Funeral of one of last black RAF veterans will be moved to fit crowds

Plea for mourners to remember one of the last black RAF WW2 veterans is so successful the funeral will be moved to accommodate large crowds

• Sergeant Peter Brown, 96, died alone aged 96 in Maida Vale, London, last year
• A plea for mourners was so successful his funeral is being rescheduled

The funeral of one the last black RAF Second World War pilots who died alone will be moved to a larger venue after a successful plea for mourners.

Organisers were inundated with requests to attend the service for Sergeant Peter Brown died aged 96 in Maida Vale, west London, in December last year.

The funeral was set to take place at a 14-capacity chapel in Mortlake, south-west London, on Wednesday but has been rescheduled to give Sergeant Brown the ‘send-off he deserves’.

Westminster City Council has said a new date and venue are being arranged and it is working with the RAF and Ministry of Defence to ensure a suitable venue as it thought Mortlake Crematorium would have been too small.

Sergeant Brown was born in Jamaica in 1926 and signed up for the RAF Volunteer Reserve in September 1943, joining the Lancaster Bombers.

 Organisers were inundated with requests to attend the service for Sergeant Peter Brown (pictured) died aged 96 in Maida Vale, west London, in December last year

A Westminster City Council spokesman said: ‘Details of the future date and venue are still being finalised but will be announced as soon as possible. We are looking to secure a venue closer to Mr Brown’s home in Westminster.

‘Westminster City Council, which is legally responsible for the funeral, said it became clear that the original plans were too small after a hugely successful call-out for mourners by the media and online.

‘We really want to thank the group that has convened to support the council in making arrangements.

‘Additional time will allow the council to work with well-wishers, community groups and the military to give Mr Brown the send-off he deserves.

‘The priority remains providing Mr Brown a fitting, dignified funeral and allowing everyone who wishes to pay their respects the chance to do so.’

A campaign was launched in The Sun newspaper to find Sergeant Brown’s surviving family members so they could attend his funeral. 

Reacting to the campaign, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote in a tweet: ‘Flight Sergeant Brown is an example of the selfless contribution of all Commonwealth personnel who have served the RAF.

‘I hope that the nation gets behind this @TheSun campaign.

Sergeant Brown was born in Jamaica in 1926 and signed up for the RAF Volunteer Reserve in September 1943, joining the Lancaster Bombers 

A campaign was launched in The Sun newspaper to find Sergeant Brown’s surviving family members so they could attend his funeral

‘We’ve also arranged for a RAF trumpeter to attend the funeral, alongside a senior RAF officer.’

An RAF spokesman said people should ‘never forget’ the sacrifices made by personnel like Sergeant Brown.

The spokesman said: ‘Flight Sergeant Brown is an example of the selfless contribution of all Commonwealth personnel who have served throughout the RAF’s history,’ the spokesperson said.

‘We should never forget their sacrifices which have defended our freedom and kept us safe.’

Sergeant Brown trained as a wireless operator and air gunner and was posted to RAF Scampton during the Second World War.

He re-enlisted in the RAF after the conflict and continued his work as a signaller.

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