PETER Silvester, a former Oxford magistrate who spent his working life in the Cowley car industry, starting as office boy to William Morris, has died aged 90.

Serving in the RAF during the Second World War, he played a key role in the rescue of crews whose aircraft had ditched in the North Sea as they returned from bombing missions.

Mr Silvester, of Stone Street, East Oxford, the family home since 1931, was born on May 23, 1923 and educated at Southfield Grammar School, now Oxford Spires Academy.

He left school at 16 to join Morris Motors, where he ran errands for William Morris, later Lord Nuffield.

He volunteered for the RAF at the start of the war and trained as a rigger and fitter at Blackpool. He joined the ground crew at RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk, where he helped prepare and maintain flying boats.

The boats flew over the North Sea and dropped motorised rescue craft into the sea, helping save the crews of stricken aircraft from certain death.

Later in the war Mr Silvester worked at Aldermaston, Berkshire, and in Egypt for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), which retrained RAF pilots to fly civilian aircraft.

After war service he returned to Cowley, where he held roles at Pressed Steel, Morris Motors and Unipart, finishing his career as a designer.

He met his future wife Joyce, née Flood, in the works production office and they married at St Luke’s Church, Cowley, in 1946.

Mr Silvester was an Oxford magistrate for 20 years, but resigned in 1990 in protest at the workings of the Poll Tax.

He said he agreed with the principle of the tax, but objected that Oxford people were forced to pay an extra £91 – a £75 safety net for other local authorities and £16 to cover defaulters.

He said at the time: “I don’t see why you should get someone in court who is poor and make them a criminal because they owe money that’s used for people who are better off than themselves.”

Mr Silvester’s hobbies included printing, bookbinding, wood turning and photography. He was a member of the Oxford Photographic Society and Morris Motors’ Photographic Society.

The couple enjoyed visits to Holland with the Oxford-Leiden twin city link, which he served as secretary, cultural secretary and vice-chairman. He designed logos, which the link still uses on its newsletters, badges, letters and ties.

In 2003 Mr Silvester was presented with the Gold Pin of Leiden by the town’s ‘burgomaster’ for his services to the link, the highest award given by the Dutch to a non-citizen.

Two Dutch friends, Wim van der Pluijm and Hans Ladan, flew from Holland to attend his September 18 funeral at Oxford Crematorium.

Mr Silvester, who died on September 8, leaves two sons, Philip and Andrew, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His wife of 65 years died in 2011.

Philip said of his father: “He was a family man. He didn’t want to be like the bosses who were career driven – he wanted to be home for lunch and away by 5pm. He even went to his boss at one point and asked not to be considered for promotion.”