Born in Jamaica in 1926, Flight Sergeant Peter Brown died alone in his flat in London at the end of last year at the age of 96.

His funeral was planned for March but an appeal to find his relatives gained traction, triggering a surge of requests to attend.

The service was postponed and moved from a chapel in southwest London to the St Clement Danes Church, the central London church of the Royal Air Force, which can seat a congregation of 600 people.

On Thursday a bearer party of RAF personnel carried Brown's coffin which was draped in a Union Jack flag as is customary for military veterans.

During the service, Brown was described as a "dignified, gracious and private man" who "didn't like to be fussed over".

Cricket was a big part of his life and Brown was a member of the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club for 30 years, the congregation was told.

He was also an admirer of the late Queen Elizabeth II, with whom he shared a birth year.

The funeral was attended by representatives from Caribbean community organisations, several celebrities and a distant cousin of Brown, who flew in from Jamaica's capital Kingston.

Aged only around 17, Brown trained in Canada and joined the RAF in September 1943. He became one of the so-called "Pilots of the Caribbean" group of volunteer RAF personnel.

He is one of, if not the last, of this group to have died.

Brown was posted to RAF Scampton in eastern England and served as a wireless operator and air gunner in Lancaster bombers.

He stayed on in the RAF after the war, working as a signaller before leaving the forces in 1950.

"Flight Sergeant Brown is an example of the selfless contribution of all Commonwealth personnel who have served throughout the RAF's history," an RAF spokesperson said.

"We should never forget their sacrifices which have defended our freedom and kept us safe."

According to figures from the Royal Air Force Museum, some 6,000 black African-Caribbean men volunteered for the RAF during the Second World War -- 5,500 as ground staff and 450 as aircrew.