Determination to celebrate girls’ lives

IT WAS a display of sheer will and determination to celebrate the lives of their two beautiful daughters.

From the moment the Chapman and Wells families went into Ely Cathedral walking together, talking and supporting each other to the end of the service, they kept their emotions under tight rein.

But as they came out of the historic cathedral, the tension seemed to drain from them, leaving only their overwhelming sadness.

Jessica's father Les threw his arms around Holly's father Kevin, holding him as they walked out, blinking in the evening sunshine.

The two fathers clung to each other as they left the cathedral, two men who have been amazingly strong and composed throughout their ordeal of news conferences, public appeals and private grief since the disappearance of the two girls on August 4.

Both families had endured so much already in the 25 days since Holly and Jessica vanished, and if a service of celebration and remembrance for the two girls proved unbearably moving, they endured it with the dignity and courage they have shown throughout this ordeal.

As they left the cathedral, the two fathers embraced before Mr Chapman, 51, dropped back to walk hand-in-hand with his wife Sharon.

The families arrived en masse, accompanied by the Bishop of Ely, the Rt Rev Anthony Russell, and the parish vicar for Soham, the Rev Tim Alban Jones.

The mothers, Nicola and Sharon, deliberately wore pretty pastel colours, both a similar shade of lilac, and Jessica's sisters Rebecca, 16, and Alison, 14, wore pale pink.

Both fathers wore sober dark suits with white shirts and ties and Holly's older brother Oliver, 12, wore a pale blue shirt.

The two sets of parents sat just metres apart, separated by the aisle, with the men of the group closest to each other.

It was the first time the parents have been seen at such a public event since their final appeal two weeks ago when they made a plea for the girls to be returned alive.

The Chapmans sat stoically, looking ahead throughout the service, although Mrs Chapman and Rebecca could both be seen dabbing handkerchiefs to their eyes.

Metres away the Wells family sat with their heads bowed, seemingly overwhelmed by the events of the past few weeks. Mr Wells, 38, then rose to his feet to read a poem he had written about his daughter Holly, entitled Soham's Rose.

The strain was visible as he battled to control his emotions, reading the carefully worded poem in a perfectly level voice, but the toll of the past few weeks was clear on his face. His eyes were sunk behind deep lines of fatigue and his wife could not seem to look up as he read the brief poem.

With the celebration over, the families now face the final hurdles of funerals and life without the two little best friends whose lives and deaths have so united them.