Guard of honour given at funeral of Portsmouth Royal Navy veteran believed to be last survivor of Dunkirk

Royal Navy sailors provided a guard of honour at the funeral of a veteran who is believed to have been the last naval Dunkirk veteran.

By Freddie Webb

Published 31st Aug 2023, 16:23 BST

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Portsmouth-born Lawrence Churcher passed away aged 102 just days before his 103rd birthday at a care home in Fareham, according to the Project 71 charity which supports Second World War veterans.

Amid pouring rain, the veteran’s coffin, draped in a Union Jack with his Navy cap on top, was carried by pallbearers from the Royal Navy into Portchester Crematorium for a private funeral service attended by family and friends.

NOW READ: Lawrence Churcher passes away

Lawrence Churcher pictured at a memorial aged 99. Picture: PO Arron Hoare.

Lawrence Churcher pictured at a memorial aged 99. Picture: PO Arron Hoare.

Two lines of sailors stood as guard as the hearse arrived. Project 71 previously posted on Facebook: “A truly remarkable man, loved and respected by all who knew him.

“Stand down Lawrence, your duty is done. It has been an honour to have known you.” Mr Churcher, of Porchester – who was awarded the Legion d’Honneur – was posted to HMS Eagle at the start of the war and landed in France in May 1940.

He was tasked with helping to supply ammunition to the frontlines and was posted to a railhead outside Dunkirk. The charity said: “When he, together with thousands of others of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) was ordered to pull back to the beaches, he began looking for the Hampshire Regiment in the hope of finding his two brothers, Edward and George.

“Amazingly they met each other and managed to sail back to the UK on the same ship.” Mr Churcher is reported to have said: “When my brothers found me, I just felt relief.

Lawrence Churcher laying a wreath in commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. Photo: PO Arron Hoare

Lawrence Churcher laying a wreath in commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. Photo: PO Arron Hoare

SEE ALSO: Lawrence Churcher tells his story

“There were so many soldiers there and continuous aircraft dropping bombs and strafing us. I had so many things on my mind until I got on board of our ship. One fella leaned on my shoulder, gave a sigh of relief and said, ‘Thank God we’ve got a Navy’, and that sort of churned it up inside of me.

“We knew we had to get those soldiers back from Dunkirk.” Mr Churcher landed in France when he was just 19 and would serve in the Royal Navy for 22 years.

He was deployed at D-Day, in the Mediterranean and the Far East. Mr Churcher also became Portsmouth FC’s oldest football fan.

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