M&S staff will join Edinburgh mourners as Tom Gilzean funeral cortege passes along Princes Street

Store staff will pay their final respects to Tom Gilzean as his funeral cortege passes along Prince Street today.

Workers from M&S – where Tom could be seen for years collecting cash for various charities – will leave their posts and stand in silence along with thousands of Edinburgh residents.

Tom, 99, died earlier this month in veterans’ hospital Erskine House in the Capital following a series of small strokes.

Tom Gilzean.

He will be buried at Mount Vernon in Edinburgh beside his wife Anne who died 19 years ago.

Jenny McPartlin, Store Manager at M&S Princes Street, said: “Tom was an inspiration, not only to our store colleagues but to everyone in Edinburgh. He felt like another member of the team, with colleagues giving him birthday cake every year and hot drinks on cold days. We will miss seeing him outside the store every day, charming everyone that walked past.”

Gordon’s Trattoria, where Tom was fed every day while fundraising, will be closed as a mark of respect, after describing him on Facebook as “part of the family.”

Calls have been made for an Edinburgh street to be named after the well-loved figure.

The Edinburgh Evening News is asking readers to SING A PETITION to name a prominent city street after the late war veteran and fundraising hero Tom Gilzean.