Tributes for 107-year-old 'gentleman' RAF veteran

Tributes have been paid after the death of a 107-year-old who was present at both Dunkirk and the D-Day landings.

Colin Cole, from Gobowen in Shropshire, served in the RAF during the war, spending four years carrying out sea rescue missions before retraining as a teacher.

His friend Mike Souttar, also from Gobowen, said he was "very fit" and "terribly intelligent" as well as a "total old-fashioned gentleman".

Cole's neighbour, Bryan Davies, said he had been "a man with a fascinating life story and he loved to meet and talk to people".

Friends said he died in hospital in Shrewsbury on Saturday.

Cole was born in Kennington, London, and grew up in Kent.

He joined the RAF just before the war broke out, following in the footsteps of his father who had been in the Royal Flying Corps.

Souttar, who is in his 80s, said his friend initially trained as a radio operator and after helping with the Dunkirk evacuations, he flew planes "slow and low" over enemy lines to map defensive positions.

He then moved on to sea rescue missions, taking boats out onto the North Sea and English Channel, crossing minefields to help stranded servicemen, including some Germans.

Speaking on his 107th birthday in June, he said the danger involved became "just part of the job", and for servicemen like him "you have no option, you just have to get on with it".

He also admitted that despite spending a large part of the war working on the water, "I wasn't much good at swimming".

Souttar said knowing how Cole's wife might have felt about this, he might have failed to mention his new job to her.

"She knew he couldn't swim and he didn't want her to tell him he couldn't go out there," Souttar said.

At the suggestion of one of his RAF colleagues, Cole retrained to be a teacher after the war.

His first job was at a school in Bromley, London, but later he and his wife moved to teach in Shropshire.

Souttar said he had been a pioneer at the time and "very much an early teacher of children that needed special educational help".

Cole also served with the police, first as a special constable and in the last 10 years of his life he volunteered to monitor CCTV cameras in Oswestry, near his home.

Souttar said he continued doing that until he was 105 and thoroughly enjoyed the work.

Davies said his neighbour "loved his job with the police, volunteering to watch CCTV two hours at a time, twice a week until last year".

Souttar said his friend, who had been a champion sprinter in his youth, had been "very fit," even in later life.

"He could walk faster than I could", he said.

The pair had met at a Royal British Legion fundraising event in Shropshire a decade ago and Souttar said: "He was like he was a total-old fashioned gentleman.

"He would stand up for any woman that came into the room and he would help them with coats and everything else."

Davies said: "He was a humble, dignified gentleman who loved life and had a distinguished career serving King, country and education."

He added: "Whenever I met Colin and asked how he was he always said, with a smile and twinkle in his eye, 'Well I'm still here'. Sadly for many, he no longer is."

Jonathan Upton, the Mayor of Oswestry, said: "Colin was quite a character and a popular member of the CCTV volunteer team, where he gave great service to the community.

"We were saddened to hear of his passing and his was a life well-lived."

Another person who knew Cole was Ruby, a 13-year-old fundraiser from Shawbury.

She first met Cole while she was fundraising for the Royal British Legion and said she was "devastated" at the news.

But her mother Eleanor said she was also "so grateful to have spent time with Colin".

Ruby has raised thousands of pounds for the charity by selling handmade poppy crafts and her mother said Colin was a "true gentleman that Ruby truly admired".

She added: "Ruby and I fondly remember when we first met Colin launching the Midlands appeal in Birmingham.

"Ruby had written him a card in Morse code and in written English."

"Colin covered the written English and tapped out the message on Ruby's hand and read it aloud as the tears slipped down my face and Ruby stifled hers."

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