STANDING on the beach at Dunkirk 71 years ago, Les Collett never thought he would live to see his old age.

Being pounded by German artillery after a miraculous escape through Flanders, the battle-weary soldier with a bullet-hole in his back, managed to get on a rowing boat and head for home.

On Monday, Mr Collett passed away at the John Radcliffe Hospital aged 90 – three weeks after suffering a heart attack.

A veteran too of the Morris Motors factory in Cowley for 37 years, Mr Collett leaves his wife of the past 68 years Gladys, children Michael and Gillian, who are in their mid 60s, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Mr Collett, of Wolvercote, last year told the Oxford Mail his family members “were too many to count”.

He joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry’s 4th Battalion in 1940.

The young private was sent to France, where he fought in the hilltop town of Mont Cassel during the desperate rear-guard action as British and French troops retreated to Dunkirk. He was captured by the Germans 20 miles south of Dunkirk but managed to escape.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail last November, he said: “We were just trying to get as many men off the beach as we could.

“The German planes were circling overhead, dive-bombing us with their machine guns.”

His experiences led him to stress how important it is to get to the Remembrance Day services each year.

Mr Collett led prayers each year at the Wolvercote Remembrance Day service and campaigned to save the local Royal British Legion.

He said: “A lot of my friends never made it back that day. A lot of men died. And we should never forget them.”

Friend Linda Wharton, of Wolvercote, said: “Les and Glad were the soul of Upper Wolvercote and much loved by so many.

“He will always be remembered with love and affection. We all remember his stories which had us in fits of laughter many many times.”

Following the war, Mr Collett worked as a chef in Brighton before returning to his home in Wolvercote and worked for Morris Motors.

He helped to form the Wolvercote branch of the Royal British Legion and earlier this year fought to save it from the threat of demolition.

Wolvercote British Legion chairman Ken Bampton said: “I knew Les for 35 years and he was such a character.

“I’d say he was a happy rascal. Apparently he was a bit of a terror in his younger days, but he was very funny.

“We’ll be giving him a full British Legion funeral with The Last Post, a minute’s silence and we will parade in front of the coffin.

“It’s not a service I’m looking forward to, but we’ll give him a proper send-off. He’d have been proud of that.”

A date for his funeral has not yet been set.