A hero World War II veteran has dies from coronavirus months short of his 100th birthday.
Lester Hudson was one of the last surviving members of the Chindits unit - a highly trained unit who fought against the Japanese during the Burma Campaign.
Mr Hudson, who cheated death while serving with the special forces, died at a care home in his hometown of Bradford, West Yorkshire, on April 17, a short time after testing positive for Covid-19 and getting pneumonia.
The war hero was married with one daughter, three grandchildren and four great grandchildren, was due to celebrate his 100th birthday in October.
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Speaking two years ago about the war, the military veteran told how he was shot by the Japanese during a fierce battle in the South-East Asian theatre of WWII.
He said: "If the bullet had been a fraction inwards, that would've been it. The bullet went right through me and out the other side."
Speaking today (Apr 24), Mr Hudson's granddaughter Jennifer Clifford said: "His story from his five and a half years as an NCO during the war and four years as a Chindit in the Far East were incredible."
The Chindits, officially titled the Long Range Penetration Groups, were a special operations unit of the British and Indian armies that saw action in 1943 and 1944.
Their man focus was raiding operations against the Imperial Japanese Army, especially long-range penetration: attacking Japanese troops, facilities and lines of communication, deep behind Japanese lines.
It is thought Mr Hudson was one of the unit's last survivors.
After his military service Mr Hudson worked as a project manager for Bradford Glass for 34 years and, after taking early retirement, ran for local councillor in 1982.
He was the governor of two local schools and a tutor for the Bradford language scheme.
His first wife Dorothy died in 1999 and he later married Elsie, who he leaves behind, along with daughter Christine, grandchildren Richard, Jennifer and Lucie and great grandchildren Sam, Erin, James and Matthew.
