James ‘Jim’ Quinn
WIRRAL SUPPORT DURING CORONAVIRUS GROUP
MAKING LIFE BRIGHTER IN CRISIS TIMES
The commendable work of the Wirral Support During Coronavirus
group has been continuing as they have supported more local
people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Wirral Life has had
a number of messages thanking them for making life a little bit
easier during these difficult times.
One is Jess Carpino, who lost her Grandad James ‘Jim’ Quinn at the
end of May, and the family were faced with the fact that his funeral
wasn’t going to be quite the send-off they wanted for him. With
reduced numbers at the chapel and no wake afterwards to celebrate
his life; they were saddened that it wasn’t what such a life deserved.
Jess explained: “Grandad had served in the RAF from 1958 as a Senior
Police Corporal. He was very proud of his time spent in Germany and
used to recall many a tale over a Sunday roast and a glass of red. My
Dad had contacted the RAF Association to see if they could possibly
attend Grandad’s funeral as he knew they normally provided a guard
of honour or representative.
“But the RAF explained they probably wouldn’t be allowed to attend
due to the government guidelines, which of course we understood but
were equally devastated. They explained if we sought help privately, we
could potentially get individuals who would be willing to participate
locally.”
That’s where Wirral Support During Coronavirus stepped in. Jess
messaged organiser Andy Poynton and explained their plight in the
hope that someone, somewhere may just be able to help.
Jess said: “Tonnes of people rallied to tag friends or share with groups
they thought could possibly help. We didn’t really know exactly who
was going to be there or what was going to happen on the day, but we
arrived at the funeral to be completely stunned.”
At Jim’s funeral, the family were greeted by a sea of veterans all dressed
impeccably outside the chapel forming a guard of honour as the
hearse approached. A Standard Bearer, named Stewart, held a flag,
and walked Jim’s hearse to the chapel, and on arrival to the doors the
veterans saluted as his coffin was taken out.
Jess said: “It was perfect. After we all came out of the Chapel we were
greeted once again by the veterans who had remained standing as we
had left them 20 minutes before. It was an overwhelming sight and
when I thought I couldn’t cry any more, the tears continued to flow.
I’m not really sure how you are meant to say thank you to all these
incredible people who made such a difference that day. My Dad spoke
to some of them and expressed our gratitude, but the words ‘thank
you’ seem insignificant and not enough for what they did.”
“We will never forget the kindness and compassion you showed us
and the memories of it will stay with us forever. The comfort it has
brought my Nan and the family is immeasurable.”
The support group has also been behind providing a new car for a
family with a sick child needing regular treatment at Manchester
Children’s hospital. Their car had broken down and couldn’t be
fixed and they were unable to use public transport to get to hospital
appointments as their 18-month-old is immuno compromised.
Andy Poynton said: “I thought it was worth a shot at a cheeky shout
out to the group to see if anyone had a car that they could borrow or
have and that WSDC could pay a small amount towards it. Within
half an hour, donations were flooding in and within an hour we had
received £2000!”
“The guys at Millhouse Affordable Cars gave WSDC a great discount
on a Vauxhall Zafira when I explained the situation, and we were able
to make life a bit easier for them.”
If you feel you could help Wirral Support During Coronavirus group,
then get in touch with them on Facebook.
8 wirrallife.com