Dubonnet and gin for band of loyal followers

About 100 mourners spent the night camped outside Clarence House and Whitehall to ensure they secured the prime viewing spots for the procession taking the Queen Mother's coffin to Westminster Hall. Grandmother Valerie Lilley, 61, and her three granddaughters spent the night in sleeping bags near Parliament Square.

Mrs Lilley, who saw King George VI lying in state in Westminster Hall, said: "I wanted my granddaughters to experience something of what I saw as a girl. It's cold, the pavement is hard and we've been here since noon yesterday. But, if it's anything like I remember the atmosphere when King George was lying in state or the Coronation it will have been worthwhile."

East Ender Gamal Allam, 33, met the Queen Mother when she returned to West Ham to visit a church damaged in the hurricane of

1987. He said: "The Queen Mother had visited it after it was bombed and she came back to the East End to see it again after we put the roof back on following the hurricane."

By mid-morning the crowd had swelled to several thousand people waiting behind crash barriers in the spring sunshine, reliving precious memories.

Reg Bowden, 68, a retired security guard from Barking, said the Queen Mother gave his family hope when she visited the East End during the Blitz. He said: "We lived just off the Mile End Road in a little row of houses. One night the Luftwaffe dumped a load of bombs and they were gone. We were devastated but a few days later there she was chatting to ordinary people in the East End."

Kenneth Bromwich, a 64-year old retired engineer, came to pay his respects to the woman he saw when he was five outside his father's pie and mash shop in Canning Town. He said: "She had a maroon Rolls-Royce which was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. She and that Rolls-Royce are stuck in my head forever."

Noel Kerfoot-Owens travelled from Holywell in North Wales. The former schoolteacher met the Queen Mother in Chester in the early Seventies. "She posed just for me, with that radiant smile."

Thomas Freaney, 22, a security guard with Chelsea football club, said he had been going home after a night out when he realised the ceremony was not something he wanted to miss. He said: "She touched the hearts of so many people - even people of my generation."

Rob Bartlett and his wife Lesley, both 30, from Bury, Greater Manchester, sacrificed a night in a London hotel to be part of the allnight vigil outside Clarence House.

Shirley Messenger, 50, from New Milton, Hants, a PA to the headmaster of a private school, had some handy advice. Mrs Messenger said: "The secret of staying out all night in the cold is to have adequate food and liquor. We're having gin and Dubonnet and gin and tonic. I think the Queen Mother would approve."

Evelyn Robinson, an 88-year-old grandmother from Atlanta, Georgia, came to the Mall to watch the procession before flying home.

Among the crowds outside St James's Palace was Patricia North, 59, with her granddaughter Katy, 11. She said: "My family are all Londoners and I think the Queen Mother has a special place in Londoners' hearts."

The Cenotaph held a special significance for the Queen Mother who felt a close affinity to the young men who gave all for their country, and it felt natural for Mr Walsh to come here today. "Being here brings back so many memories of past Remembrance Sundays," said the 85-year-old, a veteran of the torpedo boat that defended the English Channel during the Second World War.

"She always came to our special laying of the wreath at the Coastal Forces Memorial the day before Armistice Day."

Mr Walsh, who also served in the Pacific, spoke for the many ex-servicemen who came to pay tribute at the spot where the Queen Mother had in the past paid tribute to them alongside generations of prime ministers and politicians. "She was there for us and we had the greatest respect for her," he said.

Equally keen on paying their respects were the Vinning family from east London. Vivien Vinning, 38, had brought her four daughters. "They know quite a lot about the royal family and they understand she stayed in London during the war. All my family are from the East End and the Queen Mother reminded me of both my grandmothers, who always looked up to the royal family," said Mrs Vinning from South Woodford. With her waiting patiently were Sarah, eight, Elizabeth, six, Katy, 10 and Annabelle, four. Katy, who with Sarah had watched the Queen Mother's centenary pageant, said: "We've come to see the Queen Mother's coffin go by because she was really good to the country. She was very kind and she waved to me on her hundredth birthday," she said.

Thirty minutes before the start of the procession, the crowd stood three-deep along Whitehall. Some were in black but the majority were in everyday clothes.

Ann Ebbs, 74, arrived early from Hackney to stand at the barriers. She had taken part in the Queen Mother's centenary pageant as a member of the Lilian Baylis Over Sixties Performance Group and wanted to say a final farewell. "I wanted to pay my respects to a wonderful old lady," said Mrs Ebbs who moved to London from Dublin 40 years ago. "She could always talk to people as if she was on their level and they were on hers and she could always bring out the best in them. We'll miss her smile and the way she would always put her head on one side."