"At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

Those were the poignant words as strangers and new-found friends bid a fond farewell to a former soldier who served in the Glorious Glosters.

Army veteran Peter Pickard, who served 18 years in the Army, was 74 years old when he died in hospital on December 29 last year.

But with no ways of tracing his two older sisters or the rest of his family, his body was left unclaimed for months.

A public health funeral - known also as a ‘pauper’s funeral’ - was arranged by the local authority for Peter, with little prospect of people saying their final goodbyes.

But the Riders of the Royal British Legion (RBL) made it their mission to get people to attend, and an appeal in Bristol Live saw more than 200 people flooding into Canford Crematorium today (Wednesday, May 23).

Driving in to the tunes of a bagpipe, a motorcycle tribute followed Peter into the service hall, where some 200 former servicemen and well wishers were waiting

Ex-soldiers from the Gloucestershire Regiment and other units lined the hall as he was brought in, followed by the standard bearers from several different RBL branches.

Back badges - famous to the Glosters - filled the hall in memory of a comrade who had gone alone.

There was barely any standing space, with every seat taken by former and serving soldiers of all ages.

The celebrant told those gathered: “We are grateful so many of you who served in the Army have come to pay your respects to a fellow soldier.

“As you know, this is a public health ceremony because nobody came forward in terms of family. This service may well have been done by myself with no one in attendance.

“But I’m aware that word was put out and that’s why we are all here today.”

Well-known in Bedminster, Peter was a private man and liked going to meet friends in South Bristol. He spent time in the Holy Cross and Coronation, while also meeting at the Assembly regularly.

The service heard words from his close friend Julie, who had got to know him for the past 13 years.

“Peter was a very generous person. He could be cheeky but never rude,” Julie said in a message.

“He would always put his friends first and he would go without if he knew you needed something.”

They recalled how Peter had paid for friends to go on holiday when they needed a break, and also allowed them to stay with him when times were hard.

In the past few years, Peter came and went from hospital, and he sadly died at the end of last year.

Wave the Old World Goodbye by Simply Red was played through the speakers while the colours were lowered in memory of the former serviceman.

Tears flowed as Robert Laurence Binyon’s famous poem, For the Fallen, was read: “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

“Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

The crematorium fell into a two-minute silence to remember him, and those gathered looked on and the service came to a close.

As the dozens of strangers left the hall, many shook hands and became a band of brothers and sisters, knowing they had done one of their own proud.