Up to 2,000 Travellers expected to visit Milton Keynes this week for funeral

A massive Traveller funeral to mourn a prominent member of their community is expected to take place in Bletchley this Wednesday.

It is anticipated Travellers will arrive from all over the country before the funeral and many will stay for a few days afterwards, according to documents from a security company, seen by the MK Citizen.

The funeral and wake are believed to be taking place in a church in the Water Eaton area of Bletchley but the burial will be in Derbyshire.

The deceased is said to be a prominent member of the Traveller community.

It is customary for both Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers to hold a wake the night before the funeral and people will travel hundreds of miles to show their respects.

In both traditions, close family members will wear black following a death in the family. Typically this will be for a year following the death of close family members. Some traditional Travellers will wear black for the rest of their lives following the death of very close family members.

According to the website Friends, Families and Travellers, death is very difficult to come to terms with for the Traveller communities and the culture and customs can help in some way to try and come to terms with death. Many of the customs refer to the great respect that Travellers have for their deceased loved ones.