A POPULAR landlord, war veteran and Oxford referee has died aged 96.

Donald Pullin was the landlord of both the Prince of Wales in Iffley Village and the Queen's Head in Horspath in the 1970s as well as playing football and refereeing in Oxford for much of his life.

The father-of-two also served in the RAF, based briefly at Upper Heyford but also in France and Belgium, as an aero-engine fitter during the Second World War.

His son David said he was a popular figure among pub-goers and was always there for his family and friends.

A keen footballer, he was secretary of the Oxford and District Branch of the Referee's Association in the 1950s and 1960s.

He later became the press officer to the Hellenic League and writing match reports for The Oxford Times.

Donald William Pullin was born on September 2, 1920, in Iron Acton, South Gloucestershire, to parents Robert, who worked for Gloucestershire County Council in their road maintenance department, and Kate.

He grew up in the village, 10 miles from Bristol, with his younger siblings Robert and Maisie.

He attended Iron Acton village school until he went to work in the Parnall and Sons factory - which manufactured aircraft - between the ages of 14 and 17.

With a lack of jobs going in the area he signed up to the RAF, as an aero-engine fitter in August 1938 just under a year before the outbreak of the Second World War.

During the war he was stationed across Europe, including France, Belgium and Iceland, but it was while he was stationed at Upper Heyford that he would meet his future wife.

He met Evelyn Beachey at a wartime RAF dance in the village of Fritwell and they married in the local church St Olave's on July 6, 1943.

He left the RAF in 1948 and the couple moved with their son David to Fritwell where they had their second child Valerie and then to Littlemore before settling in Cowley.

He then took on jobs in a number of factories such as John Allen's and later the Morris Motors factory - as an engine fitter.

In 1968 the family moved to Kidlington and two years later Donald decided to take over the Prince of Wales pub in Iffley.

He enjoyed three happy years there before the pub had to be sold and the family moved on to the Queen's Head in Horspath where they would stay until 1979.

His growing love of golf took him to Stoke Poges Golf Club as the bar manager before retiring in 1982.

His passion for football had dominated the early part of his life, playing regularly in the RAF, and in Bristol and for Fritwell - famously missing a penalty in the Jersey Cup final, a trophy he would never win despite reaching the final twice.

As a referee he took charge of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in 1960-61, the Charity Cup Final in 1957-58 and the Marriott Cup Final in 1958-59 before being voted onto the Oxford Football Association Referees Committee in 1962.

In his latter years he enjoyed fishing, regularly taking the family to Barnstaple in Devon and was a keen golfer at Southfield Golf Club.

He is survived by his son David and four grandchildren, Robert Pullin, Amanda Millard, Darren Thacker and Jason Thacker.

His funeral took place at Oxford Crematorium on Wednesday October 5.