Rachael Heyhoe Flint's funeral: Hundreds to gather to pay their respects to a Wolves and cricket legend
The funeral of Rachael Heyhoe Flint will take place today with hundreds of people from all walks of life gathering to pay their respects.
The service of thanksgiving, which will be held at 2pm in St Peter's Church in Wolverhampton, was due to be attended by family, friends, and all those that knew and worked with the former England cricketer and Wolves Vice-President before her death on January 18.
Wolverhampton Wanderers players of past and present were expected to attend as well as dignitaries from across the city and representatives from the many charities that Baroness Heyhoe Flint supported.
Wolves fans were also expected to attend the service for Baroness Heyhoe Flint, who died from cancer, aged 77.
Prior to the service, Wolves revealed that it had provided 50 tickets for fans to attend the proceedings through a ballot after it had been 'inundated' with requests.
Fans were expected to gather outside Molineux, where the cortege will be passing at 1.30pm.
Join expressandstar.com here for live coverage of the celebration of Rachael Heyhoe Flint's life from 1pm
Audio from the service will be played in the square outside the Civic Centre for those who were unable to attend inside the church.
The cortege will depart Molineux at around 1.30pm, travelling along Waterloo Road and Darlington Street. A rolling road closure will be in place while the cortege progressed into the city centre.
As part of a career spanning two decades, the Baroness captained the England ladies cricket team, leading them to victory in the 1973 World Cup.
Not only a pioneer for women's cricket, Baroness Heyhoe Flint was also an award-winning after dinner speaker, while she later headed up Wolves' work in the local community.
Her long friendship with Sir Jack Hayward was sparked in 1970, when she asked him to sponsor the England ladies cricket team.
After he took over the club in 1990 she was appointed to the club's PR department.
From 1997 to 2003, she served as a director at his request, later becoming a vice-president. She was granted the Freedom of Wolverhampton in 2011.
