Up to when Great War veteran Albert Edward Dye died in September 2004 he was one of only a few UK survivors of 1914-18 combat – possibly by then the oldest at the age of 107.

Albert died at the Edwardian Care Home in Biscot Road, Luton. He was just a month short of his 108th birthday – born October 1, 1896, at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and one of ten children of William Samuel and Ellen Priscilla Dye.

In 1915, at the age of 19, Albert was sent to Egypt with the Army Service Corps/Royal Field Artillery. He arrived in port five days late after his ship was chased by a German submarine and he then served in Palestine until 1919.

Following the death in 1969 of his first wife Lily, whom he married in Great Yarmouth in 1923, Albert remarried in Luton in 1970. His second wife, Emily, died in June 2003, aged 90. His son, also named Albert, and daughter-in-law Sheila also lived in Luton.

The First World War Veterans Association invited him to an annual Christmas party at St James' Palace in the presence of the Princess Royal and he was named in a list to lead the 90th anniversary commemoration at the Cenotaph in London. He declined both invitations because he “did not want to make a fuss”.

Only because Albert's 107th birthday celebration was reported in the Luton News in October 2003 did even this peephole into the WW1 experiences of a reluctant hero come to light.

His funeral service was held at The Vale Crematorium on September 14th, 2004.