Rain marked the beginning of a quiet, solemn day in Oldham as people came together on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Declared a bank holiday, many businesses were closed to mark the final day of national mourning – though some, including pubs and shops, remained open.
As the bells tolled from Oldham Parish Church, representatives from Oldham’s Royal Artillery Association and Parachute Regiments bore the standards in front of the War Memorial just before 11am, standing for around five minutes as a mark of respect for the departed monarch.
After the parade, the group continued to the Tommyfield Inn to watch the funeral procession.
Most were too young to remember a period of time before Her Majesty the Queen.
So ingrained is the Queen in the national image, some had to correct themselves when singing the national anthem, beginning to sing “God Save the Queen” by mistake.
Aged 91, Bombardier Eddie Smith, was just 21 years old when Princess Elizabeth ascended to her role as Queen.
Speaking in the pub, Mr Smith said he thought the funeral was great, but the sadness was unavoidable.
He said: “I’ve been on parade today (Monday), I can’t stand up – I use a walker, I’ve done my duty, I did what I did at the monument.
“When I was born, it was the King, her father, now it’s her son – to me, she represents everything that I’ve lived through.”
Pete Scolly, aged 63, has been a bell ringer for 15 years.
Ringing as part of a team at Oldham Parish Church, Pete said: “Ringing for the occasion was special – I lost my mother in March of this year.
"A lot of it was brought back when I found out the Queen had died.
“The Queen was so special, to ring on an occasion for her was a pleasure.”
Ringing Master Derek Thomas has been bell-ringing at Oldham Parish Church since 1966.
He said: “It’s the first state funeral for a monarch I’ve ever witnessed – it also reminded me that I lost my mother about three years ago – that sort of thing has been running through my mind.
“But during the bell ringing, you have to concentrate totally on what you’re doing. I’m so sorry to lose our Queen so suddenly.”
While it was mostly an older crowd, some younger people were still there to watch the proceedings.
Harry Nield, aged just 14, from Waterhead, said: “Everyone cared about her – I didn’t realise how many people do care about her.
“We’ve never had a King – we’ve had a Queen for a very long time, it’s going to be different.”
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