Mourners stood shoulder to shoulder and six deep in the High Street in Wootton Bassett yesterday as they gathered for the passing of the funeral cortege bearing the body of Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe.

Veteran soldiers stood to attention and civilians clasped their hands before them as the procession paused by the war memorial in the Wiltshire town. They had come to pay silent tribute to the most senior officer to be killed in the war in Afghanistan, and one of the most junior.

The hearse carrying Colonel Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st battalion Welsh Guards, was accompanied by one bearing the body of Trooper Joshua Hammond of the Royal Tank Regiment. Both died in Helmand Province last week when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb.

Their bodies were repatriated to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire on board a C-17 Globemaster transport plane. After a private family ceremony in the chapel at Lyneham, the hearses carrying the two coffins drove through the small town on their way to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Among the hundreds of well-wishers was Wilbur Heynes, Colonel Thorneloe’s cousin, who closed his eyes in grief as the cortege passed before him. The sculptor, 37, from Oxford, spoke briefly to thank the crowd. “It is very touching that so many people have turned out,” he said. “It has just been a great comfort to know so many people care.”

Standing a few feet back, draped in gold braid and ribbons, was General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the General Staff.

Sir Richard, on his first visit to Wootton Bassett where funeral corteges of dead soldiers have become a depressingly familiar sight in recent months, said: “I have been following what has been developing here with great interest and been in touch with the chairman of the Royal British Legion about it. This was my chance to come and say thank you in person.”

He described the two men as “brave and dedicated” soldiers and said their deaths would only spur their comrades on to greater efforts adding: “We are in the midst of a major operation in Helmand and any major operation increases the risk of casualties.

“But it is an operation that can and will succeed, not just for the people of Afghanistan but for the people of this country too.”

It was not a sentiment with which everyone in the crowd agreed. Ray Skinner, who joined the Welsh Guards in 1950, the year Sir Richard was born, said: “I have come to pay my respects to my commanding officer. I don’t know what we are doing in Afghanistan. As far as I am concerned we should pull out immediately.

“We have been there before in the 19th century, the Russians tried it and lost 20,000. It is as if we never learn.”

Large motorcycles lined the High Street as more than 50 members of the Royal British Legion Riders’ Club wearing berets and leathers stood to attention. The decorations on their jackets were not the usual bikers’ patches and badges but real medals.

Even more colourfully dressed was the town crier of neighbouring Swindon, Fred Harris, another ex-serviceman, in his uniform based on that of a Great Western Railway stationmaster of the 1850s, in spats and top hat. Owen Collier, his counterpart from Wootton Bassett, wore a red tricorn and revealed he was one of only five town criers to carry a sword.

But the real uniforms belonged to the serving personnel who lined the route, including 40 troopers in black overalls from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. Sergeant Major Kevin McGarry said the support of the people of Wootton Bassett was important: “They come out in all weathers and they show their support for the soldiers who have died. It’s an honour being with these people today.”

Sheena Pheonix, wife of an RAF officer, bought along her daughter Cora, aged two. She said: “My other two children at the school and I wouldn’t have brought them because it’s hard enough for them when their father’s serviing overseas for six months at a time without the worry of what might happen to him.

“But I wanted to come to show my support and let them know that people do care. Even if I had no connection with the armed forces I’d find this is a very moving occasion.”

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