Last month Harold Jellicoe Percival died peacefully at the incredible age of 99. Harold served in the RAF Bomber Command during World War II and upon his death, he had outlived all his friends and relatives, meaning he would not have anyone to honour him at his funeral. His obituary was posted in the newspaper of course and when local readers got a hold of the story out came the social media posts. Pictures were taken of the article and tweets were made wishing that people could attend his funeral, especially any service personnel. What happened after that, in my opinion, was amazing. Hundreds of citizens showed up to pay their respects to a war hero they had never even met, among them was plenty of service personnel to give Harold the proper send off her deserved. Numerous pictures were taken and uploaded to Twitter during the service showcasing how many people had come out to support the Veteran. Without social media, Harold Percival would have not been able to have anyone attend his funeral and honour him in the way he deserved. Times like these makes me very thankful for living in the 21st century.
Check out the story here and the tweets along the way: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/a-veteran-died-with-nobody-to-attend-his-funeral-what-happen?bffb
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