‘Big Willy Collins’ headstone made from solid white marble and features a solar-powered jukebox
Gravestone fit for a traveller KING: Huge ‘£200,000’ memorial for bare-knuckle boxer father-of-nine ‘Big Willy Collins’ who died aged 49 is made from solid white marble, weighs 37 tonnes and features a solar-powered jukebox
The 37 tonne solid Carrara marble headstone stands at the burial site in Sheffield for ‘Big Willy Collins’ The memorial comes with two life-sized statues and a solar-powered jukebox for visitors to play music The Shiregreen Cemetery headstone features LED lights and is under 24 hour CCTV which family can access The father-of-nine died aged 49 after collapsing on holiday with his family in Majorca in 2020
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What is believed to be Britain’s ‘biggest headstone’ has been firmly planted on the grave of traveller king ‘Big Willy Collins’.
The 37 tonne headstone featuring a solar-powered jukebox now stands at the burial site in Shiregreen Cemetery in Sheffield of bare-knuckle boxer Willy, who died aged 49 after collapsing while on holiday with his family in Majorca in July 2020.
The huge memorial, which some local stone masons estimate to have cost at least £200,000, is crafted from solid Carrara marble and features two life-sized statues of Big Willy’s six-foot-two frame.
The memorial is crafted from Carrara marble and features two life-sized statues of Big Willy
Mourners who visit his final resting place can also connect to the speaker through Bluetooth to play their own songs.
Upon his death, tributes poured in from across the UK and his beloved home city, where he was known by many as the King of Sheffield
It also features depictions of Jesus Christ and biblical scenes, as well as a solar-powered jukebox playing the late father-of-nine’s favourite tracks.
Mourners who visit his final resting place can also connect to the speaker through Bluetooth to play their own songs.
The headstone also features LED lights that can change colour, and is under 24-hour CCTV monitoring, which his large family have access to in order to see and ‘speak’ with him.
The family have declined to comment on the price of the elaborate headstone.
One of 16 children, Willy was the patriarch of the Collins family, and is said to have doted on his children and grandchildren, and to have had around 400 nieces and nephews.
The headstone also features LED lights that can change colour, and is under 24-hour CCTV monitoring
The huge headstone and tribute to the late father-of-nine weighs in at 37 tonnes
Willy died aged 49 after collapsing while on holiday with his family in Majorca in July 2020
One of 16 children, Willy was the patriarch of the large Collins family
His cortege was led by people in velvet suits and crowns with a white funeral carriage being pulled by six plumed horses wearing yellow and blue feathers
Willy is set to have doted on his children and grandchildren
Hundreds lined the streets in the city last August for Big Willy’s final send off, with his body being carried in a gold-plated casket, transported by a horse-pulled carriage
Upon his death, tributes poured in from across the UK and his beloved home city, where he was known by many as the King of Sheffield.
Hundreds lined the streets in the city last August for Big Willy’s final send off, with his body being carried in a gold-plated casket, transported by a horse-pulled carriage.
His cortege was led by people in velvet suits and crowns with a white funeral carriage being pulled by six plumed horses wearing yellow and blue feathers, 40 Rolls Royce cars and some bikers and vintage cars.
Mary Collins, 30, Willy’s eldest daughter, said: ‘It’s a sad day but it’s also a way to show the world what he meant to us.
Kathleen (pictured) was married to Will for more than 30 years
Tributes paid to Willy said that he ‘still means the world to us’ [the family]
‘Our father was a family man and he means the world to us – he still means the world to us. We’ve given him everything we’ve got and he deserves it.
‘If you met him once for five minutes you would never forget him.
‘We now have somewhere where we can meet and talk about him and for others to remember him.
‘He was my best friend. Not a day goes by where we all don’t think of him.’
