A WAR hero who fought in a guerilla warfare unit has been laid to rest.

104 year-old Arthur Rollins' funeral took place at Worcester Crematorium as mourners paid tribute to an incredible life yesterday.

Mr Rollins was one of the last surviving members of the Chindits, a guerilla warfare unit which operated in the jungles of Burma during the Second World War.

A member of the Mercian Regiment, formed from Mr Rollins' former unit the South Staffs Regiment, marched in-front of the hearse, providing a guard of honour with the regiment's former mascot, a Staffordshire bull terrier, as it reached the crematorium.

Pte Rollins served in the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment between 1939 and 1946.

In December 1940 he was involved in Operation Compass in North Africa, and in June 1942 he was involved with Field Marshal Montgomery’s 8th Army in other major battles in the campaign including Tobruk and El-Alamein.

During his time in Africa, he was captured by the Italians and later by the Vichy French in Syria until, in his own words "the guards all scarpered" and he was free again.

In early 1944 he was sent to serve in an air landing unit with The Chindits, dropping behind Japanese lines in Burma.

This night landing, by glider, pitched Pte Rollins into the thickest of hand to hand combat, with the enemy constantly at nothing more than bayonet-distance away.

Fighting over mountains in dense jungles and waist deep water close personal combat was the order of the day.

"Uncle Arthur" as he was affectionately known, remained in this environment until the end of the war and in 1946 he was posted to India before returning to the UK where he went back to work at Worcester Porcelain.

He was made foreman and was there until he retired.

Retirement however was not for Pte Rollins as he became a gardener for many years at the Diglis House Hotel on the banks of the River Severn.

The Chindits, known officially as the Long Range Penetration Groups, were special-operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign.

They were led by their eccentric commander Orde Wingate, the unit helped sabotage the enemy’s communication system, blowing up rail tracks and cutting power supplies.