Stoke-on-Trent WW2 prisoner-of-war veteran dies aged 102

A World War Two veteran who spent five years in a German prisoner of war camp has died at the age of 102.

Norman Lewis, from Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, was captured in June 1940 while serving with the Royal Engineers in Dunkirk.

"I walked into an ambush after blowing up a bridge," he told BBC Radio Stoke in June 2021.

His friend Geoff Harriman confirmed Mr Lewis' death on Thursday and said he would be "sadly missed".

He announced his death on social media saying Mr Lewis passed away peacefully at home with his family around him.

Mr Lewis was among those given a preview of a restored Spitfire when it went back on show at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in September 2021.

Speaking at the time of his memories of the war, he said after D-Day and escaping the camp, he covered 10,000 miles on his way home.

"I arrived home on April the 1st, 1945. Some good news was, when I got to Egypt, they told me I'd got five years back-pay to pick up, which was wonderful," he said.

The Stoke-on-Trent community group Veterans Connect, which supports the city's veterans and homeless population, called him "a true gentleman" who would be "sorely missed".

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