Crowds Line The Streets In Honour Of Late Full-Back

We at Wolves Heroes would have been present at the funeral of Gerry Harris in more normal times, as we have turned out to pay our respects to any number of his former team-mates over the years.

In our enforced absence on this occasion, we were therefore delighted to receive an on-the-spot account of the fitting way in which the Claverley community and members of the extended Wolves family said goodbye to him yesterday.

We mentioned Glyne Wetton in a story we wrote on the same subject on Wednesday and are grateful to him now for providing this follow-up.

“What a wonderful turn-out there was to say goodbye to him,” Glyne told us via email. “The hearse, and members of the family walking behind, left Gerry’s home (Ashford Farm) at 2.10pm to take a tour of Claverley and what a reception they had!”

In line with current protocol, numbers were strictly limited at the 2.30 service but, happily, that did not deter other well-wishers from turning up and showing their appreciation to a full-back who did so much from Wolves for a decade.

“There were hundreds of fans and friends lining the streets which were gridlocked,” Glyne added. “All the pub car parks were full of cars, so people had parked either side of the roads to wave and clap Gerry as he went by.

“Marvin (Gerry’s son) saw me and came to thank me for attending as he went into church and he was quite overwhelmed by the crowds lining the streets of the village.

“I wore my Wolves shirt so the club was well represented. Lots of people waved Wolves scarves and clapped as the coffin went by. It was very emotional.

“I was so pleased that so many people turned out to say goodbye to a wonderful servant to the club. And thank-you for all your coverage (on Wolves Heroes)…..it was obvious that many Wolves fans had read your messages and turned up to say goodbye.

“Thank-you again. Your support was very much appreciated by the family because, without your articles, the crowds would have been very much smaller.”

Gerry died late last month at the age of 84.