HUNDREDS of people are expected to attend the funeral of a British war veteran they never knew after it emerged he died with no close friends or relatives.

Harold Jellicoe Percival helped with the famous Dambusters raids during the Second World War.

He died last month aged 99 in a nursing home in the UK but had lived much of his life in Australia.

Poignantly for the ex-military man, his funeral service will be held at 11am on Armistice Day on Monday.

But Percival never married, had no children and has no close family members able to attend the service.

Those involved in organising the funeral say they have been contacted by veterans' groups and other military supporters keen to acknowledge Percival's career.

Funeral director Edmund Jacobs said: "We're hoping a few faces will turn up and show their support for a war hero.

"It doesn't sit well with me that somebody who has served their country can be forgotten about, that his service can go un-noted.

"I am sure he would have had a few stories to tell."

Mr Percival was one of four siblings but lived a "nomadic lifestyle" after leaving the RAF at the end of the war.

His nephew, David Worsell, said: "He was a private man, he worked in Australia for a number of years as a decorator and would visit England for holidays.

"He travelled around England with only his backpack.

"He didn't have a postal address, he just used to get everything sent to my mother's address and would go through it when they met up."

Percival was based in the north west of England and became part of the ground crew which helped with the Dambusters, the squadron which was initially formed to destroy dams in the Ruhr valley in Nazi Germany.

After working in Australia, he later retired to England.

He was a distant relative of former British prime minister Spencer Perceval, who was shot dead by a bankrupt broker, John Bellingham, as he entered the House of Commons, in 1812.

"My uncle would be very surprised at the attention this seems to have received and the number of people wanting to attend," Worsell said.

"What with him being a very private person, forming long-term relationships didn't seem to be part of his make-up.

"He didn't really speak about his military career but he perhaps wished he didn't leave the RAF at the end of the war.

"But he was a free spirit."