A fitting tribute to heroic Leeds soldier Harry

So it is surely only fitting that Second World War veteran Harry Thrush’s own funeral has ended up providing a kind-hearted measure of support to others in need.

As previously reported by the Yorkshire Post, there was a large turnout from members of the Armed Forces community as Mr Thrush was laid to rest at St Mary’s Parish Church in Beeston, Leeds, last month.

And now his family has revealed that a collection at the service raised an impressive total of more than £500.

The money will be divided between three good causes – the British Heart Foundation, Dementia UK and the Royal British Legion.

Mr Thrush’s daughter, Janet Smith, of Mirfield, told the YEP: “It was wonderful to see so many people at the funeral and especially heartening that they donated so generously.

“My dad did a lot of fundraising and I’m sure he would have been touched by what was given in his memory.”

Mr Thrush, formerly of Beeston, saw action in North Africa and Italy during the war, serving as a gunner with the 7th Mountain Regiment Royal Artillery.

In recent years he was a regular at veterans’ events and remembrance parades across West Yorkshire.

At each of the military funerals he attended, he always found time to speak to the bereaved and offer some words of comfort.

The grandfather-of-five also made headlines in 2014 when his 90th birthday celebrations were marked with a surprise message from a team at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.

Mr Thrush died peacefully on Christmas Eve, aged 92.