Mourners pay their last respects to Horace White (inset)

Published: 11 October, 2012
by RICHARD OSLEY

HUNDREDS of mourners turned up to the funeral of a man known throughout north London for simply wishing complete strangers “The best of luck”.

Horace White, 54, died last month after collapsing near Whittington Hospital in Archway.

He was a familiar face in Camden Town, where he would greet shoppers at Sainsbury’s in Camden Road with his warm catchphrase.

More regularly, he was seen in Finchley outside McDonald’s where residents have begun a campaign to have his memory marked with a bench or a plaque built into the pavement.

Mr White, also known as “Stanley”, a name he did not like to be called, suffered from learning disabilities.

Some assumed he was homeless – over 30 years he was an almost ever- present fixture, often seen with a suitcase or sketching drawings – but he lived on the Grange estate in East Finchley.

His sister Serina and her husband Neville cared for him. She was “overwhelmed” by the warmth shown by the public and thanked people for their support at the funeral service on Tuesday. Every seat was taken in the chapel at Islington Cemetery in East Finchley.

The highest estimation was that up to 1,000 people were at the cemetery to say a final farewell, with the details of the service being shared on a Facebook group with more than 10,000 followers.

Signs were laid out across the grounds to direct people to his open coffin, while police community support officers were there to add assistance.

Tributes left on the social networking site – some from people who just recalled seeing him in the street – were read to the congregation. One said: “As a little girl I called you Mr Friendly Giant. I’m an adult now and you’d say ‘Have a nice day, miss’ and I always heard ‘the best of luck’. It always brought a smile to my face. You will always be the puzzle piece missing to the jigsaw. Best of luck Mr Friendly Giant.”

Another added: “Having such a big fan following without being a celebrity is Horace’s biggest achievement in life. None of us will ever come close to this fine man.”

The Reverend Michael Giles, who led the service, said: “The Facebook group had over 10,000 views. If they were all here, the cemetery wouldn’t be big enough. That’s the sort of impact Horace had.

“He has really touched so many people’s lives. He seemed to be everywhere. He’s one of these people who seems to be in five places at the same time. But as we know there was only one Horace and his catchphrase ‘Best of Luck’.

“He was well known by the shopkeepers. As people’s lives passed by, he was consistent. Our Horace – and we can say ‘Our Horace’ because he was one of us, one of you, one of our community.”