British Broadcasting CorporationHome

Accessibility links

Skip to content
Skip to local navigation
Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation
Skip to bbc.co.uk search
Accessibility Help

BBC News Updated every minute of every day

BBC NEWS CHANNEL

News Front Page

Africa

Americas

Europe

UK

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Education

Magazine

Business

Health

Science & Environment

Also in the news

-----------------

Video and Audio

-----------------

Country Profiles

Special Reports

Related BBC sites

Page last updated at 13:25 GMT, Thursday, 6 August 2009 14:25 UK

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version

In pictures: Last Tommy's funeral

Veteran looks at the order of service

The funeral of Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches of World War I, was held at Wells Cathedral on Thursday 6 August.

Pallbearers carrying the coffin

Six pallbearers from the 1st Battalion The Rifles carried the coffin of World War I veteran Harry Patch into Wells Cathedral. Mr Patch served with The Rifles, formerly the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.

Cortege travels through Wells

The cortege left Mr Patch's care home in Wells, Somerset, where he had lived for 13 years, and travelled through the city to the cathedral.

Police officer salutes as the cortege goes past

Thousands lined the route to pay their respects to Mr Patch who, at the time of his death, was the oldest man in Europe.

Mr Patch died on 25 July at the age of 111.

More than 1,000 tickets were made available so people who wanted to pay their respects could attend the service.

The theme of the service was peace and reconciliation. Two soldiers from the armies of Belgium, France and Germany also took part in the ceremony.

Harry Patch's coffin is placed in the hearse

At the end of the service people clapped as the hearse went by. Mr Patch will be buried in a private ceremony.

The service was attended by the Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Gloucester. Speaking during the service the Very Reverend John Clarke, Dean of Wells, said Harry was an ordinary Somerset man who became extraordinary.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version

Bookmark with:

What are these?

MORE GALLERIES

Oil spill continues
Images from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Mother's love
A glimpse of what life is like for a carer

Your pictures
Readers pictures on the theme of football

World Cup concert
A huge concert in Soweto, South Africa.

Week in pictures
A selection of pictures from the news this week

Trooping the Colour
The 84th official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

BBC navigation

BBC links

- Parental Guidance

Copyright © 2019 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.