Head of traveller family laid to rest in ‘solid gold’ coffin in South London

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Frank Thompson’s solid gold coffin took a month to make, before he was laid to rest at a plot in a South London cemetery (Picture: SWNS)

Frank Thompson's gold coffin. The head of a proud traveller family was buried in a "six figure" solid gold coffin after his family declared "money is no object". When Frank Thompson died aged 69 from a chest infection ?the full family got involved to give him the best possible send off? said a family friend. They bought a solid gold coffin and a Rolls Royce took it on a week-long farewell tour of locations in Nottingham and Manchester where Frank had run businesses and tarmac yards, and cemeteries where his friends and family were laid to rest. They have also commissioned a huge marble tomb which will take a year to build around his coffin, a friend said, at his plot in cemetery in south London. Photo released 22/08/2025 — Frank Thompson’s solid gold coffin took a month to make, before he was laid to rest at a plot in a South London cemetery (Picture: SWNS)

The head of a traveller family was buried in a solid gold coffin in South London.

Frank Thompson died aged 69 of a chest infection on July 2.

His family spared no expense in giving him ‘the best possible send off’, including a tour of areas he worked and owned businesses including Manchester and Nottingham in a Rolls Royce.

Mr Thompson’s farewell trip also took him past cemeteries where his friends and family were laid to rest.

Over the next year, a large marble tomb will be built around his gold coffin.

A family friend revealed that the six-figure sum coffin was so ornate it took over a month to arrive after Mr Thompson died.

They said: ‘The casket is solid gold.

‘His son ordered it from abroad. The cost was stupendous – six figures.

‘It took weeks to arrive. He’d passed away for nearly a month before we could lay him to rest.’

Frank Thompson’s funeral, which paid tribute to his tarmac paving businesses (Picture: SWNS)

A picture of Mr Thompson in a frame displayed at his funeral (Picture: SWNS)

A hearse brings Frank Thompson’s gold coffin to a cemetery in South London (Picture: SWNS)

The friend added that the family had decided to do such an elaborate send-off in order to demonstrate that travellers are not ‘all about fighting and causing trouble’.

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But they added Mr Thompson himself was not an extravagant man and had ‘a heart of gold’.

‘He was never a flash man, believe it or not. He could have anything he wanted but he’s not flash. He’d be proud of what his sons did for him, and held him as, more than anything else.’

Mr Thompson is survived by his wife and children. His farewell tour started on July 23, before he was finally laid to rest on July 29.

The businessman started out as a door-to-door driveway salesman, eventually growing his company internationally.

He also donated money to children’s charities, and wanted to build an orphanage for children abroad before he became ill, his friend said.

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