Memorial service held at Southsea Model Village for D-Day Veteran who served in World War II

William Augustus Silvester, also known as Bill, played an integral part in the D-Day landings, for which he received a Legion D'honneur medal to commend his actions.

Bill died in February at the brilliant age of 98 and he had an unattended funeral which followed his wishes - but the city has come together today to mark his service to the country.

He joined the Royal Navy at only 15 years old and he embarked on a career in service, and during his time he spent two two years in the Arctic Convoys in World War II.

He trained at the Royal Navy Signals School in Portsmouth before he was posted to HMS Berwick which was deployed to the Denmark Straits in 1941 and later went up to Russia.

Today, flocks of people turned out for the memorial of Bill where they paid tribute to a much-loved character who dedicated years of his lifetime to protecting and serving the country during some of the most treacherous times.

The public service was held at Southsea Model Village this morning from 10am to 12noon and the remembrance ceremony welcomed service people and officials.

There was a minute's silence and a wreath laying ceremony to honour the 98-year-old and the ceremony was an emotional one.

Richie Farman was a friend of Bill’s and he helped organise the memorial which took place today. The pair met through SSAFA, which is an armed forces charity dedicated to helping service people and their families.

He said: ‘It is very emotional especially because we didn’t know until he died that he requested an unattended funeral so his daughter asked me if I could do a small memorial and it has grown and grown.

‘Bill was living in France and before Brexit he wanted to come back to England so he got in touch with SSAFA and they moved him back to the UK.

‘He was your best friend, he was so funny, we used to go out for dinner and he had such a wicked sense of humour.’

The ceremony for Bill was organised by The Royal Naval Association's Portsea and Portsmouth Branch, The Southsea Model Village and The Pompey Pals Charity.

SEE ALSO: D-Day veteran Bill Silvester to be celebrated at memorial service

Richie got in touch with Pompey Pals to see if they could help him set up the memorial event for Bill and they managed to get the location of the Southsea Model Village, which was packed full with people.

Gareth Lewis, Chairman of Pompey Pals, said: ‘It is an absolute honour especially this week because we commemorated the 79th anniversary of D-Day and it is especially nice to have it here.

‘Veterans in D-Day have got stories to tell and that is what this charity is all about. It is about re telling those stories so that future generations can go back and see what happened.

‘Bill was only 15 when he signed up, can you imagine? 15 years old - incredible.

‘It is an absolutely fitting place to have it here and remember his story.’