Born in Cologne, Germany in 1925 as his dad was in the Royal Horse Artillery serving with the British Army of occupation after WW1 but he later lived in pre-fab huts on Bostal Heath before moving to above the John Collier shop in Welling.
Aged 17 he joined the Black Watch and then volunteered for the Parachute Regiment.
He dropped into Arnham where he was captured and became a POW.
He later served in Palestine and in the Suez Canal zone before being demobbed as a Colour Sargeant.
After three years with Ford he joined the London Fire Brigade where his first station was Plumstead.
He rose to the rank of Assistant Deputy Commissioner and was awarded the Queen's Fire Service Medal.
In later life he was my next door neighbour who I was privileged to know and to attend his funeral today.
His coffin was carried to Eltham crematorium on a 1964 Fire Engine.
RIP Bill.
Comments
His generation really were quite special.
RIP.
God bless you sir.
His family couldn't think what to get him for his 80th birthday until he mentioned he'd like to do another Parachute jump but this time without someone firing a machine gun at him.
So they contacted the Red Devils with whom Bill did a twin jump.
On landing his first words were "can we do it again?"
RIP Bill
Read this - our nation is built on the shoulders of people like this
Thank you Bill - I salute you Sir
RIP
Rest Easy Bill