster was well known on the streets of Barrow with his white beard and long black coat.

He regularly slept under the stars in the shelter at the memorial gardens next to the magistrates’ court.


CONDUCTED FUNERAL Lt Martin Davison of the Salvation Army paid tribute to Barrow homeless man Derek Foster, whose funeral attracted around 100 people Lieutenant Martin Davison, leader at the Salvation Army community church in Abbey Road, Barrow, conducted the funeral at the graveside in Barrow cemetery.

Around 100 people attended what Mr Davison described as a “fitting send-off”.

He said it was typical of the generosity of the Barrow community when faced with people in distress - a point that was again exemplified over the festive period, when a resident offered a homeless person, who had been sleeping in a Dalton Road shop doorway, the use of their caravan for Christmas time.

Referring to Mr Foster’s funeral, Mr Davison said: “He was a character in the town.

"People associated with him; used to buy him a cup of coffee and were kind to him.

“He was someone who people could see, had an interesting story and was a local character.

“I was very moved and humbled by the amount of people in this community who turned up for that funeral.

“It was set early in the morning, so you had to make a special effort to get there, because pauper’s funerals tend to be at the times where they can be fit in.

“I was just staggered by the amount of love and compassion that was shown as a tribute to his life.

“It was also nice that the people from the agencies that attempted to help him turned up as well; the town’s floating support team who were aware of Derek and tried time and again for him to go to hospital to have medication. He did occasionally.

“So that was an example of how the town and all the agencies came together to give someone who had been part of the framework of the town a fitting send-off.

“You could have spent thousands of pounds on a funeral, and it wouldn’t have been any more appropriate than the one that Derek had.

“I think it really went beyond the issue of cost – it was just a fitting send-off for someone who had been a character in the town.”