GRANDMOTHER Eileen Swannack, one of the victims of the Tunisia terror attack, was today laid to rest and her 'mischievous' and 'playful' personality remembered by hundreds of mourners.

Scores of family and friends gathered for her funeral at St Nicholas' Church in the village of Biddestone, where she had lived for 40 years in Slaughterford Road and then Yatton Road.

As the tears flowed, those assembled heard how the much-loved 73-year-old had a great sense of humour, exuded youthfulness and was always playing pranks.

Her granddaughter Lorren Swannack also addressed the congregation with an emotional tribute to the "one hell of a special lady" who she was proud to call her grandmother.

She said how the family had taken comfort that her grandmother and her partner of eight years, John Welch, 74, from Corsham, had died together. She added that the pair were a "great match" for each other, who both lost their partners to cancer around ten years ago.

Many of the mourners had to stand in the churchyard and listened to the service through speakers as the church was overflowing with people, something the priest-in-charge, the Rev Jonathan Philpott, who conducted the service, said was testament to Mrs Swannack's popularity.

Flowers were also left outside, a bouquet of which was from travel agents Thomson and First Choice, whom Mrs Swannack and Mr Welch had booked their holiday through to the beach resort of Sousse in Tunisia.

Mrs Swannack who grew up in Bristol with her five siblings, leaves her two sons Keith and Des, two grandchildren Lorren and Lucie and two great-grandchildren Ruby and Sapphire.

Her husband Eddie died aged 66 in 2005 following a battle with cancer.

During the service, which lasted for nearly an hour, a poignant passage was read out called The Sea and the Beach and three hymns were sung. A private cremation was held afterwards at the West Wiltshire Crematorium in Semington with close family in attendance.

Speaking before the service Mr Philpott said: "There have been moments of anger there has been moments of joy, moments of exceptional sorrow. I think its exceptional turmoil really.

"Most of the times I've seen the family was before Eileen was flown back to this country and I think also there's a sense of slight disbelief that it has even happened, but I think the moment the body came back that was the moment of reality and that's what it's going to be like today.

"I genuinely don't think it's sunk in for the village. That's going to happen today. As I walk around the village and speak to people you just get this sense of surrealism. I was saying to someone last week, when you think of terrorism and Islamic State we think of Syria and Iraq and borders of Turkey but you don't think of Biddestone."

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

  • Flowers at St Nicholas' Church, Biddestone, today. Picture by Trevor Porter