WALTER Peck was one of the great survivors of the First World War, living on to the grand age of 103.

He served as a private in the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and took part in the Battle of the Somme.

Thanks to a “kindly sergeant”, he spent most of his time on the supply train in France, keeping the troops on the front line equipped with weapons and ammunition.

It was a hazardous life, under constant threat of enemy attack. But he survived the war and returned home safely to enjoy a full and active life.

Memory Lane this week

His son-in-law, Bill Minchin, of Orchard Close, Combe, near Woodstock, has sent in a picture of him with fellow servicemen at their billet, believed to be in Keble Road, Oxford, in 1914.

Oxford Mail:

Soldiers at their billet, believed to be in Keble Road, Oxford, in 1914 – Walter Peck is at the back, on the left, while the two women in the picture presumably owned the house.

Little more is known about his war exploits, but his contribution was still being recognised as late at 1998, a month before his death.

The French Government decided to award the Legion d’Honneur to all 318 men who survived battles on the Western Front and were still alive, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the war.

Mr Peck received his medal during a spell in Abingdon Hospital.

First his family had to prove to the French authorities that he was still living, and asked Mike Taylor, landlord of the Swan pub at Long Hanborough, to confirm it.

It transpired Mr Taylor’s father had been the regimental barber and had been ordered by the Colonel to cut the hair of all the soldiers to make sure they were smart for battle.

The soldiers were required to sign a book when the haircuts were over. The book had been handed down to Mr Taylor and inside it, was Mr Peck’s signature.

Mr Peck, who also served as a sergeant in the Second World War, had a passion for gardening all his life, starting his career as a gardener’s boy for the Duke of Grafton.

He left his native Suffolk in 1912 or 1913 to work for Lord and Lady Harcourt at Nuneham Courtenay and later became head gardener for Sir Francis Gore-Brown at Oakley House at Frilford, near Abingdon.

He married his wife Ivy because “they wouldn’t employ head gardeners as single men – they liked to have a wife in the house as a maid”.

In later life, he worked for 35 years as gardener, handyman and driver at Caldecott House, Abingdon, during its time as a hotel, wartime RAF base, civil service offices and a Dr Barnardo’s home.

He once said: “I started at the top and worked my way down – most people usually go up!”

He retired in 1972, but kept his interest in gardening, cutting his lawn at his home in Coromandel, Abingdon, and entering the Abingdon in Bloom competition almost until his death.

Oxford Mail:

Walter Peck, aged 103, proudly shows his Legion d’Honneur surrounded by nursing staff at Abingdon Hospital in 1998.

Mr Peck celebrated his 101st birthday by riding in a sidecar on a 30-mile spin around the countryside with members of Charlbury British Motor Cycle Club. He repeated the journey to mark his 102nd.

He died just before Christmas 1998. His wife died of cancer in 1972.

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