Leeds WW2 veteran Harry Thrush's funeral attended by hundreds

Harry Thrush, who died on Christmas Eve at the age of 92, travelled the length and breadth of the region to attend funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

Hundreds of people have turned out for the funeral of a war veteran who attended memorial services for fallen soldiers across Yorkshire.

Harry Thrush, 92, travelled the region to pay his respects to soldiers who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, most of whom he did not know.

His family had invited all military personnel to attend his own funeral.

Daughter Janet Smith said: "It would mean the world to him to have that same representation at his funeral."

She said her father, a World War Two veteran from Leeds who died on Christmas Eve, wanted to "pay respects to the young soldiers and comrades" who had been repatriated back home from both wars.

"I think it did mean a lot to those families," she said.

"After I lost my mum he spent more time at remembrance parades and pursuing interests with the likes of the British Legion, so that had become a big part of his life in the last few years."

Military personnel were among the mourners who attended Mr Thrush's funeral in Beeston

Ms Smith said she had hoped the same gesture would be returned to him from "some of the families whose lives he had touched".

"It's just the send off he would want and it's just an absolute fitting tribute to my dad."

Mourners joined a procession from the veteran's home in Robin Hood to St Mary's Parish Church in Beeston, where the funeral service took place.