The skies over Birmingham were a gloomy gray, matching the weight in every heart gathered that day. Thousands lined the streets, holding candles, vinyl records, handmade signs, and tears. But one man stood out—not for his clothes, or the way he wept—but for the photograph in his trembling hands.

It was old, faded, and slightly torn at the corners. But unmistakably real. In the photo, a young Ozzy Osbourne—wet from head to toe—sat on a patch of grass, laughing. Next to him, a stranger with unruly hair and a mustache grinned, looking exhausted but relieved.

“That’s my father,” whispered Jamie Bennett, 32, a construction worker from the north of England. “He pulled Ozzy out of a river back in ‘78. They never saw each other again.”

The story sounded like myth. Jamie’s father, the late Alan Bennett, had told it countless times at pubs and family gatherings. Back in the summer of 1978, Ozzy had stumbled away from a rehearsal outside Manchester, tipsy and frustrated, and wandered near a riverbank. According to Alan, who was fishing nearby, he saw someone slip into the water and get dragged by the current. Without a second thought, he dove in.

“He didn’t know it was Ozzy at first,” Jamie explained. “He just saw a guy drowning and jumped in. They sat on the bank after, catching their breath, and shared a cigarette. Ozzy never even asked his name. Just said, ‘Cheers, mate,’ and disappeared.”

For decades, the story remained nothing more than a footnote in family lore. But Jamie never forgot. Neither did his dad. Alan died in 2021, and his final words to Jamie were, “If you ever meet Ozzy, tell him he still owes me a pint.”

Jamie never got that chance. But when news of Ozzy’s passing broke, something inside him stirred.

“I couldn’t sit at home and just watch it on TV. I had to be there,” he said. “It felt… unfinished.”

He drove over 300 miles to Birmingham, clutching the photo his mother had kept in a shoebox for decades. He didn’t know what he would do with it—only that he had to bring it.

When the procession began and Ozzy’s casket made its slow, majestic way through the crowd, silence fell. People cried, sang softly, or held hands. Jamie didn’t move.