Harry Pusey was just 19 when Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939. Within 48 hours he was on a boat to France as part of the Royal Tank Corps.

The former Sea Cadet signed up as soon as Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 'came back with his little bit of paper' (the Munich Agreement, signed in September 1938) because he knew it was only a matter of time before the country found itself at war.

In France, he soon found himself on the receiving end of a fierce German onslaught and was twice lucky to survive, first when a shell hit his tank, splitting the turret, and again when a bomb landed yards away but failed to explode.

Finding themselves in disarray, the troops headed for the beaches of Dunkirk, where a mass evacuation began on May 27, 1940.

Under constant fire, Harry eventually made it onto a First World War gunboat and watched as hundreds of troops fell around him and the sergeant major sitting beside him lost a leg.

When the ship reached Dover, Harry remembers tucking into an Irish stew, his first meal for a week, before being ordered not to tell any new recruits what he had endured.

Harry served out the rest of the war as a training instructor and went on to manage Kett's electrical stores in Feltham and Southall.

He and his late wife Joan settled in Sherbourne Road, Bedfont, where they raised their four boys, before moving to Scott Gardens, Heston, where he lives today.

Harry, 88, ran Cranford Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal for more than 20 years, raising about £200,000 by organising events such as sponsored swims and parachute drops.

He remains president of the branch, which he is fighting to save after membership dropped to a record low.

"I very much doubt there will still be RBL branches in 50 years' time, the way things are going," he said.

"But it's important to keep our legion running for as long as possible, so we can continue to help ex-servicemen and women."