John Oborne displays his commemorative medal following the service at the Cenotaph

John Oborne, from Porthcawl, fought at the Somme when he was 17, and is one of only three Great War veterans still alive in Wales.

He survived a bullet shot during the battle after it hit him in the chest.

Mr Oborne read the Lord's Prayer at the ceremony at the Cenotaph in London on Wednesday.

Mr Oborne said he was still haunted by memories of the war.

"No one could know what it was like," he said.

"Your imagination can't go that far."

Germany declared war on France on 3 August, 1914, and Britain declared war on Germany the following day.

Some 900,000 British soldiers died in action, and more than two million were wounded.

It was the beginning of the worst war ever known John Oborne

The veterans - all aged over 100 - attended the ceremony, with some reading out poems.

They were accompanied by Veterans Minister Ivor Caplin, and Commonwealth high commissioners to London.

Wreaths were placed at the Cenotaph on behalf of the Queen, the government and the Commonwealth.

After enlisting Mr Oborne was sent to France to fight in the Somme, serving in the Light Infantry - 52 Devonshire Regiment.

His life was saved when a bullet hit a watch in his chest pocket on the Somme

He received four medals for his efforts, including France's greatest tribute, the l�gion d'honneur, which was presented to him on his 99th birthday.

He said it was important to remember the war.

John Oborne was sent to France to fight when he was 17

"It (the battle of the Somme) was the beginning of the worst war ever known," he said.

Other veterans attending the ceremony were Henry Allingham, 108, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, 103-year-old William "Bill" Stone from Watlington, Oxfordshire and Fred Lloyd, 106, from Uckfield, East Sussex.

The ceremony started at 1100 BST, when Mr Allingham, Mr Oborne and Mr Lloyd were escorted in their wheelchairs from the Foreign Office to the Cenotaph by serving members of the armed forces.

Following the lament of the Last Post and a minute's silence, the four men laid wreaths for those slain.

Mr Stone led the service by delivering the exhortation before Mr Allingham, Britain's oldest known surviving WWI veteran, and Mr Oborne read the Lord's Prayer.