A moment to remember two young lives brutally cut short

With poetry, hymns and fond memories, the families of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman joined 2,000 relatives, neighbours, friends and townspeople in the 12th-century splendour of Ely Cathedral yesterday to give thanks for their short lives.

They did not want to dwell on the trauma of the past few weeks but to remember the girls – Jessica, the football-playing tomboy who would have turned 11 tomorrow, and Holly, the outgoing majorette who played the cornet.

Shortly after 5pm Kevin and Nicola Wells, together with Leslie Chapman and his wife, Sharon, were led into the cathedral by the Bishop of Ely, the Rt Rev Anthony Russell, and their vicar, the Rev Tim Alban Jones, before being greeted by the Vice Dean, Canon John Ings.

As Mr Wells stood at the lectern, a tiny figure amidst the sea of people, he was not addressing the assembled police officers, teachers, friends and neighbours from Soham. As he read the poem he had written for her, he was talking to his 10-year-old daughter:

"Your right to grow, to mature and to play/ so cruelly denied in a sinister way.

"Attentive and caring, a parent's delight/ but so young at heart, needed comfort at night.

"The garden's so quiet, the house is too/ but pausing for a moment, we can still sense you."

The cathedral had been chosen because Soham's parish church, St Andrew's, just could not cope with the numbers. Its grandiose and ornate surroundings – decorated with pink and white lily and rose floral arrangements – only served to highlight the ordinariness of the families caught up in this extraordinary saga. Holly's big brother Oliver, 12, sat among his extended family at the front – as did Jessica's older sisters Rebecca, 16, and Alison, 14 – while the Bishop explained that the Wells and Chapman families had called everyone together to thank them for their support and comfort.

For Leslie and Sharon Chapman, the prospect of standing up in front of so many had proved too emotionally daunting. Instead they chose the man whose task it had been to break the news of their daughter's death, to represent them.

Detective Constable Brian Stevens, the Cambridgeshire Police family liaison officer who was with them throughout the depths of their grief, was determined not to betray the "honour and privilege'' vested in him by breaking down.

Reading from a poem by a fellow Soham resident Kathleen Golding, he said: "Lord comfort the broken hearted/ and give them strength from within. With so many questions unanswered/ this family are feeling such pain/ from their loss of their precious daughter/ and their longing to see her again."

It then fell to Mr Wells to read his tribute to Holly before a Scottish piper played Samantha's Lullaby.

The girls' headteacher at St Andrew's Primary School, Geoff Fisher, then read from the book of Corinthians, ending: "So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Mr Alban Jones then took his place at the front to give his address. He said: "In the course of their short lives Holly and Jessica achieved about the same as most 10-year-olds – perhaps just a little more – but in their death they have certainly achieved more than any of us will manage in our lifetime. In the course of the past few weeks we have witnessed the most extraordinary sights. We have seen thousands upon thousands of flowers and cards and soft toys being brought to St Andrew's Church ... we have seen strangers and friends weeping together ... we have seen the dedication and diligence of hundreds of police officers, we have seen our town of Soham brought together and united in common grief and we have seen the extraordinary bravery, courage and dignity of two sets of parents," he said.

He added: "That love which Holly and Jessica knew and shared with their families and friends does continue, even though they themselves are not here. Their memories will remain, of Jessica's enthusiasm for everything, the way she wanted to be in there, doing it all and her lovely smile and cheeky nature, or how Holly was the perfect daughter with her love of dancing and football and the way she enjoyed helping other children with her winning smile."

Explaining that it was too early to decide what kind of memorial should be set up for Holly and Jessica, he continued: "Would not the best and most lasting memorial to these two lovely girls be a change for the better in how we behave towards each other ... the very worst thing that could happen as a result of what took place in Soham is that a whole generation of children should grow up without being able to trust anyone."

Following more hymns and prayers Holly and Jessica's parents left the Cathedral quietly accompanied by church staff. They disappeared out of sight – away from the supportive, but nevertheless prying eyes of the world to prepare for what they now hope will be private family funerals.