An organ lament relayed by loud-speakers on the church wall was the only sound to break the mournful silence around the medieval parish church of Holy Trinity in Skipton.

Not a car engine droned nor a voice was raised as a town gathered to pay its respect to a fallen war hero.

A sombre Skipton was preparing to salute farewell to Royal Marine Captain Philip Guy - one of the first soldiers to be killed in the Iraq conflict.

The usually bustling market on the cobble-lined High Street was quiet.

A union flag fluttered at half mast atop the church tower, mirrored by others flown by stall-holders

Tills ceased to ring in many shops as mourners - estimated at 2,000 - gathered behind barriers to await the coffin.

A more sorrowful sight was hard to imagine. The funeral was due to take place at noon but many started to arrive more than an hour before that time, anxious to secure one of the 400 pews. They were awaiting the coffin of Capt Guy to enter the church where he had been married in November 2000 to Helen, a primary school teacher, and where their 20-month-old son Henry was baptised.

On Tuesday, April 1, just 11 days after her husband died in a helicopter crash along with seven other Royal Marines and four US troops, Helen gave birth to a daughter, Emily Catherine. The couple set up home in Skipton so Helen could be near her sister when Capt Guy was away.

Five minutes before the hearse arrived, six pallbearers, colleagues in the Royal Marines, lined up in front of the town cenotaph. And an escort of 12 Marines was dispatched to the High Street. As the cortege, pictured here, appeared, slowly progressing towards the church escorted by two police motorcycle outriders, the Marines sloped arms.

It drew up before the churchyard steps and the coffin, draped in the Union flag and displaying Capt Guy's ceremonial sword, two medals, his cap and a wreath, was slowly carried into church. Following behind was Helen, her parents and Capt Guy's parents, brother and other family members.

Already waiting inside the church was baby Emily.

Through the loudspeakers, mourners heard friend and former Royal Marine officer Daniel Hughes praise Capt Guy as the "best kind of friend".

He said: "They say you cannot control the length of life, only the breadth, width and depth of it.

"Phil managed to push all these things to the limit and still had time for all of us on the way.

"Phil's legacy is all around - in his wife and children, in his family and friends, the people who he worked with.

"He touched a great many lives and all those he touched will remember him with fondness. Phil was the best kind of friend a person could ask for - dependable, generous, funny and as a husband and a dad he was hugely loving and compassionate.

"I will miss him as I know we all will but I am confident that his memory will be kept strong and will keep him close to us."

Earlier his commander Colonel Bill Dunham said: "One of the last things I remember about him was telling him off for messing about in one of my boats - but just like him he took it in good heart and cracked on.

"We will all miss him as a brother Marine, but not as much as his family and our thoughts are with Helen, Henry and Emily."

After the service was over - led by the Curate the Reverend Jonathan Pritchard - Capt Guy's coffin was taken for burial at Skipton cemetery.

As he was laid to rest, three Royal Marines fired a three-shot volley and a bugler sounded the Last Post.