Mourners pay their last respects to Raoul Moat
Aug 3 2010 by Sophie Doughty, The Journal
THEY travelled from far and wide as they came to remember a father, a friend, a former colleague and - in some cases - a man they had never even met.
Fugitive gunman Raoul Moat gained a notoriety in the final week of his life that drew some curious onlookers to the 37-year-old’s funeral in Newcastle yesterday.
But the strangers whose only association with Moat was to follow the movements of the killer through the eyes of the world’s media were outnumbered yesterday by those who knew him long before his troubled final days.
Mourners lined the route to the chapel at the West Road Crematorium as Moat’s body was driven into the grounds in a hearse carrying his dark wooden coffin and decorated by a blue and white wreath spelling the word ‘Dad’.
Dressed in dark suites and many wearing sunglasses, Moat’s friends from his time as a doorman in the city fell silent as their friend’s body passed.
His uncle Charlie Alexander, 72, a former Warrant Officer with the Royal Artillery, wore his regimental blazer and tie as he led the coffin to the chapel, where around 100 mourners were gathered.
Moat’s brother Angus, 40, greeted pall-bearers, including Raoul’s lifelong friend, Tony Laidler, 35, as they carried the body on its final short journey.
The Who’s 1971 classic album track Behind Blues Eyes was played as mourners filed into the service. The song’s lyrics, “No-one knows what it’s like to be the bad man, to be the sad man, behind blue eyes,” and “No-one knows what it’s like to be hated, to be fated,” echoed poignantly around the crematorium grounds.
A throng of photographers had assembled outside the chapel but there were no police officers present, in line with a request from the family.
Despite the high-profile nature of the event, the service passed peacefully without incident.
Heavily-built pals of Moat fought back tears as they left the chapel, to the sound of Forever Young, by German group Alphaville.
Angus lay flowers near the chapel with a card which read: “Raoul, it didn’t have to end like this. Sleep tight bruv. Until Later, Angus.”
And the grieving brother then made a short speech. He said: “The Moat family and the Alexander family now ask that we be allowed to mourn Raoul’s passing with privacy and respect.
“We understand there is an element of public interest and from now on we view this as an investigation into the procedures surrounding the events of recent weeks.
“We have instructed a solicitor to act for us. We are now moved to cooperate as much as possible with the relevant authorities to allow the investigation to proceed.
“We will make no further comment regarding the ongoing inquest into the circumstances of Raoul’s death.”
