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Hundreds pay respect to Ben Pocock
More than 500 people have paid their respects to Ben Pocock, the Keynsham student who was killed in the Malaysian MH17 air crash over Ukraine on July 17. His funeral took place at St John’s Church in Keynsham today.
His funeral was followed by a private family cremation service.
In a statement Ben’s parents Jeremy and Louise said: “The last four months has been a desperate and sad time for us as a family, but we are relieved to have been able to bring Ben home and accord him all the love and respect he deserves.”
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Ben, was a pupil at St John’s Primary School and Wellsway Secondary School. Andrea Arlidge, Head of Wellsway said: “We have a lot of lovely memories of Ben. He was an absolutely fantastic young man – bright, conscientious and talented at sport. He is someone we mourn greatly and remember as a fantastic, fun young man.”
Ben was on his way to Australia for a placement at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth for six months.
He studied International Business at Loughborough University and was on track to secure a first-class degree. As he was doing well in his studies he won a bursary to help with his travel costs to Australia.
Ben’s parents said: “Although we have had a very hard time as a family we are very conscious that there are still nine passengers from the flight that have not yet been identified. Our hearts are with their families and we hope they soon receive the news they are desperately waiting for.
“We will also wish to remember all the other 297 victims of MH17, especially the 80 children and numerous young adults. They did not deserve to die in such brutal circumstances.
“We would like to pay tribute to the local community for the support we have received.”
All 298 people on board the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur died when the jet was shot down over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia separatists. The victims of the crash, which happened on July 17, included 10 Britons, 43 Malaysians and 195 Dutch nationals.
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