Final salute for 'glass half-full' WW2 veteran
3 hours ago
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Phillip Norton
,
in Scunthorpe
and
Eleanor Maslin
,
East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
Family handout
Tom McKenzie, who died at the age of 100, served with the 1st Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in 1945
A funeral has been held for a 100-year-old veteran who "lived for the day" and served in Burma during World War Two.
Tom McKenzie, from Scunthorpe, was 19 when he served in the 1st Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment in 1945.
Tom Blears, secretary of the Winterton & District Royal British Legion (RBL) branch, who attended the funeral with other legion members, said war veterans were "a fading generation" and we "ought to show them all the respect they deserve".
Lucy Bate, McKenzie's granddaughter, said: "I'm really grateful I had him as my grandad."
The funeral, held at Woodlands Crematorium in Scunthorpe on Thursday, was attended by members of the Winterton & District branch of the RBL along with a contingent from the Royal Yorkshire Regiment.
McKenzie's daughter, Julie Cooper, said he was known by his great grandchildren as "donkey grandad", as he would take them for rides at the seaside.
Members of the Royal British Legion paid their respects at Tom McKenzie's funeral on Thursday
Speaking at the funeral, Blears said: "Today is very significant because I don't know if there are any more war veterans living in this immediate area.
"There will be a few up and down the country but they're passing away. It's a fading generation."
Cooper added: "The regiment with the standard bearers...he would have been so proud of that.
"It was a nice, happy service. To have been 100 and so young at heart is quite a quality."
Tom Blears, from the Royal British Legion, says war veterans are a "fading generation"
Cooper described her father as a "very fun, happy-go-lucky man".
"He was a glass half-full sort of chap. He lived for the day. He never thought about how old he was.
"You would think he was about 10 sometimes the way he used to skip around before he got ill."
Cooper added that her father had told her about some of his experiences during the war, which she described as "awful".
"It affects them for the rest of their life, but he's also very proud to have been in the regiment."
She said her father always remembered his army number, and would even incorporate it into his lottery numbers.
Family members Dorian Bate, Lucy Bate and Julie Cooper said McKenzie would have been proud of the Royal British Legion's involvement at his funeral
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Related internet links
Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion
Scunthorpe
Veterans
World War Two