A soldier’s funeral
Main Street ground to a halt yesterday as the local community paid its respects to Royal Gibraltar Regiment soldier Private Matthew Boyd, who died in tragic circumstances in Wales last month.
Men and women from the regiment and Gibraltar’s essential services paid tribute to the fallen soldier by lining Main Street at midday as the funeral procession made its way from Casemates Square to the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity for the service.
The hearse was escorted through town flanked by two police motorcyclists as friends and family followed on foot closely behind.
Draped in a Union Jack, Pte Boyd’s coffin was carried into the cathedral by young men from the regiment who had served alongside him.
Scores of the 20-year old soldier’s family, friends and loved ones attended the service, as did top-ranking military personnel, representatives from the RGP and HM Customs, Government Ministers and the Governor, Lieutenant General Edward Davis.
The pews in the church were packed and people were standing seven rows deep for the service, which included a eulogy celebrating the young soldier’s life.
Ahead of the funeral flags were flown at half-mast for Pte Boyd, who would have celebrated his 21st birthday last week.
A private funeral was held for the soldier’s family and friends following the ceremony.
At the crematorium, men from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment bid a final farewell to their comrade with a rifle salute.
