A HERO LAID TO REST: Hundreds gathered to honor one of the last surviving Royal Marines veterans of World War II, who passed away at the remarkable age of 105.

Crowds lined the streets in silence as the coffin passed, many holding poppies and saluting a man who once stood on the front lines during one of history’s darkest chapters. Veterans, families, and young cadets stood side by side — a living reminder that his legacy stretches across generations.

For those who came to say goodbye, it wasn’t just a funeral. It was the nation pausing to thank a hero who carried the memory of war for more than a century. 🕊️

Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their final respects to one of the last remaining Royal Marine veterans of the Second World War.

The funeral of Jim Wren, the 105-year-old national hero who died earlier this year, drew a massive turnout of grievers to the streets of Salisbury in honour of his lifetime of service.

The ceremony was attended by family, friends and well-wishers and his coffin was draped in a Royal Marine Corps Flag as it was carried into St Thomas’s Church by servicemen to complete silence.

During the service, he was described by his family as a ‘passive man who would never get angry’ and who rarely spoke about his service, ‘only opening up in recent years’.

Mr Wren, who the Japanese held during the war, joined the Royal Marines on his uncle’s advice after initial rejections from both the RAF and the British Army at age 19.

After completing his training, he was assigned to a First World War-era battle-cruiser, HMS Repulse, which was involved in the hunt for the Bismarck.

Deployed to the Far East in a bid to deter Japanese aggression in the Pacific, just 80 minutes in battle Mr Wren and his shipmates were caught by enemy bombers in the South China Sea on December 10 1941.

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James ‘Jim’ Wren picture with Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, in August last year

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The 105-year-old national hero died earlier this year. Pictured at the Sarum Manor Care Home in 2025

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The ceremony was attended by family, friends and well-wishers and his coffin was draped in a Royal Marine Corps Flag as it was carried into St Thomas’s Church by servicemen

Previously speaking to comrades in the Royal Marines Association, he recalled the moment the alarm sounded on the ship.

Mr Wren, who was originally from Sussex, said: ‘I dropped my tea and headed to my action station.

‘The noise was terrific, it was one big noisy battle. There was no panic though, we’d been through the routines so regularly that we just got on it. Everyone knew their role and we had such a good crew. We all had faith in each other.’

Two months later, he was captured by the Japanese as he attempted to escape from Singapore.

He spent the remainder of the conflict in prisoner-of-war camps where he endured harsh treatment until the news of Japan’s surrender in August 1945.

For three and a half gruelling years, Wren endured a landscape of starvation and disease, subjected to forced labour clearing dense jungles and constructing airstrips and railways.

While mortality rates in the camps soared, Wren and his unit maintained a strict code of brotherhood, sharing food and guarding the dignity of the dying.

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Jim with the Duchess of Edinburgh in August

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He had his portrait painted at the behest of the King as part of last year’s VJ Day celebrations

He returned home weighing just six stone (38kg) and attributed his survival to the bond between his comrades.

The service ended to the sound of bugles as members of the Royal Marines and his family paid their final farewells.

In August last year, Mr Wren received a royal visit when the Duchess of Edinburgh came to his Salisbury care home as part of the VJ Day commemorations.

At the time, he told tales of what he remembered, including the moment a bomb landed behind his mess in HMS Repulse and exploded several decks below.

He rushed to man an anti-aircraft gun until the ship keeled on her side, whereupon ‘it was every man for himself’ and he was hauled out of the sea two hours later, vomiting oil. Returned to Singapore, he fought the Japanese on land before being taken prisoner.

For the next three years, his family and his sweetheart, Margaret, thought he was dead until word came through that an emaciated Mr Wren was on his way home in October 1945.

A year after his return, they married and shared 74 years, a journey that only ended with her death in 2020.

Mr Wren had his portrait painted at the behest of the King and also featured on BBC film, VJ Day: We Were There.

‘I can’t forget the men in that ship,’ he said at the time. ‘Let them rest in peace.’