A Salford-born World War Two Veteran has died at the age of 99, after dedicating his life to service, charity and his family.
Joe Thomas, who joined the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday in 1943, lived in Salford for most of his life before moving to York to be with his family for his final years.
Joe’s service during WW2 took him across the world, playing a huge role in both the Battle of Anzio and the invasion of France, with the latter helping him win the Legion d’honneur – the highest honour awarded in France.
As a stoker for the Navy, Joe worked in the engine room of battleships feeding coal into the furnace.
His daughter, Patricia Lohan, has said his father always claimed to be the “luckiest man in the world”.
She said: “He was very family orientated, even into his 90s he was running around the garden with his great grandchildren, and playing with them on the trampoline.
“We had a big inflatable slide for a party, and he must have been the oldest person to ever go down one at the age of 94.”
As the war ended and Joe started his own family, he was initially quiet about his time spent in conflict, only beginning to tell his stories as he got older.
Patricia continued: “I honestly don’t know everything because he didn’t talk much until later in his life. I was born in 1952, so it was probably still too raw for him. He described how hard it was to watch friends be killed in front of you.
“One interesting story was during the Battle of Anzio, my father’s older brother was in the army, and what they both didn’t know was my dad was in the ships at the landing while my uncle was being landed, and neither of them knew they were there at the same time.”
Joe continued to live a noble life after the war, dedicating his time to conducting charitable work in his community.
He played a part in opening the Agnes Hopkins Community Centre in Swinton, aimed at giving people of the local community a place to socialise.
“My dad was never involved in politics in any sense, he was never a counsellor, he got involved purely because of his charity work,” said Patricia.
“One year I ended up driving him all around the community for him to drop off food for Christmas, handing out pies to everyone”.
However, throughout all his life, Patricia said the most important thing he taught her was to see “the best in others”.
“He taught me all the values of honesty and hard work. Both him and my mum had a great tradition of hospitality, you never arrived at my parents house and left without being fed, whether you had eaten before or not.
“He was incredibly loved by his family and everyone around him, and he absolutely loved life.”
Joe has been remembered in a funeral service at York Minster, which took place on January 22. A mass in his memory will be held at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Worsley at 12pm on January 23 (Thursday).