THE sorrowful and sobering tones of a lone piper from the Scots Guards was the only sound to be heard as Robert Runcie's coffin was taken outside to be buried in the north churchyard at St Albans Abbey on Saturday.

A deafening silence engulfed the Abbey Orchard as a crowd of 500 people craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the burial of the former Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of St Albans.

Children, parents and grandparents held hands and, without moving, watched Lindy Runcie say her final goodbyes to her husband.

One mourner, who arrived at the abbey an hour before the Requiem Mass, wiped a tear from her eye and sighed as the service finally ended.

'It was a very touching and moving service and although I couldn't actually be in the cathedral itself, I still felt very much a part of it,' said Mrs Eileen Goodfellow.

'Robert was a good man and we felt he was doing so much for St Albans. Most of all, I liked his attitude towards people and his willingness to speak his mind.

'He was kind, respected the feelings of others, and was part of our tradition in St Albans.'

For two hours Mrs Goodfellow and fellow mourners, who had not been able to get inside the cathedral, listened attentively while the funeral sermon was broadcast to them outside on loudspeakers.

One couple, who had come all the way from Brighton just to stand outside the abbey's gates, said the 78-year-old, who died on Tuesday, July 11, after a six-year battle with prostate cancer, would be sorely missed.

'He was a man of conviction and integrity and although we knew we wouldn't be allowed into the service, we still wanted to pay our respects,' said Mrs Janice Stewart.

'I am sure many people, like us, will miss him greatly. He was a good, intelligent and kind-hearted man.'

An elderly woman, Mrs Elenor Thomson, reminisced of the time she had the 'privilege' of hearing one of Lord Runcie's famed witty speeches.

'I didn't know him personally, but I heard him speak at the Caledonian Society in St Albans, on Burns' Night I think,' she said.

'Anyway, he spoke with such wit and he was very funny indeed, although he was also famously outspoken.

'It was a real privilege to hear him. I will remember that speech for a long, long time.'

And it was Lord Runcie's willingness to speak his mind that had earlier received special praise inside the cathedral from the Right Reverend Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, who was one of Runcie's former chaplains when he was archbishop.

He praised Lord Runcie for his altruistic nature, his ability to make people feel better and his integrity. 'He could never be a recruit for the single issue fanatic or the moralising majority. His sense of proportion frequently irritated them,' he said.

'But there is, of course, a much bigger tale to be told than is appropriate for a funeral sermon. There is the story of the tank commander; the trainer of clergy; the Bishop of St Albans who made this diocese an exciting place and who loved this city.'

He added: 'Sometimes people were surprised to discover that Robert Runcie had such a fine bearing. On the way out of Liverpool Cathedral one day a woman greeted him with, 'Well, fancy that. I thought you were a little shrimp of a man.'''

The witty sermon drew approving laughter from the 2,000-strong congregation, who included South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, as well as Lord Runcie's friend and former special envoy Terry Waite.

But at the same time a deep sadness enveloped the cathedral, particularly when Bishop James recounted one of Runcie's last acts for the Anglican community; when he gave his final sermon from a wheelchair in the abbey at the funeral of a former Dean of St Albans, Peter Moore.

'It was only two weeks ago today that he delivered his final address here for Peter Moore's funeral. The day before on the telephone he tried out a few sentences on me.

'Dying himself, he wanted to get exactly right what he said to honour a friend and colleague and to honour God. He spent himself.

'In all this there was a deep love for his roots, his history and his family. He instinctively put himself at the service of others.

'That was why he was a good pastor. His was an incarnate religion.'

After the emotionally-charged Requiem Mass, at which a retiring collection was made to the Runcie Day Hospice, family and friends of Lord Runcie made their way to St Albans School and agreed the service was a 'fitting send-off'.

'It was very moving and emotional and I think Robert would have been happy with the service,' said Mr Peter Brading, who works for a charity Lord Runcie used to be a patron of.

'It was just right, very informal, and I can't think of many a better send-off than that. It was very humorous and witty - much in the manner of Robert.'

Mrs May Winfred, who was born one year before Lord Runcie, agreed: 'It was a lovely service and makes you appreciate what an important man Robert was.

'I am so pleased I had the chance to say goodbye to him today.'

The Right Reverend Christopher Herbert, Bishop of St Albans, added: 'Lord Runcie was dearly loved in this diocese as a man of compassion, courage and sensitivity. He had a huge gift for friendship and for enabling people to feel valued and loved.

'He is deeply mourned, deeply missed and deeply loved by all who know him. Our diocese and the nation are the poorer for his death.'

The only remaining hope among the hordes of mourners and well-wishers was that a new biography will be written because the official one, by Humphrey Carpenter, was highly controversial as it revealed some of Lord Runcie's most candid thoughts on the Royal Family.

A biography that encapsulates Lord Runcie the man, the husband, the father and grandfather, the tank commander and, of course, the Christian priest and bishop, would be a good start.

tA formal memorial service will be held at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday, November 8.