Tributes paid to the last ‘Tommy’

THE last “Tommy” Harry Patch was buried yesterday as thousands paid tribute to the last voice of a generation of sacrifice.

Patch, who died aged 111 on July 25, was honoured at a service at Wells Cathedral, in Somerset.

He was the last British Army veteran of the First World War and the last to have served in the trenches of the Western Front, serving as an assistant gunner in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, where half a

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.

Members of the Royal British Legion bearing standards formed a guard outside the cathedral.

The coffin, covered in the Union Flag with a wreath of red roses on top, was carried by soldiers of 1st Battalion The Rifles, with two soldiers of each of the armed forces of Belgium, France and Germany as pall-bearers.

Behind the coffin, Patch’s great nephew, Dave Tucker, from Devizes, Wiltshire, carried his medals and decorations.

“I feel extremely proud to have carried Harry’s medals today. Echoing Harry’s message of peace and reconciliation, I felt I was carrying the medals of all those who fought in the Great War, reflecting the service, dedication and sacrifice they gave to their countries,” he said.

Alongside Patch’s family and friends, the cathedral was full to its 1,400 capacity.

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

The anti-war song Where Have All The Flowers Gone was sung, chosen by Patch’s family to reflect his feelings on the futility of war.

The service ended with a bugler sounding the Last Post and a minute’s silence as Patch’s coffin was taken for private burial at Monkton Coombe Church.

* Harry Patch (In Memory Of), a tribute by rock group Radiohead, can be downloaded for £1 from www.radiohead.com.