FORMER Lord Mayor of Oxford, Second World War veteran and all-round community champion Bill Buckingham has passed away.

Tributes have been paid to the 'Rose Hill legend', who held a seat on Oxford City Council for decades, after he passed away yesterday.

Leading the tributes was Labour and Cooperative MP for Oxford East and Rose Hill resident Anneliese Dodds.

The MP tweeted: "Really sorry to hear of Bill Buckingham's passing.

"A legend in Rose Hill and across Oxford for everything he achieved, he'll be sorely missed."

Life-long Rose Hill resident Mr Buckingham, a man of many hats, was Lord Mayor of Oxford from 1994 to 1995.

Prior to this he had been one of the city's longest running public figures as a Labour councillor for Littlemore for decades, serving on the parish council, the old Bullingdon District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council before the boundary changes.

Outside his political career he was a former soldier 4th Battalion of Oxfordshire Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, a Justice of the Peace for more than 30 years at East Oxfordshire Magistrates' court and a shop steward at the Cowley car plants from 1948 to 1984.

Littlemore Parish councillor Dorian Hancock said: "It is very sad, he was such a great man.

"He had been retired officially for more than 20 years but people still know and call him Mr Buckingham.

"He will be sorely missed."