A SECOND World War hero who was captured by the Nazis after surviving the Battle of Arnhem has been laid to rest. Family and friends of Bill Gibbard, who died on July 25 aged 93, gathered at Oxford Crematorium for his funeral yesterday.

His coffin was draped in a Union Flag and his paratrooper red beret was carefully laid on top. Mr Gibbard, who lived in Woodstock, was parachuted into Arnhem in 1944 in an Allied attempt to seize Dutch bridges.

Although he twice escaped prisoner of war camps, he was recaptured both times. Mr Gibbard was eventually liberated in 1945.

His great-granddaughter Poppy Lambert, who read a psalm at the service, said: “He was always joking and even as he got older he was still really funny.”

The 19-year-old added: “He didn’t often talk about the war, and didn’t give us details, but we knew what he had achieved and we are very proud of him. “When I tell people what he did they are always really impressed.”

Daughter Margaret Lambert, 67, said: “One of my proudest moments was going to the 50th anniversary of Arnhem and seeing him in all his uniform and medals.

“It was only in recent years that he talked about the war and now we know from his days in hospital that he had nightmares about things we never knew about.

“There was far more to his stories than we ever knew.”