Crowds pay respects to Dobby Horse Vera

VERA SMITH

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OLDHAM’S beloved “Aunty Vera” was given a fitting farewell as a vintage hearse carried her coffin past her favourite spots.

Popular Vera Smith — held dear by generations of children visiting Oldham’s Tommyfield Market for her hand-cranked roundabout and known as Dobby Horse Vera, the Angel of Tommyfield or Aunty Vera — died last week aged 78.s

A band led the procession as Vera’s coffin was transported from Oldham Parish Church, along Albion Street, past the market and her former home in Henshaw Street to Oldham Crematorium.

Oldhamers lined the streets as the procession passed and shoppers stopped to pay their respects, with many bursting into applause.

The veteran market trader came from a travelling fairground family who ran the amusements at the market for over 130 years.

She was a staunch supporter of local charities, raising thousands for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, and was named Woman of Oldham in 2007.

She also worked as a spinner and ran the New Museum pub.

Vera fought off two bouts of cancer, and a serious neck injury after slipping on ice, that couldn’t halt her fundraising.

A Requiem Mass was held at Oldham Parish Church on Tuesday night. with the funeral service taking place at the church yesterday prior to committal at the crematorium.