Mourners outside St John
The Baptist Church, Barham listen to the service of remembrance
through speakers for 17-year-old Hugo Wenn, who died last month.
Picture: Chris Davey.

by Adam Williams

There was standing room only as hundreds gathered to celebrate
the life of Hugo Wenn on Thursday.

St John The Baptist Church, in the 17-year-old’s home village of
Barham, was a sea of faces and colours as friends and family paid
their last respects to the teenager, whose life was cut tragically
short last month.

Hugo, a former pupil at the village primary school and the Archbishop’s School in Canterbury, drowned in the city’s Reed Pond where the body of Daniel Lloyd, 25, was also found on Monday, January 30.

Barham Crematorium was the setting for a private family funeral
before a service of remembrance at the village church, led by Rev
Stephen Hardy. The huge numbers who attended meant around 80
followed the service from outside the church, where it was relaid
on speakers.

While tinged
with sadness, there was also plenty of laughter as friends and
relatives shared their memories of Hugo (pictured), a larger than
life character popular around Canterbury as a busker and beat-boxer
and a skilful rugby player for Canterbury RFC.

Older brother Felix, 20, read Elizabeth Brenneman’s poem His
Journey’s Just Begun, while Wilbur Edwards spoke of a friend he
would never forget.

He said: “Words cannot begin to express the feelings I had
towards him as a friend.

“I remember right back to our days together in primary school
and how Hugo would always be ready to entertain everyone.

"Hugo set the benchmark for qualities you would look for in a
friend and he taught me lessons far greater than any school could
ever do.

“There is a Latin phrase, 'carpe diem’, and Hugo was the grand
master of that.

“He showed me the importance of appreciating friends and family
and I will never forget him as a brother, a friend and as his
captain.”

Parents Robert and Fiona rounded off the service with a passage
they read together, recalling their earliest memories of Hugo as a
baby, right through to his recent jobs as a labourer and gardener
at nearby Charlton Park in Bishopsbourne.

Fiona said: “Over the past three weeks, we have read hundreds of
loving and moving tributes to our son. It’s great to know how much
he has enriched so many people’s lives in such a short time.”

Robert added: “Our hearts are broken and our lives changed
forever and Hugo’s death has left a huge hole in our lives.

“Some stars are with us all too briefly and Hugo’s is certainly
the brightest of those above us.”

Their heartfelt words were followed by spontaneous applause from
the congregation before Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s soul
classic Ain’t No Mountain High Enough closed the service.

This Saturday, Canterbury's St Peter's Church will host a
similar service for Daniel Lloyd from noon. All those who knew him
are welcome and encouraged to wear bright colours.