Old soldier Alfred Finnigan (pictured right) has lost the final battle of his 108 years.

Mr Finnigan - thought to be Wales' oldest man and one of the three senior surviving Great War veterans in Britain - died peacefully in Glangwili Hospital at 6am last Wednesday.

The remarkable gentleman, who served in the Royal Field Artillery as the lead driver in a six-horse gun team, survived the First World War without injury, except a bite from a horse. But witnessing the terrible conflict, and losing all his friends, led him to condemn war as 'idiotic'.

Mr Finnigan was an avid reader and self-taught mathematician who was still enjoying books on the subject well into his second century.

And only days before his death, he asked for a newspaper to catch up with the General Election results, having insisted on making his mark with a postal vote.

He lived with his niece and her husband, Kathy and Colin Page, at Sylvania, Llanglydwen, and apart from a hip replacement and later a cataract operation when he was 106, had never needed hospital treatment until he was admitted on the Sunday before his death.

Said Kathy: "Alfred had been pretty good for his age. He was still eating his four meals a day, wasn't on any medication, and we didn't need any help to look after him.

"He was a dear old man and a wonderful Victorian gentleman who loved animals and nature and we were rather proud of him. He could be quite cheeky and a bit cussed sometimes, but he was always polite to me and very appreciative of everything. We will miss him".

Mr Finnigan's funeral, to which all are welcome, takes place today (Wednesday) at Parc Gwyn Crematorium at 4pm. There will be no flowers, with donations to the Dogs' Trust or the Donkey Sanctuary, c/o the funeral directors, Oliver Evans and Sons, 125 Priory Street, Carmarthen SA31 1NB.