Vale Royal Crematorium hits the right note in tribute to Captain Tom

Staff at Vale Royal Crematorium sang the praises of pandemic hero Captain Sir Tom Moore by recording their own version of the song that he took to the top of the charts.

They made a video, too, and in the process, the crematorium team helped raised thousands of pounds for the Captain Tom Foundation.

Vale Royal Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, the UK’s largest independent owner of crematoria, with 35 facilities in England, Wales and Scotland.

The group decided to support the Captain Tom Foundation’s 100 Challenge, a fundraising initiative created to coincide with what would have been Captain Tom’s 101st birthday on 30 April.

Many of the organisations supported by the Foundation help people with life-limiting illnesses or who are facing or coping with bereavement which resonates with Westerleigh’s work, which is why the group wanted to support the foundation.

Westerleigh challenged its crematoria nationwide to think of ways to help raise money, all of which is being donated to the foundation.

The Vale Royal team chose to do something just a little different, and their efforts can be seen by clicking this link: https://youtu.be/WgYUc5RwUco

They recorded their own version of You’ll Never Walk Alone, which Captain Tom recorded with Michael Ball and which earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records for being the oldest person to top the charts.

Vale Royal site manager Dave Haslam said: “We decided to make our own version of the song in memory of Captain Tom and use it to raise awareness of the Foundation and to encourage donations.

“I managed to talk all four team members into taking part and we also got some of our local Funeral Directors involved, too.

“I came up with the idea, as I’m a music-making enthusiast, and I spend my spare time singing, songwriting, producing and composing. I studied Music Technology and Audio Engineering at college and have my own home studio.

“We’re no strangers to making music here at Vale Royal; team member Sophie Scott recorded a version of We’ll Meet Again for our Christmas memorial service last year, which I encouraged her to do after overhearing her quietly singing while working.

“Most of those taking part will be stepping outside their comfort zones, but the pandemic has allowed us to think differently about many things.”

Teams are many other Westerleigh crematoria around the country walked or ran 100 laps around their sites to raise money, while others organised bake sales and other activities, all of which helped raise more than £3,000 for the Captain Tom Foundation.

Anyone who would like to make a donation can still do so through Westerleigh Group’s Just Giving page, mentioning Vale Royal Crematorium in their donation message. The page can be found at  www.justgiving.com/fundraising/westerleigh-group