Western Daily Press (Saturday)
FIREFIGHTER’S FINAL SHOUT
THE streets of a Wiltshire town went back in time yesterday for the final ‘shout’ of former mayor Chris Wannell.
Mr Wannell, who was twice mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett, died earlier this month at the age of 79 and was carried to his funeral on one of his vintage fire engines.
He was a firefighter for more than 30 years, mostly in Royal Wootton Bassett.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, only a small number of people could actually go into the funeral itself at St Bartholomew’s Church.
But the high street was busy with people who lined the street to watch a procession of vintage fire engines head to the church.
Mr Wannell raised more than £100,000 for the Fire Fighters Charity and received the organisation’s lifetime achievement award in 2018 – one of his proudest achievements.
He was carried to the church on Martha, a 1943 Austin that he bought in 1975 and restored.
He was a town councillor for 40 years and was mayor twice, as was his wife Audrey.
Mr Wannell was one of the people in the then Wootton Bassett who started saluting Britain’s war dead as their caskets went through the town after being repatriated from Afghanistan and Iraq to the nearby RAF Lyneham.
Earlier this month, North Wiltshire MP James Gray, a long-time friend, said the words ‘Wannell’, ‘Wootton Bassett’ and ‘fire brigade’ are so intertwined as to be inseparable.
Mr Wannell is survived by his wife Audrey, children Heather and Martin and his grandchildren.