Farewell to veteran left Christmas cards by enemy
TRIBUTES have been paid to a Korean War veteran who woke in the trenches on Christmas Day to find cards and presents from the enemy.
Geoff Billings, 75, collapsed and died outside his home in Bedale, North Yorkshire, on Thursday.
Mr Billings spent his National Service fighting in the Korean War with 1st Battalion, the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.
On Christmas Day 1952, the soldier woke to find communist soldiers had crept through the darkness to hang gifts on the barbed wire that protected the British trenches.
The cards and diaries were filled with propaganda.
Mr Billings later told of his surprise, especially as the Chinese People's Volunteers and the Korean People's Army soldiers had crept right past his position.
During nightly observation exercises in no man's land, Mr Billings also recalled how he would place a copy of the Darlington and Stockton Times - the sister paper of The Northern Echo - down his trousers for insulation.
The newspaper had been sent out by his mother to keep him up to date with local news.
The soldier was later captured during the Battle of the Hook and spent three months in a Chinese prisoner of war camp.
He told his family the food in the camp was very varied.
"We had rice and stew for breakfast, and stew and rice for dinner," he said. He was freed a month after the armistice agreement was signed.
Mr Billings met his future wife, Joyce, four days after his return to the region at a dance.
The couple had a daughter, Dawn.
Mr Billings' family yesterday paid tribute to the veteran, who, after leaving the Army, worked as a driver with North Yorkshire County Council for 42 years.
Grandson Craig Elsworth, 33, described his grandfather as a quiet man who loved his family, and who gave him strength and confidence by always being there for him.
Mr Billing's daughter said he would be greatly missed.
Mr Billings served as a retained firefighter in Bedale for 30 years.
He was also a keen golfer, playing at Bedale Golf Club for at least 30 years, and a former member of Bedale Brass Band.
A post-mortem examination confirmed Mr Billings suffered a pulmonary embolism.
His funeral will take place at St Gregory's Church, Bedale, tomorrow, at 11am.
Refreshments will be available afterwards at the golf club.
By Joe Willis