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Jewish funeral for Beckham's grandfather

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David Beckham has paid his respects to his Jewish grandfather Joseph West, at the funeral held in Golders Green cemetery.

Wearing a blue kippah and his grandfather’s blue Tottenham Hotspur tie, Mr Beckham and his wife Victoria joined a large gathering of friends and family at the cemetery.

Mr West, who was 83 and the father of Beckham’s mother Sandra, was described by Beckham as his “footballing inspiration” and the two were extremely close.

When Beckham received his OBE at Buckingham Palace in 2003, Joe and Sandra accompanied him to meet the Queen.

Mr West had been seriously ill for some time, and Beckham flew from LA to visit his grandfather after he was hospitalised in August this year.

In his first autobiography My World, Beckham talked about how his grandfather’s Judaism had influenced him, saying: "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion."

"I used to wear the traditional Jewish skullcaps when I was younger, and I also went along to some Jewish weddings with my grandfather."

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