Staff Sgt Chris Muir had been chosen for promotion

More than 300 relatives, friends and comrades of Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, 32, gathered at All Saints Church in Burton Dassett, Warwickshire, on Thursday to pay their last respects.

The mourners were led by Staff Sergeant Muir's four-year-old son Ben and wife Gillian.

All Saints Church is close to the Hampshire soldier's home base at Kineton, where he was a member of the Army School of Ammunition, Royal Logistic Corps.

Private cremation

During the funeral service the Reverend Philip Francis spoke of Staff Sergeant Muir's dedication to his job and his sacrifice to his country.

Staff Sergeant Muir's son, Ben, leads relatives into the church

A poem chosen by the soldier in the event of his death was read by his father.

Staff Sergeant Muir was carried out of the church to the Monty Python song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", a song he had chosen himself.

The funeral was followed by a private family cremation.

Staff Sergeant Muir, originally from Romsey, was the third British bomb disposal specialist to die in Iraq.

'Hardworking soldier'

His wife said he had a fantastic sense of humour and could "light up a room".

"I know that Chris was very proud to wear the badge of an ammunition technician, and I take small comfort from the knowledge that he died doing the job that he loved," she said.

"He has left me and our families with the most fantastic of memories, the greatest one being our son, Ben, who can grow up knowing that his father was a good, honest, hardworking soldier, who died trying to do the right thing."

His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mike Dolamore said he had been recently selected for promotion and it was a "sad fact that we will not see him wearing the new rank he so richly deserved".