The coffin of Britain's last WW I infantry veteran Harry Patch, is carried away after his memorial service at Wells Cathedral in Wells, England, Thursday. As a mark of reconciliation, soldiers from Britain, Belgium, France and Germany, at left, walked behind the hearse carrying the coffin. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

Hundreds of people gathered in a southwestern English city Thursday to bid a final farewell to Harry Patch, Britain's last infantryman to serve in the First World War.

Mourners lined the streets of Wells as a hearse carried the coffin, draped in a Union Jack, from Patch's nursing home to Wells Cathedral. As the hearse passed, townspeople fell in behind, walking in silent tribute.

Patch, who only started talking about his experiences in the war in the final years of his life, died on July 25 at the age of 111.

Gen. Richard Dannatt, the top commander of Britain's army, attended the service while an honour guard was drawn from The Rifles regiment, successor to Patch's unit. Soldiers from France, Germany and Belgium escorted the coffin, in tribute to Patch's respect for all the soldiers in the war.

"Today marks the passing of a generation, and of a man who dedicated his final years to spreading the message of peace and reconciliation," British Veterans Minister Kevan Jones said in remarks prepared ahead of the service.

"Active participation in the Great War is now no longer part of living memory in this country, but Harry Patch will continue to be a symbol of the bravery and sacrifice shown by him and those he served with."

Roughly 1,400 people attended the service inside the church, while hundreds more stood outside. No weapons, even ceremonial weapons, were permitted inside the cathedral for the service, which his family called "a service of peace and reconciliation."

'It wasn't worth it'

First World War veteran Harry Patch poses for a formal portrait in November 2008. (Don McCullin/Reuters)

Patch will be buried where he was born, in the mining village of Combe Down, about 33 kilometres northeast of Wells.

The veteran had been the last surviving soldier from the British Army to have served in the 1914-18 war. Patch was called up for service in the British army in 1917 when he was working as a teenage apprentice plumber.

A few weeks later, in one of the bloodiest battles of the Great War, at Passchendaele near the Belgian town of Ypres, he was badly wounded and three of his best friends were killed by a shell explosion.

In recent years, he and his dwindling band of fellow survivors became poignant symbols of the conflict.

He didn't kill anyone during the war, but said when a German soldier charged him with a bayonet, he shot the man in the leg to avoid killing him.

During an interview about the war in 2007, Patch said he didn't speak about the war for 80 years and avoided war movies.

"If any man tells you he went into the front line and wasn't scared, he's a liar. You were scared stiff," he said.

He said he came to believe the casualties weren't justified.

"I met someone from the German side and we both shared the same opinion: we fought, we finished and we were friends," he said. "It wasn't worth it."

Born on June 17, 1898, in Somerset County, Patch worked as a plumber after the war. He married in 1919 and had two sons. His wife died in 1976 and his sons have also predeceased him. He married again in 1980 and his second wife died in 1984.