A MAN who played a crucial role in keeping Hatherleigh’s tar barrel tradition alive was laid to rest last week — after his coffin was pulled through the town on a tar barrel sled.

Brian Doidge, aged 64, helped to revive the tradition of blazing tar barrels at Hatherleigh Carnival. He died recently after a lengthy illness.

During the carnival each November, sleds carrying burning barrels are dragged through the streets of Hatherleigh as part of the carnival procession.

Brian had been involved in the pulling of the barrels for around 40 years. His fellow tar barrel committee members decided that it would be a fitting and historic way to mark Brian’s life and contributions to Hatherleigh’s traditions to pull his coffin to Hatherleigh Methodist Church, and later the churchyard, on a specially built tar barrel sled.

Dougal Stephens, the co-ordinator of the carnival tar barrels said: ‘The idea for the sled was one of Brian’s sons. They suggested we put it [the coffin] on the sled but the tar barrel committee decided to put some barrels on the sled, to make it look proper.

‘He was very carnival orientated, particularly on the tar barrel side of things. The tar barrel team felt this would be a good send off for Brian.’

The sled was built to the classic Hatherleigh design but with only two barrels. On top was a platform to hold Brian’s casket. The procession started at Hatherleigh Community Centre and was followed by friends and family to the methodist church. Jason, Brian’s son and Robin Wonnacott, his long-term friend, spoke at the service.

At the churchyard afterwards, barrel pullers spontaneously lined the church path to make a guard of honour as the casket was carried to its final resting place in the town cemetery.

l Picture by Ian Snell