A SON from Earley has paid tribute to his late war veteran father Peter Barlow, whom he described as a "fantastic person."

Martin Barlow's father Peter died recently aged 94 after living "a full life" and being married for 70 years to his wife Marion.

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At just 18, Peter landed on the beaches in Normandy and fought his way through to Berlin when it fell.

For his heroism in the war, Peter was later awarded the legion d'honneur - the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits.

As a corporal in the Northumberland Fusiliers, Peter lost many close to him during the war.

He continued to visit France throughout his life, and the last time went to Normandy was for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

ITV News interviewed Peter at the time, where he described having to witness his best friend's head being blown off in the war.

He told ITV at the time that the terrible memory still gives him nightmares.

Peter was born in Swindon but spent most of his life in Reading, where he played Badminton for the county and spent a lot of his time training young adults to play.

Immediately after the war, he worked on the railways in Swindon, eventually becoming a railway manager.

Martin said: "Years later he was offered early retirement, so he had 36 years of doing his own thing.

"He loved to travel and teach, and became heavily involved in sports.

"He was also a Reading FC season ticket holder and enjoyed supporting the team.

"He loved to play golf also, playing for Sand Martins in Wokingham.

"He would be very well-known amongst the sporting community in Reading.

"He played badminton for Berkshire before teaching others and becoming umpire after he retired."

Peter bought a house in Earley in 1958, which at the time was brand new.

He lived there until his death in May this year.

Martin said: "When we moved here I was at Maiden Erlegh School, which had only been open for two years."

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Speaking about his memories of his father, Martin said: "He was fantastic as a dad and you couldn't get a better person.

"He also worked as a volunteer at the Royal Berkshire Hospital when he was younger, running the tea bar that used to be there.

"He was involved in lots of charity work.

"He was just one of those people everyone loved and he was so easy to get along with."

Peter is survived by his wife Marion and son Martin.