THE funeral of a well-known Sedbergh parish priest who spent two months in a Gestapo-run prison will take place tomorrow (March 2).

The Rev Dr E.P.E. Long, known as Bill, was born at Sydenham, Kent and grew up in Liverpool.

He attended Rock Ferry High School and then studied at Liverpool University, going on to receive a research MA award in 1938.

He went to the University of Paris to work for a doctorate. In September 1939 war broke out and Bill and his fiancee Helen Prenter, who was teaching French at the British Institute, tried to escape on foot.

They got as far as Chartres, when they were mistaken by farmers for German spies and were taken to the police station.

An officer looked at their passports and wished them "bonne chance" and after a month of walking and sleeping in barns, they returned to their separate digs in Paris.

Bill was soon arrested and spent two months in the Fresnes Prison and Helen was appointed by a Professor of English at the university to a lectureship.

After two months Bill was transferred to a camp at St Denis, in Paris, before being transferred to Besancon, where Helen had already been sent.

In February 1941 they were allowed to wed and were sent to married quarters at Vittel. Here, their baby son Robin Hugh was born.

Bill was given permission in March 1944 to travel by train to Paris for his final verbal examination and went on to be awarded the "Doctorat de l'Universite de Paris, Mention Honorable".

Bill and his family were liberated on July 10, 1944 and travelled by train to reach the Spanish border.

At one station they heard an air-raid siren and were ordered off the train, when allied planes bombed the station and sprayed the ground with machine gun fire.

Eventually they reached Lisbon and after a few days they boarded a Swedish ship, painted white to signify neutrality.

Exactly a month after leaving Vittel, and following four years of profound anxiety, they sailed into Liverpool harbour to the cheers of office workers on a ferry

Helen's uncle, Kenneth Anderson, was teaching music at Sedbergh School, and through this connection, after a telephone interview with the head teacher, Bill was appointed to join the staff.

He taught French, German, senior English Literature and religious studies. Among his pupils were Tom Bingham, later Lord Chief Justice, and John Arden, playwright, who inscribed copies of their books to him.

In July 1947, his son, Robin Hugh, was taken ill on his fourth birthday, and died the following night. Bill sought a change of scene and obtained a lectureship at Newcastle University.

After an unhappy and unsettled year, Bill and Helen were welcomed back to Sedbergh School. In 1969 Bill changed to part-time teaching, while considering ordination.

Helen died in January 1972 and after much thought and encouragement, Bill entered Lincoln Theological College.

The principal, Alec Graham, later Bishop of Newcastle, became Bill's close friend. After two terms there, Bill was ordained at St Andrew's Parish Church in 1973.

He gave his final sermon at the age of 97 at a service marking the Sedbergh Music Festival and passed away aged 103.

Bill's funeral will take place on March 15 at 11am at St Andrew's Parish Church, Sedbergh.