AN Oxford RAF hero and renowned footballer player has passed away aged 95.

Ken Olive lied about his age to join the RAF at just 17 and help fight in the Second World War.

He later settled in Belgium where he ended up playing top-flight football, before moving back to Oxford where he earned a reputation as a top snooker and billiards player.

Born in Cowley on July 15, 1924, the young Ken was schooled in the Cowley area and was both academic and sporting to the highest levels.

He loved sport particularly, and represented Oxford Boys in football and cricket, both sports at which he would excel in later life as well.

Having completed his formal education at Oxford Tech at just 16, he left to start his career and was always proud in telling people about his first job at Nuffield Motors where he secured a role as office boy to Lord Nuffield.

The young Ken's early career and sporting aspirations were cut short by the Second World War.

He was one of a number of 17-year-olds who falsified their age to join up and help the war effort.

He signed up to join the RAF, initially as pilot, and was stationed in Canada as part of his training.

His aspirations as a pilot were curtailed after an overzealous attempt at low flight which did not end well.

However, he went on to become a bomber navigator in the RAF and saw a significant amount of active service at the height of the conflict in the early 1940s.

This service to the nation was something he was very proud of, and a theme he shared regularly with his grandchildren as they grew up.

As part of an exemplary record in the RAF Mr Olive was then stationed in Belgium as part of the Ambassadors flight crew.

After the war he decided to settle in Belgium and started working for Nuffield Exports.

He forged a career for himself, settling in to the community, including having his son Michael, who born on an RAF base.

As he become better known in Brussels, so did his prowess as a footballer, and he was signed to play in the top Belgian league for Racing Club of Brussels against the leading lights of Europe of the day such as Anderlecht.

On returning to the UK he resettled in Oxford and was married to Thelma to whom he was inseparable up until the time of his passing.

During his time in Oxford Mr Olive became renowned in his career as a parts manager and well known for working in many major garages around Oxford and Farnborough.

His other great passion was snooker and billiards, for which he was a great ambassador and was always proud of his reputation as 'the oldest man playing snooker in Oxford'.

He carried on playing competitively for Cowley Conservative Club into his late 80s.

He was also immensely proud to become the lifetime president of the Oxford Snooker and Billiards association.

He was at his heart a great family man and is survived by his wife Thelma and son Michael and stepchildren Ken, Tony, Anne, Ray and Sharon as well as 13 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

He died peacefully of natural causes in Oxford on April 6, 2020.