THE friends of a World War II veteran who recently passed away are urging members of the Three Towns community to pay their respects at his funeral this Friday morning.

Angus Morrison passed away at the age of 91 and the former Saltcoats soldier will be buried in Ardrossan cemetery, near to his mother, as was his wish.

And members of the local Royal British Legion will be in attendance to commemorate the life of the veteran who served in the D-Day landings in 1944.

Living a long and full life, working in ICI following being brought up in Raise Street and going to school in Saltcoats, Angus was a character well-known within the Labour Club in Saltcoats where he like to enjoy a drink when he visited the town of his childhood from Glasgow were he retired to after working in London.

Becoming friends with Graham Rafferty and Flo McCallum, they took control of his affairs following his death and hope that locals will help to celebrate the life of this extraordinary character.

It is not known whether Angus has any family remaining in the Three Towns and he was not in contact with any of his children or his ex-wife after they left him in London many years ago.

Graham and Flo said he didn’t mention family much, only when he had a drink in him and he had totally disowned them.

Serving with Royal Scots Fusiliers, his vast array of medals have been left to the Legion and he has left money to a hospital in Birmingham that helps service personnel and injured forces.

He met US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany before leaving the army in 1947.

Angus attended the same school as veteran Labour campaigner and ex-MP David Lambie and worked as a lift attendant in the War Office at the Houses of Parliament, retiring in 1986 before taking up the post of Grand Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, a post which he left in 2003 at the age of 77.

Later he became a delegate of the Normandy Veteran’s Association and travelled over to commemorate the anniversary every year.

A funeral service for Angus will take place at A and I Inglis Funeral Directors in Ardrossan with any members of the public, ex-servicemen or woman or anyone else wishing to pay respects asked to go to Ardrossan Cemetery at 11am on Friday morning where a further service will take place.