EVESHAM'S Emma Kearsey played a major role in the procession that took the Queen Mother's coffin from St James's Palace to Westminster Hall.

Emma, of Blackberry Way, was one of 10 regional standard bearers from the Royal British Legion women's section, who lined up at the Cenotaph in Whitehall as the procession went past.

Speaking afterwards, she said: "It was a massively memorable occasion and there was a real pride in being there."

She added: "It was quiet, not in a mournful way, but in a very respectful way."

She had been out in Whitehall last Thursday morning at 3.30am for a rehearsal to make sure that all the bearers dipped their standards in unison.

She said she did not actually see much of last Friday's procession itself because her head was bowed and her standard dipped as it went past.

Emma, aged 32, is standard bearer for the women's section at Sedgeberrow Legion and its West Midlands region.

Another person to experience the unique atmosphere of recent days was Pinvin resident Stella Elliott, aged 56, who travelled to London last Saturday to join the thousands of mourners filing past the Queen Mother's coffin as it lay in state.

She queued for about five hours for her sight of the catafalque and described the day as "an absolutely amazing experience," adding: "It was an emotional pilgrimage."

She was even interviewed in French by a French-Canadian television crew as she waited to go in and said of the atmosphere in the queue: "It was a wonderfully happy time."