MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Thousands at the funeral procession of the last WW I British veteran

The coffin was carried into the cathedral by soldiers of 1st Battalion The Rifles, with two soldiers from Belgium, France and Germany as pall-bearers

Thousands of people have lined the streets to watch the funeral procession of the last British veteran of the First World War trenches. Harry Patch, 111, the Last Tommy, who did not want a state funeral, was honoured at a service at Wells Cathedral, Somerset.

The retired plumber's cortege left Fletcher House care home, where he lived for 13 years, amid emotional scenes as carers and fellow residents formed a guard of honour.

His hearse made its way through the town as people lined the streets to pay their respects. Two fire engines and crews from Avon Fire and Rescue and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue were in position on either side of the high street in salute to Mr Patch's career in the fire brigade.

Last week hundreds of people queued outside the cathedral for several hours to get one of the 1,050 tickets to the funeral which were allocated to the public. And hundreds more well-wishers waited for hours in the rain outside the cathedral to watch the service on a big screen. Men and women of all ages - including Glastonbury festival organiser Michael Eavis - watched in respectful quiet as the eulogies and music were played.

Among them was Andy Tams, who brought his six-year-old son Tolly from Staffordshire. He said: “I have a lot of interest in the war so I felt it right to come along and pay our respects and say goodbye. We went to Normandy for the D-Day anniversary. I wanted to keep my son's interest alive. Harry Patch represented the end of an era. It is a part of Britain that is now lost”.

The coffin, covered in the Union Flag with a wreath of red roses on top, was carried into the cathedral by soldiers of 1st Battalion The Rifles, with two soldiers of each of the armed forces of Belgium, France and Germany as pall-bearers. Alongside Mr Patch's family and friends, the cathedral was full to its 1,400 capacity of people who wanted to pay their respects to a man they may never have met but who has come to represent a generation of sacrifice. They were joined by the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Gloucester in her capacity as president of the World War One Veterans' Association, Veterans Minister Kevan Jones and General Sir Richard Dannatt.

Marie-France Andre of the Belgian embassy read an extract from Mr Patch's book The Last Fighting Tommy, describing the final moments of a soldier that he witnessed on the battlefield - a memory that haunted him.

The anti-war song Where Have All The Flowers Gone was sung by 15-year-old Folasade-Nelleke Lapido, head chorister at Wells Cathedral. The song was chosen by Mr Patch's family to reflect his feelings on the futility of war.

The service concluded with a bugler sounding the Last Post and a minute's silence as Mr Patch's coffin was taken out. Nick Fear, a close friend of Mr Patch, recited The Ode of Remembrance and dedicated it to Mr. Patch and the three friends he lost in the battlefield. Elgar's Nimrod was played while the hearse left Cathedral Green. Mr Patch was then taken for a private burial ceremony at Monkton Coombe Church.