THE last survivor of the Jarrow March has died at the age of 93.

Cornelius Whalen was one of 200 jobless men who took their fight against poverty to the doorstep of Stanley Baldwin's government in 1936.

His family said that, although he never admitted it, he died proud that he and his comrades had stamped their home town's name in the history books. The crusader, who lived nearly all his life in Hadrian Road, Jarrow, South Tyneside, joined fellow marchers on October 5, 1936 for the long trek to London to demand work for the poverty-hit town.

The marchers arrived in London on November 1, 1936 after covering almost 300 miles.

A petition of 12,000 signatures was handed into Parliament by Ellen Wilkinson the Labour MP for Jarrow.

Mr Whalen died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, on Sunday.

Last year, Jarrow Brewery in his home town even named a beer after him, called Old Cornelius, which is now on sale at pubs throughout the area.

His son-in-law, Tom Graham, said: "Con had suffered a massive stroke after a series of small heart attacks and died peacefully at 5am on Sunday after just slipping away.

"Although he never admitted it, I think he was quite proud of his part in the Jarrow March and I taped his memories of the event for my daughter, who is a teacher in Manchester, because the Jarrow March is part of the National Curriculum."

In October 2001, Mr Whalen, who leaves a daughter, Teresa and three granddaughters, left his hospital bed to watch the unveiling of a sculpture outside Morrisons in Jarrow commemorating the march.

A Requiem Mass for Mr Whalen will be held at St Mary's RC Church in Glasgow Road, the Scotch Estate, Jarrow, at 9am on Friday, followed by a service at Jarrow Cemetery.