A WAR veteran who campaigned for former prisoners of has died before getting the apology he wanted from the Japanese Government.

Arthur Titherington, a PoW camp survivor and former Witney town mayor, died in Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital on Sunday.

Last night, Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron paid tribute to Mr Titherington saying he had “cared passionately about his local community”.

He said: “Arthur was a remarkable man with a true sense of public service.

“We should never forget how much he suffered during the Second World War and his service on behalf of our country.

“He fought tirelessly for decades on behalf of his fellow Japanese prisoners of war, championing their campaign for fairness and justice.

“I was fortunate to meet Arthur on many occasions and I know how much he will be missed by all who knew him.”

Mr Titherington, 88, had been a PoW for more than three years after the fall of Singapore during the Second World War.

He was one of only 90 people who survived from a group of 522. On his release, he weighed just over five stone.

For the next 60 years, Mr Titherington campaigned as chairman of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors’ Association for an official apology from the Japanese government.

In 2000, his campaigning led to £10,000 compensation being paid to every PoW by the British Government.

But Mr Titherington, a former policeman, told the Oxford Mail in 2006 that he had wanted an apology from Japan, not money from UK taxpayers.

Lord Douglas Hurd, former Home Secretary and MP for Witney until 1997, said: “He was a stout defender of Witney and, in particular, those who had suffered at the hands of the Japanese in the Second World War.

“He was a man with definite ideas and quick speech, so he was always effective in what he did.

“I hope that by the end, he felt he had achieved some justice.”

Lord Hurd explained the matter had always been difficult, due to the complexities of the Japanese language.

He said: “The Japanese always said they had apologised, but Arthur disagreed. But he made good deal of progress on the matter.”

In the 2006, Mr Titherington said he was committed to fighting for a real apology. He had said: “I am not going to give in. What Japan did during the war was an absolute abomination, and what we’re after is a written, meaningful apology. There’s one very important word in Japanese when it comes to apologising, it’s ‘shazai’, and it means ‘I have committed a sin, for which I humbly apologise’.”

Close friend Gordon Clack, from Ducklington, said: “Arthur was a fighter and a strong man who didn’t take fools lightly. He had a singular style, probably because of his years as a prisoner.

“For more than 10 years, we have been badgering the awards system to get him recognised and I think it is absolutely shameful that Arthur slaved away for over 50 years for prisoners of war and didn’t received anything.

“The PoWs have never received a real apology, the Japanese just said it was ‘regrettable’. But Arthur would never give up on trying to get justice – he was a great bloke.”

Barry Norton, leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, paid tribute to a “passionate man with strong convictions”.

Mr Titherington had been suffering with Parkinson’s and Paget’s disease.

He is survived by his wife Iris, children Jill and Richard, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.