The Pink Floyd song Shine on You Crazy Diamond sounded out across the windswept fields as mourners gathered on Tuesday afternoon for the funeral of Derrinallum bomber Glenn Sanders.

It probably brought a lump to the throat of more than a few of the 200 people who turned up to farewell the man who will go down in history as Derrinallum’s most famous son – for all the wrong reasons.

They were an unusual mixture of family members, friends, residents, leather-clad bikers and a few parents with toddlers. They were united as a group to remember the Glenn Sanders they knew by the nicknames “Colonel” or “Rude”, rather than the volatile man who last month blew himself up and injured two police officers.

They stood, in a semi-circle, surrounding a coffin draped with a Confederate flag and finished with a top hat that the 48-year-old would sometimes wear.

Celebrant Di Daffy described a man who had an amazing capacity for work, understood electrics, knew all about hydraulics, was a brilliant mechanic and could fix anything. She spoke of the “son, brother and good friend to many” who was a “very clever, capable and likeable chap”, perhaps the “smartest man in Australia”.

He was a raconteur  who could keep his audience in fits of laughter.

He loved music and was involved with a band for many years. One of his great enjoyments was spending time with his mates, cruising on the motorbike, hanging out in the shed or fishing.

He had a photographic memory and could recall all the number plates of the cars he had worked on, their owners and what parts he had fixed.

He was also a national drag racing champion, holding a record for 10 years.

Andrew Sanders compared his brother to the late Sir Jack Brabham because he was creative and smart and would do anything to gain an edge over his competitors.

Clive Jamieson described Sanders as a dedicated worker who could put his hand to virtually anything at his family’s  property.

The coffin was lowered to the strains of Frank Sinatra’s I Did It My Way followed by a rousing rendition of We’ll Meet Again. Then it was back to the Derrinallum pub for a drink and some stories – just the way the old Glenn would want it.