THE funeral of Buckholt man William Campbell was held at the Forest of Dean Crematorium last week.

Mr Campbell died on 23rd January at the age of 85, after suffering from prostate cancer since 2007.

A hearse pulled by two black and white horses was sought by his wife Sue Campbell.

"He always had an incredible affinity with horses, so I knew it was the right thing to do," she said.

Mr Campbell was born in Glasgow and spent his very early working life employed in the Glasgow shipyards during the Second World War.

He went on to join lst Battalion the Black Watch as a young man and was posted to Germany where he was one of the first soldiers to enter the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp when it was liberated by the Allies.

He volunteered to go to Wunstorf, in order to take part in the Berlin Airlift and as with so many of the junior military personnel, they knew very little about the political situation or the airlift itself in the first instance.

For the duration of the airlift Mr Campbell was a loadmaster and he soon became very aware of the importance of the operation and his part in it.

He flew into Berlin on Avro Yorks on a regular basis. He always rode shotgun, being issued with side arms to protect valuable cargoes.

He met Field Marshall Montgomery on two occasions, once in Duisburg and again when the Field Marshall travelled to Wunstorf to visit the Black Watch.

'Monty' was said to have a very soft spot for the Black Watch due to the many battles they had fought in together during the war, and he visited them whenever he could.

After leaving the Black Watch, Mr Campbell joined the Merchant Navy as an engineer.

He later married Sue whom he met in London. The last thirty years he and Sue spent living at the Buckholt, sharing their lives with a succession of "devoted and wonderful canine friends".

Mr Campbell was the British Berlin Airlift Association (BBAA) Vice Chairman and events officer for a number of years. He always considered his greatest achievement for the association was the organisation of the 2009 60th anniversary celebrations both here in the UK and in Berlin.

His efforts in the airlift were recorded last year by military charity the Legasee Educational Trust. The aim of the venture was to ensure that the contribution made by William Campbell and other veterans is never forgotten.

Reflecting on his first impressions of Germany as he passed through Cologne, Mr Campbell said last year: "There were no buildings because Cologne really had been hit hard.

"The cathedral still survived which was a bit blackened, but it was still there...

"But there you could get an idea of what might be... still lying out there under the rubble and there was an awful lot of rubble."

Mr Campbell was fondly remembered at his funeral by family and friends from across the UK.

Donations were given to the Prostate Cancer Charity, aiming to find treatment for "the absolutely frightful disease," as described by Mrs Campbell.