Gary Cornelius: Funeral plans for Hastings fisherman who died in sea tragedy

Gary Cornelius died in hospital after being recovered from the sea at Hastings having fallen from a commercial fishing boat on July 29 at about 10am.

Despite being airlifted to Eastbourne District General Hospital, he sadly died there, police confirmed.

His funeral will be held on Friday (August 27) and people attending the procession and minute’s applause have been asked to wear the colour blue.

The funeral will take place at All Saints Church, at 10.30am, followed by the procession down All Saints Street to Winkle Island. There will be a minute of applause, before the wake which will be held at East Sussex Angling Club, adjacent to Lifeboat House.

After Gary’s death, Glenn Veness, a close friend, paid tribute to him and said: “I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Gary ‘Corney’ Cornelius. He epitomised the fishermen with his sense of humour combined with his work ethic.

“I had the pleasure of sitting on the beach with Corney, drinking in the Nelson and playing football together.

“I sat with him outside Obie’s fishing hut just two weeks ago. I hadn’t seen him for a year or more, so we had a good chat.

“He always made me laugh. He reminded me of when we played football for the London Trader and how I always had my boots in a Tesco’s carrier bag. He recalled how once for an evening game at Battle I opened my Tescos carrier bag, only to find a tin of beans, an onion and some potatoes! I ended up spraying my Pimms all over his chest!

“I feel very lucky, if that’s the right word, to have this as a final memory of a dear friend.”