Soldier from Exeter in the guard of honour

A LANCE corporal from Exeter played a leading role in the funeral of British icon and national treasure Dame Vera Lynn.

LCPL Jacob Mellor, 19, of the Coldstream Guards was one of 12 members of the Tri-Service military route lining party as the coffin of Dame Vera was carried into the crematorium in Brighton.

When British officers imprisoned in Colditz were liberated by the Americans at the end of the war, it was to Winston Churchill, President Roosevelt and Vera Lynn that they raised their glasses. Earlier this year, Dame Vera was named the Briton who best exemplified the spirit of the 20th Century.

Her funeral took place with members of the military services she had done so much to support during her lifetime at its heart.

LCPL Mellor said: “To me it is important that we pay our respects to Dame Vera in this way, who has done so much for the military over the years. She has helped lift the spirits of so many, and whilst a sad occasion, I am proud to be fulfilling a ceremonial role that pays tribute to Dame Vera.”

LCPL Mellor is a section secondin-command in No.7 Company, having joined the army three years ago. He is based in Wellington Barracks, in London.