Former paratrooper and actor Bernard Cribbins dies aged 93
Actor and former paratrooper Bernard Cribbins has died at the age of 93.
Mr Cribbins, best known for his roles in Doctor Who and The Wombles, also volunteered for the Parachute Regiment for two years.
Private Cribbins trained at RAF Upper Heyford in the summer of 1947 before being posted to the Training and Holding Battalion at Talavera Barracks, Aldershot.
Watch: Forces News filmed with Bernard Cribbins in 2016 as he relived his days as a paratrooper.
During his service in the Paras, he was posted to Palestine as part of 3rd Battalion in Azib and later to Haifa, when the 3rd Battalion amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion.
"I was walking to the cookhouse to collect the tea in a big bucket," he recalled. "There was a glow in the sky and I thought how romantic it was, sunrise over the Mediterranean.
"It turned out the NAAFI was on fire," he added.
The Railway Children actor returned from Palestine in 1948 and was part of the battalion's guard of honour for Field Marshal Montgomery.
Private Cribbins also served in Germany before being demobilised.
He continued with his acting career, working in theatre, TV and on the big screen.
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