The bodies of the 15 crew were laid in state in the Sailors Institute and Tom Pope, who was 8 when he lost three brothers in the tragedy was to recall being taken along with the other children to pay their respects to the crewmen. One of the other children would have been William Stonham who years later was to recall that he was the only child to wake up as his father was preparing to leave and walk the mile and a half to the Mary Stanford lifeboat after hearing the maroon calling the lifeboat crew on duty. He sat at the top of the stairs and watched his father struggling into his coat. He said to Joseph, “Here Dad, take my torch.” Joseph replied, “It’s alright, I won’t need it. I won’t be long.”

On the day of the funeral, Tuesday 28th November it was decided that the children should not attend, and instead were given a lunch party at Ma Tunbridge’s Tearoom in the village. This was a lady who loved the boys on the crew, and would get the younger ones into her tearoom to keep them out of
the pub… now she was protecting the young ones from the outpouring of grief at the funeral. The funeral was attended by thousands including the Latvian Minister Fridricke Vesmans with his laurel wreath bound with the Latvian colours. Black storm clouds gathered as the 15 flag-draped flower-laden coffins were carried from the Mission Hall to the church by 120 pull bearers from the RNLI, the Hastings lifeboat crew wearing their red woollen caps, and British Legion to the strains of “Lead kindly light”. The church was filled with the flowers that had been sent from all over the country whilst the service took place in the churchyard with the 15 friends laid to rest sharing one communal grave as they had the Mary Stanford Lifeboat. The weather held for them as they were gently lowered, and
laurel leaves and chrysanthemums were scattered. One newspaper correspondent was to report “few ceremonies could be simpler and none more impressive than that which accompanied their burial… To no Prince or Emperor has more sincere homage been paid than that today to the memory of these simple hardworking fisherfolk who died on an errand of mercy to save others”. Three months later when the sea gave up Henry Cutting’s body, Henry was also laid to rest there with his friends and crewmates.