Capt Langham MC Funeral

We didn't know him but he was a veteran of WW2 and a pretty heroic one too. His MC (Military Cross) citation was read out as it was printed in 'The Times' in 1945. It was signed by Field Marshall Montgomery, and two other generals.
The citation described how he had taken command of two platoons when both commanders had been wounded during heavy machine gun fire from German troops in a building in a village in Germany. He was wounded himself with a bullet through his right hand but refused to leave the platoons to be attended to.
He took one platoon around to the side of the building, routed the Germans, using his left hand to fire his pistol. The Germans fled to another building further down the street.
He then took both platoons on to the new position and attacked forcing 2 senior officers and around 40 troops to surrender. There were many casualities on the German side.
His MC was for his heroic actions and leadership under very heavy fire, and all of this when he was 19 years old!

From the eulogy he would appear to have been a man that was not that easy to get along with. One of his sayings was that "Friends are people who you like despite their faults"!
He was a Captain when he retired from the army.

There were 4 of us Riders that met the hearse at the gates of Cheltenham crematorium and escorted it to the new building where friends and family were waiting. 
I went around to the back of the hearse and stood by the door so that as they started to carry the coffin in from the hearse I did a rather snappy salute, I think he deserved that at least.