IMPRESSIVE ROMANY FUNERAL

Six black horses, with postilions in gold and black uniforms riding the first pair, pulled the hearse at the Mitcham (Surrey) funeral on Monday, of Rebecca Powell, 75-year-old gipsy flower-seller. Two horse-drawn carriages and two motorcars followed the hearse. Then came more than 100 relatives, representing five generations, on foot.

All the men wore blue reefer jackets and blue trousers, and the women were decked in furs and plumes. Thousands of people gathered to watch the Romany funeral. The churchyard was overrun by sightseers and graves were damaged.

Source: Shepton Mallet Journal – Friday 22 November 1935 from the British Newspaper Archive (subscription required)