HUNDREDS of veterans and serving members of the armed forces turned out to Saltwell Crematorium in Gateshead to pay their last respects to a former RAF pilot who died with just one family member remaining.
Former Wellington bomber rear gunner, John Cook, died aged 96 having served in the RAF during the Second World War.
Mr Cook’s only living relative is a stroke-disabled son.
The social media group Veterans Honoured had asked people to “attend if you can - or spread the word”.
The group aims to highlight funerals of veterans where few relatives, family or friends are attending.
There was an overwhelming response from former and current servicemen and women as well as members of the public who lined the route to the crematorium.
A spokesman for the group said: “Mr Cook’s story has caught many people’s attention as it was shared around many air training corps and RAF pages on Facebook and Twitter.”
Mr Cook’s funeral took place earlier today at 1pm.
According to a message on the group’s Facebook page, there was a “brilliant turnout” for the funeral, with members of the police and fire brigade as well as the ATC – Air Training Corp – also attending.
The message added: “His son couldn’t thank everyone enough… he had a deservedly fitting send off.”
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Designed in the mid-1930s the Vickers Wellington first flew in 1936 and the bomber played a key role during the war.
Largely used as a night bomber it was used throughout the conflict.
As the name suggests, the rear gunner sat at the back of the plane squeezed into cramped, freezing, solitary conditions, and flying backwards.
Although estimates vary, a rear gunner could, on average, be expected to be either shot down or killed within two weeks of starting flying missions.
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