TRIBUTES have been paid to a war hero who successfully fought for greater recognition of the role played by Commonwealth troops in the world wars.

Lieutenant Colonel Chanan Singh Dhillon, of Bath Road, Hounslow, died last Wednesday (September 14), a month short of his 94th birthday.

Born in the Indian village of Cheemna, in the Punjab, he came to London in 1985 and led the successful campaign for the Memorial Gates, in London, which commemorate the sacrifices of the five million men and women from the Indian subcontinent, African and the Caribbean who volunteered for the Armed Forces during the world wars.

Mr Dhillon served in the Second World War, fighting in El-Alamein, and was one of just 12 survivors out of an estimated 4,000 after a naval attack off the Sicilian Coast in 1943,

Plucked from the water by German troops, he spent the next two years at prisoner of war camps in Italy, France and Germany, taking the responsibility for the welfare of prisoners and leading several audacious escapes, only to be recaptured each time.

In one escape, he and other inmates tunnelled their way out of the Odine POW camp, near Naples, in Italy, using the unrest caused by Mussolini's arrest to make their final bid for escape, though they were soon recaptured.

He was eventually rescued by the Americans in 1944 and after retiring from the Army became president of the Ex-Services League (Punjab and Chandigarh) in India.

He campaigned tirelessly for greater recognition of the role played by Commonwealth soldiers in the world wars, which he claimed had been 'hidden' by the British government and left out of school text books.

Perhaps his greatest triumph came with the inauguration of the Memorial Gates, on Constitutional Hill, beside Green Park, by the Queen in 2002.

While at the Victory Parade in London in 1995, marking 50 years since the end of the Second World War, he was shocked to hear no mention of Indian forces, sparking his fight to get this monument to the 'forgotten' troops of the Commonwealth built.

Mr Dhillon's daughter Taran Hans, of Hounslow, said she was incredibly proud of her father's war record and his subsequent campaigning.

"What he did during the war was good but I'm especially proud of the work he did later to win recognition for those who lost their lives during the wars," she told the Chronicle.

"He was very passionate about education and he was the chairman of about 20 colleges in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he also taught children for free."

Mr Dhillon had seven children, 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His wife, Tej, died a decade ago.

His funeral took place on Sunday (September 18) but Ms Hans hopes to organise a memorial service for him either around his birthday, on October 18, or November 11.