Hundreds of mourners joined Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester, President of the World War One Veterans Association; Veterans Minister Kevan Jones; Commander-in-Chief Fleet of the Royal Navy Admiral Sir Trevor Soar; and Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, incoming Chief of the Air Staff, to pay their respects to Mr Allingham.
Uniquely, three Royal Navy and three Royal Air Force personnel bore the coffin into the church, paying tribute to Mr Allingham's service during the First World War.
Behind the coffin Mr Allingham's great-grandsons - Petty Officer 2nd Class Brent Gray, United States Navy, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Gray, United States Navy - carried his medals. These included his two campaign medals from the First World War, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, and the Legion d'Honneur, of which Mr Allingham was made Officier earlier this year.
At the time of his death on 18 July aged 113, Henry Allingham was the world's oldest man, the oldest surviving WWI British veteran, the oldest Royal Navy veteran, the last known survivor of the Battle of Jutland, and a founding member of the Royal Air Force. See Related News >>>
Hymns were sung at the service reflecting Mr Allingham's career in the Armed Forces, and Amy Carlson, his great-granddaughter, read a poem written especially for the occasion entitled 'Distant Fields'.
Tributes were paid to the life of Mr Allingham by his grandson David Gray, and by Vice Admiral Johns and Air Vice-Marshal Dye, friends of Mr Allingham who helped organise his birthdays in recent years on behalf of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force respectively.
Mr Allingham's grandson, David Gray, said:
"I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection for Henry, and the many people who have come here today to pay their respects.
"I hope that everyone views today as a celebration of Henry's life. He was a man who did so much to further everyone's understanding of the sacrifice of his generation."
Veterans Minister Kevan Jones added:
"I am proud to be here to pay tribute to a remarkable man. Henry Allingham dedicated the final years of his long life to raising awareness of the sacrifices and bravery of his generation.
"This was borne out of his experience in the Royal Navy and as a founder member of the Royal Air Force during the First World War."
After the coffin was carried out of the church, Royal Marines buglers sounded the Last Post and a bugler from the French Armed Forces sounded a reveille as the church bell was tolled 113 times, one for each year of Mr Allingham's life.
Following the reveille there was a flypast of five replica World War One aircraft over Brighton in salute to Mr Allingham, consisting of three SE5s, a Sopwith Pup and a Sopwith Triplane.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced plans for a national service commemorating those who served in the First World War following the passing of Harry Patch on 25 July 2009, the last British veteran of the war. See Related News >>>