The Last Post was played as mourners said a final goodbye to a former solider who died in Ukraine.
Jay Thorn, from Wark near Hexham, Northumberland, was killed in a car crash in the war-torn country on May 21. The 36-year-old, who was a fusilier for eight years, had travelled there to train Ukrainian soldiers.
Jay, who used to run The King's Head in Allendale, Northumberland, had been due to marry his fiancée Louise Lathbury.
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At 1.15pm on Friday afternoon, a military funeral service was held for Jay at West Road Crematorium in Newcastle. Fusiliers marched with flags in front of his coffin, which was draped draped in a red and white England flag and carried in a hearse.
Dozens of family and friends gathered in the chapel as fusiliers carried his coffin inside to the song of 'In case You Didn't Know' by Brett Young. Two poems and a tribute to Jay were then read out in his honour.
Mourners heard how Jay had been born in Reading and had moved to Northumberland. During his time in The Army, he was based Catterick, North Yorkshire, as well as areas of Germany and Cyprus.
Stephen Benson, who conducted the service, said: "Jay was very much a guy who was tough on the outside but absolutely soft on the inside too.
"A gentle soul, and many would refer to him as their brother, which I've already heard. He looked after people, he could actually be described very much as a rescuer.
"He was well loved and loved well in return and he has been taken from this world, of course, far too soon. And I know that he will be very sadly missed by all of his family and all of his friends, in particular of course Louise. We are all forever proud of Jay."
The song 'Life Goes On' by Ed Sheeran feat Luke Combs was played as people sat in silence and reflected on their memories of Jay.
There were tears as For the Fallen was then read out and The Last Post was played by a member of the Fusilier's at the back of the chapel.
The service ended with the 'Wagon Wheel' by Darius Rucker and those who attended were invited to The Ex Serviceman's Club in Hexham for refreshments.
Chronicle Live previously reported how groom-to-be Jay had travelled to Ukraine to do humanitarian work after the war broke out in February 2022.
Louise said he was helping to train the Ukrainian soldiers desperately trying to defend their homeland from Russia's invasion. The Foreign Office confirmed that Jay's death was not thought to be connected to the ongoing war.
While Louise feared for her partner's safety as he worked in the war zone, she never imagined that he would lose his life in a collision, that could have happened anywhere in the world.
She said: "He was hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He had that exterior of being tough and he was tough but he a big softy inside. He just wanted to do some good.
"He had been going back and forward since the war started. He was doing a bit of everything over there. He was training a lot of the soldiers, because he's ex military and he was supporting different units.
"He felt he had skills that could be used there. It was something he felt he had to do."
More than £18,000 was donated to an online fundraising page Louise set up to help cover the costs of Jay's repatriation. Any money left over will be donated to charity.
