00:00Paul Jenkins Express and Star.com. We're outside the Hawthorns where the funeral
00:06cortege of Mark Townsend is going to be driving past and staff are going to come
00:12out and pay their respect at around half twelve on the way to Rowley Regis
00:16crematorium. Mark Townsend of course died tragically at Sheffield Wednesday in
00:22September on an Albion away game. There was a medical emergency and he
00:28unfortunately died on the day. Friends, family, Albion supporters are going to
00:33pay tribute to him after the crematorium at a pub and of course
00:38Albion got a game tomorrow against Cardiff City. They'll be hoping for a
00:42win in his memory. We're just outside the Hawthorns here with two people Richard
00:47Sant and Ali Jones, lifelong Star Wars Baggies fans and Richard you did a no
00:55Mark didn't you? Yeah, yeah I did yeah. How did you know him through the football? I knew him through Steve, his brother, yeah and then obviously coming up the
01:04Albion and that like, we used to meet in the pub for a drink and that, so yeah.
01:11You're obviously here to pay your respects today on the day of the funeral
01:15there's going to be a drive past the Hawthorns, a place he loved really. Yeah.
01:20Yeah and are you going to the wake afterwards? Yeah, I believe there's going to be a lot of
01:28Albion fans there, it's an Albion themed pub as well at least for the day.
01:34And Ali you were there on the on the day weren't you at Sheffield
01:38Wednesday, the tragic day a few weeks ago but you know his brother Steve.
01:43Yeah I mean so obviously I know Steve through what happened with Mark and
01:49Steve reached out to me because I used to do action for Albion and I was
01:55probably well known in the fan base and he reached out as he knew that I was at
02:00the game and asked me through my account what happened and we just got
02:05closer and closer the last few weeks and if in any way I can to try to help
02:09the family take any strain off to try to establish what went on then I offer my
02:15services to do that and just felt it was the right thing to do to pay our
02:18respects today. I think a legend of our journalism around here Tom Ross said
02:24once you kick one of us and we all limp and that's I think what we
02:28feel today, it's a sad day and we just want to pay our respects for one of our own.
02:32Yeah and the big Albion family as well obviously Mark, Steve, Mark was there
02:38with his nephew I believe at the game. Yeah Matty, I mean it's just as I
02:44say it resonates with me because I'm a generational fan as well and my dad
02:50came and my sons go with me now and it's part of you know so I mean as I
02:55say he's one of our own and we just wish his family all the very best in this sad time.
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