Herbert Eldridge Marshall, one of the Island’s last surviving war veterans, has died at the age of 92.

Like many veterans who saw combat, Mr Marshall spoke little of his uglier experiences in the Second World War, preferring to tell only “cheerful, happy little stories”, his family said.

Deeply proud of his Island heritage through his father Horace Marshall and mother Sarah, née Benevides, Mr Marshall was also loyal to Britain, volunteering to serve in the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps at the age of 17½.

On August 28, 1940, with Europe overrun by Nazi Germany, Mr Marshall, right, became Rifleman 1086 in the BVRC and served until November 1, 1943, when he left, enlisting the next day at the age of 20 in the Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm.

After five days at HMS Malabar, he was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia and his first encounter with snow, before boarding a convoy to Britain.

German U-boats were still prowling the North Atlantic, but the ships crossed safely.

Mr Marshall served at HMS Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent, one of Britain’s primary naval air stations, until March, 1944.

Along with a stint on North Atlantic convoy duty, he served at airbases across England until the end of 1945: HMS Gosling in Warrington, Lancashire, RAF Hednesford in Staffordshire, and HMS Dipper in Dorset.

He was trained as an air mechanic, primarily for Hawker Sea Hurricane fighters, starting as Air Mechanic Second Class and progressing to Air Mechanic First Class.

Mr Marshall would later recall the simple pleasure of sleeping in hammocks aboard ships, as well as the ordeal of seasickness before he got his sea legs, and the chill of keeping watch on deck in blinding spray.

Demobbed on April 23, 1946, Mr Marshall had a long wait getting back home, passing the wait in England by trying without success to obtain a part on the film Great Expectations. The journey home ended with a seaplane landing at Darrell’s Island.

With the Island’s economy slow to recover after the war, Mr Marshall worked hard at various jobs, including Pan American Airways, Masters Limited and, for the last 25 years before he fully retired, at JS Vallis & Company Limited.

He kept involved in shipping. According to his family, Mr Marshall’s greatest love aside from his wife Sylvia and daughters Patrice and Lisa, was spending time on his cherished boat, Mussel.

“Herbert was never far from water and, like many Bermudians, never happier than when on it with his family,” said his son-in-law Peter Bubenzer.

Mr Marshall served on the BVRC Overseas Association’s committee, appearing at many of the BVRC Overseas Association reunions until illness and age made it impossible for him to attend.

He died on September 17.

Bill Adams attended his funeral on behalf of the surviving members of the Bermuda War Veterans Association.