FAMILY, friends and colleagues yesterday bade a final farewell to local hero Bill Buckingham at Oxford Crematorium.

At a funeral service for the former Lord Mayor of Oxford and Second World War veteran, who passed away in June aged 96, a bugler played the last post and the reveille with a guard of honour standing by. The reception was held in Rose Hill Community Centre’s Bill Buckingham Ballroom.

City and county councillor Susanna Pressel, who was present at the service, said: “The funeral was a brilliant celebration of his life. His coffin was draped with the Lord Mayor’s robes, which is a fitting tribute to his long service as a councillor for Rose Hill.”