Beneath a cloudless sky the village of Walton near Brampton came to a stand still at 11.00 am today, Saturday 30th May. Somewhere between 200 and 300 people had gathered on the village green to pay their last respects to a great family man who will be sadly missed by us all, but most of all by that grieving family left behind.

Prior to the funeral the crowds were busy exchanging stories about their association with Luke and his family, and as the cortege approached, those present burst into respectful applause until the hearse drew up at the church gates.

That close brotherhood of Luke, Joe and Tom were together for the last time as his younger brothers helped, proudly and with dignity, to carry Luke's coffin into St Mary's Church for his funeral service.

Because of the social distancing rules in place the church service was restricted to close family only. Burial followed in the churchyard

Below is an extract taken from the service card and it sums up the feelings of Luke's family at his passing.

To Our Hero

To lose someone so special ,
is really hard to bear.
It hardly seems believable,
that you're no longer there.
You left us far too early,
before your time it seems.
So now you'll never have the chance
to fulfill all those dreams.
However hard it is though,
we'll take comfort in the thought
of all the memories that we have, and the happiness you brought.
You wiled life to the full,
but ours won't be the same
until the say when we can see,
your smiling face again.

Rest in Peace Luke - out of pain, out of sight, but most certainly never out of mind.

Carlisle RFC