MUCH-travelled former World War Two veteran Vic Raybould has died just two months short of his 95th birthday.

Born Harold Victor Raybould, he was the seventh child of Arthur and Sarah Jane Raybould and was brought up at his parents shop at Saltbrook Road, Lye, behind Hayes Lane Chapel.

Mad keen on motorbikes, he joined the Territorial Army and found himself at war within a couple of years.

Within days of his 20th birthday, Vic made a dramatic escape from Dunkirk by riding his motorbike into the sea and then swam through a hail of bullets to one of the waiting ships evacuating British forces.

His son Paul Raybould said: "He often joked that he thankfully couldn’t remember much of the swimming but would always remember every detail of the warm blanket and cup of tea he gratefully received on board."

A qualified electrical engineer, Vic was a member of the 4 Regiment Recce Corps BNAF and served in France, North Africa, Italy and Greece.

He married Joyce Taylor in 1940, but his sense of adventure never left him and he moved to Canada in 1953. It led to a job with the Ford Motor Company in Ohio.

Vic returned to England in 1965 and lived at both Chingford and Weymouth, but he and Joyce divorced in 1984.

While on a shopping trip to Halesowen, Vic met childhood friend Morvyth Isles-Tranter, someone he had known 50 years previously at Hayes Lane Sunday School.

They kept in touch and finally married in 1990, moving to West Hagley.

Throughout his life, Vic travelled the world visiting Australia, New Zealand, China and the USA to name but a few, tracking down distant relatives and journeying with old war comrades - and his boundless energy and ready wit enabled him to make many friends.

Paul said: "He lived a full and interesting life and will be sadly missed by all who knew him."

As well as son Paul, Vic - who passed away suddenly from natural causes - leaves a wife, Morvyth, another son John and stepdaughter Sue.

His funeral will take place at Stourbridge Crematorium next Monday, April 13, at 2.50pm.