Bikers pay tribute to fellow Gosport rider by helping in funeral

The funeral of Dave Pitt was held at The Holy Trinity Church on Trinity Green Gosport Picture: Malcolm Wells (160826-7356)

Dave Pitt died earlier this month and his twin sister, Kathy Clark, put out a message on Facebook for people to ride alongside his coffin to the church.

Her status got over 11,000 shares and bikers from across Hampshire attended to pay their respects to one of their peers.

Kathy and her family said they would have been pleased with a dozen motorbikes, but they were left astounded by the turnout.

The funeral of Dave Pitt
Picture: Malcolm Wells (160826-7304) — The funeral of Dave Pitt Picture: Malcolm Wells (160826-7304)

Kathy, who went on the back of the motorbike which carried David, 64, to Holy Trinity Church, said: ‘It was a fantastic turn-out from everyone involved.

‘I got a real shock when I heard that one of the bikers was wearing David’s old leather jacket and he knew him.

‘I was petrified when I got on the bike and there was one stage when I thought I was going to fall off.

‘David would have been absolutely delighted by the number of people who came and I would never have believed it until I saw all of the bikes.

The funeral of Dave Pitt, led by the Rev Andy Davis

Picture: Malcolm Wells (160826-7422) — The funeral of Dave Pitt, led by the Rev Andy Davis Picture: Malcolm Wells (160826-7422)

‘We’re all so grateful to everyone who has been kind enough to help out.’

The ride was organised by Graham Cott, who has previously helped rally the troops for other funerals.

He said: ‘I’m part of a few biker groups on Facebook and I put the message out there. A lot of us would like to think that the same would happen to us if anything happens. We’re all part of the biker family.

‘I found out that Dave was in the Royal Irish Hussars a number of years ago so I contacted members of the British Royal Legion Riders to attend. All riders love a reason to get out on their bikes and there is no better reason than showing your respect to a fellow biker.

Dave Pitt with his daughters Clare, left, and Velinda

David Gosling, from Gosport, said: ‘This is the fourth funeral I’ve taken part in and I’ve told Dave’s family that he’ll be riding up front because a few years ago he sold me the leather jacket that I’m wearing.

‘He was a really great bloke. When I went round to get the jacket, we had a coffee and chatted about bikes for about two hours.

‘The bikers community is really close-knit and I’d like the same to happen for me if anything unfortunate was to happen.’

Russell Churcher, 24, said: ‘I told my friend Sam about it and we both thought we would come and pay our respects and show that the younger generation cares.’