MORE than 80 people attended the funeral of a war hero yesterday.

George Henry Liggins, 85, died last month in hospital and had no next of kin or family members to arrange his funeral.

But his neighbours Brian and Jan Long, from Nesbitt Road in Brighton, teamed up with armed forces charity SSAFA to provide a funeral for the “unforgettable character”.

The couple notified the Coldstream Guards, who George served with, and contacted The Argus.

Our story last week caught people’s attention and more than 80 people turned up to show their support for the respected war hero.

Brian said: “I couldn’t believe it when I counted all the heads. It made me cry. The response was overwhelming. I told the director at the crematorium that we would probably only be about five people. Then waves of people came through the door. Even Brian Bartlett, president of the Coldstream Guards in Sussex, whom George was orderly to, was there.”

Brian and Jan said they visited George twice a day since he lost his wife six years ago. They said he only had a few weeks worth of his pension money left to cover the costs of his funeral so they contacted SSAFA for more support.

Brian said: “There was no way this man was going to have a pauper’s funeral. He was worth far more than that. His ashes will be spread over the gardens of peace outside Woodvale crematorium where the ashes of his wife, Elizabeth, have also been spread.

“Our grandson Callum said George was like a grandfather to him.”

Brian said members of the British Legion and former soldiers attended the funeral.

He said: “It was difficult to get around everyone. Many people must have seen it in The Argus. One elderly lady called Leena Mileyard said she’d been up since five o’clock because she did not want to miss the funeral.”

Jan said George was an “unforgettable character” and that there will “never be another man like him”.

She said: “We always made sure George had a hot meal and we helped him with his shopping. He just didn’t want to be lonely so we made sure that didn’t happen. The SSAFA have just been amazing with support.”

Warrant officer Duncan Bennett of 256 (City of London) Field Hospital attended the funeral after his colleague, a former member of the Coldstream Guards, saw the appeal in The Argus.

He said: “It was so great The Argus got something in because people from all around the region and beyond came to the funeral.”

Graham Fowler, a case worker for SSAFA said: “We just couldn’t believe how many people turned up. We really did not expect that. It was certainly well attended.”