Friends, family and war veterans have said a final farewell to a true hero and D-Day landing veteran.

About 100 people yesterday joined together for a requiem mass and to pay tribute to Gerry Taylor, a decorated Normandy veteran who passed away on August 25, aged 85.

Military music welcomed mourners into Our Lady help of Christians and St Denis Roman Catholic church in St Marychurch, Torquay.

Mr Taylor's Union Flag- draped coffin was then carried into the church to the singing of the Jerusalem hymn. Members of the Normandy Veterans Association's South Devon branch stood inside the church to pay their respect to one of their own.

In his homily, Father Jonathan Shaddock said Mr Taylor, who was born in 1924, and moved to Torquay more than 20 years ago, "lived on in our memories of him".

In a heartfelt tribute, Mr Taylor's grandson, Dani, said his grandfather was a "genuine hero who served his country and was a hero in other countries".

Mr Taylor earned the Polish equivalent of the Victoria Cross. He received his medal for braving rifle fire to help a Polish tank crew during fighting in Holland.