Laid to rest: Harry Patch, the last fighting Tommy

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Harry Patch, who fought in the trenches as a machine gunner and died two weeks ago aged 111, was the country's last living link with the Great War.

Today his coffin was carried through the streets of Wells on the shoulders of soldiers from four nations amid respectful applause from the crowds before a service at the city's cathedral, which was relayed on a large screen outside.

Speaking at the service, which was attended by relatives, dignitaries and Army chiefs, the Dean of Wells, the Very Reverend John Clarke, paid tribute. "Harry was an ordinary Somerset man, a plumber who tended his vegetable gardens, looked after his chickens but he became extraordinary, someone who was an icon for our nation and for western Europe," he said.

Veterans minister Kevan Jones added: "Today marks the passing of a generation, and of a man who dedicated his final years to spreading the message of peace and reconciliation." After the service, at which mourners heard an extract from Mr Patch's book, The Last Fighting Tommy, and a rendition of the anti-war song Where Have all the Flowers Gone, sung by a solo chorister to show Mr Patch's antipathy to violence, his body was taken away by his family for a private burial.

Mourners in First World War uniforms at funeral service

Mr Patch's great-nephew David Tucker, from Devizes, Wiltshire, who carried his medals and decorations through Wells to the service, said: "I feel extremely proud. 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."

Mr Patch's coffin was borne by soldiers of 1st Battalion The Rifles, with two soldiers of each of the armed forces of Belgium, France and Germany acting as pall-bearers. Representatives of the three country's governments also attended as did General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the Army's general staff.

Mr Patch, who was born in 1898 in Combe Down, died on 25 July at a care home in Wells. He left school at 15 to train as a plumber, but became a machine-gunner and served as a private from June to September 1917.