FORMER World War Two Coldstream Guard Harold Powell, who was born and raised in Wellington, has died at the age of 98, less than a mile from where he was born.

Harold was one of the last eye witnesses to the horrors of that war still alive to tell his story 80 years later.

He was particularly proud of taking part in 1947 in the first Trooping the Colour following the end of the war, in battledress rather than the iconic red tunics and bearskin hats.

Taking the salute on his birthday parade was King George VI, accompanied by the future queen, Princess Elizabeth, riding side-saddle on the parade for the first time.

Harold, who was born in Pyles Thorne, suffered a stroke three months ago and was hospitalised in Exeter for eight weeks, with the last seven weeks of his life being looked after at Chelston Park nursing home, half-a-mile from his childhood home in Wellington.

One of Harold’s three sons, Philip, a former journalist who lives in Norton Fitzwarren, said his father never forgot his wartime experiences, or the many fellow Guardsmen and friends who were killed as they fought their way through Europe to Berlin.

Philip said: “All our lives my brothers and I were regaled with colourful accounts of his wartime exploits, which left a lasting impression upon him.

“He could recall his service life in explicit detail, reliving every eventful moment.

“You could say, it defined his life and dominated his thoughts.”

Following intensive training in England, Harold was flown out to Belgium in a US Dakota transport aircraft with RAF fighter escort, eventually joining his unit, No 2 Company, 5th Battalion Coldstream Guards, at Nijmegan, The Netherlands, as number two on the Bren light machine gun, and being pitched into one battle after another all the way to Berlin, where he eventually served as part of the Allied peacekeeping force.

Having worked in Wellington for Price Brothers, now Relyon Ltd, making its world-famous beds and mattresses, he met and fell in love with a Wellington Hospital nurse, Laura Knight.

They lived mostly in Stoneleigh, where they raised three sons and later moved the few miles to Tiverton, Devon, where Laura continued her lifelong career in nursing, while Harold joined Heathcoat’s textile company as a weaver.

The couple were married for 72 years until Laura died in 2020.

Philip said: “My dad always believed the Coldstream Guards were, as their motto states, ‘second to none’, as he was to us.”

His eldest son, Michael Powell, was also a journalist working mostly in radio and now lives in Connecticut, in America, while his other son Alan Powell lives in Tiverton and used to work for Rowcliffe’s car dealership, in Taunton.

Although he was not mobile enough to attend the events, Harold took a keen interest in following the recent D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in the town which were organised by Wellington Town Council.

Harold’s funeral will take place at Taunton Crematorium on August 6.