A celebration of life to pay respects to 102-year-old RAF veteran and NHS fundraiser William (Bill) Cooksey took place yesterday (December 15) after he passed away on November 8.
A service of respect and ceremony took place at the Wear Valley Crematorium in Coundon complete with an RAF Red Arrows flypast in a touching tribute to Bill's armed forces service.
Servicemen dressed in their best walked with the hearse alongside the Newton Aycliffe centenarian who during his time raised thousands for charity including doing a 1,000-mile cycle ride for his 100th birthday.
Bill also saw acclaim on social media back in June of this year, where he proved age is just a number after completing the Great North Run in less than six hours at the age of 102 - 70 years after he served in the RAF - to become the oldest person to complete the event.
He was also estimated to be one of the last servicemen alive to have worked on Spitfire planes.
MP for Sedgefield Paul Howell attended the service and has been a strong supporter of Bill during his fundraising journey, describing him as an "incredible individual".
Through a collaboration with the RAF, Mr Howell was able to help Bill's son, Phil, organise the spectacular Red Arrows flypast as the service began.
He said: "The flypast itself was phenomenal. Everything from the funeral cortege, the fly-past to the people standing in a parade was just a lovely connection to his family.
"It was just lovely to be able to pay tribute to him. For someone to have a life spanning 102 years is incredible.
"The credit goes everybody who took part yesterday and helped Bill over his last few years and got him to where he was."
Five Acres Community Garden, an organisation which has been involved with Bill's care in the last few years wrote an emotional post on social media describing the "bittersweet" day.
It reads: "Today we said goodbye to our dear friend Bill Cooksey; our amazing Patron who lived his life helping others and especially lately raising funds for our local NHS charity.
"Bill had a remarkable 'Celebration of his Life' today with his family and friends. His funeral was attended by The Lord Lieutenant Sue Snowden, Dame Dela Smith, MP Paul Howell and many more mourners from various organisations.
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"The Red Arrows did a fly past just as Bill completed his final journey into the Crematorium gates. It was an amazing tribute to Bill's career in the Royal Air Force."
Just a small chunk of Bill's military history began in December 1941 where he was part of the Beau Fighter Squadron, travelling on the Viceroy of India.
He then began a stint in Palestine, where he joined the Air Sea Rescue searching for shot-down planes over the ocean.
His journey then took him to Benghazi, the Eastern Mediterranean before finally becoming the Air Vice Marshall for Langford.
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