Shropshire's 'fastest roofer' Eric dies aged 92

Burma veteran Eric Shaw, who lived in Albrighton, was described by his son Gary as one of the best "head carriers" in the area.

"He used to carry three-quarter hundred-weight of tiles on his head and he was known as the fastest roofing contractor around," said Gary, who took over his Shaw Roofing business following his father's retirement in the early 1990s.

"He worked for all the big companies and he did a lot of work for Stars News shops."

Mr Shaw, who died at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford on August 24, following a fall at his home, was originally from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and volunteered for military service on his 17th birthday on August 1, 1939, a month before the outbreak of World War Two.

He later joined the RAF Regiment and ended up in Burma with the "Forgotten 14th Army", grinding down Japanese resistance in the last stages of the campaign. He remained in Burma until the Allied victory over Japan in August 1945.

The family moved to Wolverhampton in 1948 following the death of Mr Shaw's father, George, and he met his future wife, Alice, at a dance group which met at St Peter's Church.

They married in 1950 and emigrated to Canada in 1953, living in Toronto for five years before returning to Wolverhampton in 1958.

"The cold winters meant he was unable to work for three months of the year, so he decided to return home," said Gary.

On his return, he took over the family roofing business and moved to a house in Hilton Road, Parkfields, where the couple lived for 46 years, before moving 11 years ago to the Cosford Park mobile home site in Albrighton.

In a 1998 interview he spoke about the last days of the war, when he and his comrades were hastily retrained as foot soldiers to plug the gaps in the British infantry divisions.

As well as Gary, 58, who lives in Wolverhampton, Mr Shaw leaves wife Alice, 84, a son Graham, 62, and a daughter Elaine, 60. He also has leaves six grandchildren.