THE daughter of a former German prisoner of war who died at his home in Evesham has paid tribute to her dad.

Wolff Wahle, of Fairfield Road, died aged 87 in his adopted home country, but his arrival on British soil was far from normal.

A German paratrooper, he was brought to the area as a PoW after being captured at the Battle of Arnhem in 1944.

But, as Mr Wahle told his friends, he chose to be English and settled a few miles from the camp in Evesham.

In 1950, he married Elsie Reynolds and threw himself into life in Evesham.

His daughter Christina said: “The thing about my dad is he was a real character and he always made quick links with people. Once he was involved in something he was 100 per cent in it.

“He became so assimilated in English life he started to speak German with an English accent.

“But his friends wouldn’t let him forget he was German.

“When he applied to be a British citizen you had to swear an oath of allegiance to the crown.

“The magistrate my father went to owned a furniture store and to make it a more private event he opened a wardrobe at the rear of the shop and my father swore his oath in front of the cupboard.

“He loved the area and we always love coming to Evesham because everyone is so friendly.”

Mr Wahle was a tenant board member at Evesham and Pershore Housing Association, now Rooftop Housing Group, from August 1994 until September 2005.

He also stood for election as an independent in 1959 and was a founding member of Evesham Civic Society, which said Mr Wahle always took a lively interest in local affairs and the wider political scene and would be missed very much.