A GREAT-GRANDFATHER and war veteran, who once met the German General Rommel, died after falling down his stairs, an inquest heard.

George Ashby, 91, of Cleall Avenue, Waltham Abbey, was found by his neighbour Betty on October 21 last year when she heard him cry out, Chelmsford Coroners Court heard.

He was lying on the floor having fallen down the stairs at his house, and was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he died two days later of his injuries.

Deputy coroner Chinyere Inyama recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Born in 1918, in East Finchley, north London, Mr Ashby lost his father when he was six and his mother remarried twice.

During the war, he was enlisted in the medical corps and saw action in Italy and Africa where he came face to face with the legendary German General Erwin Rommel.

Mr Ashby's son, John Ashby said: “He actually met Rommel in the desert when he attended some German troops. Rommel got all the medical corps staff in and shook their hand and thanked them.

“We used to say 'If only you'd got a photo!' and he'd say: 'I know. You're not going to believe me'.

“His senior officer once asked for him to be shot for being drunk on duty. Luckily for my dad it got held back and they changed the officer in charge. He still got punished, but they spared him.”

After leaving the army, Mr Ashby took on a job on the trolley buses, and later worked in the back room of the post office in Mount Pleasant.

He had always wanted a career as a train driver but tests revealed he was colour blind.

Mr Ashby lived with his family in Hornsey, London, but shortly after his retirement in 1983 he moved to Waltham Abbey with his wife Mary Daisy.

She died in 1994, and he lived on his own from then on, but with regular family visits. He would go to Cheshunt Golf Club every Thursday.

On his 90th birthday, Mr Ashby returned to Monte Cassino where he had been stationed during the war.

John said: “He visited the English and Polish war grave yards. He looked on the board to see if any of his comrades where there but it got a bit too much for him. He enjoyed the day out though. It's such a marvellous place to see. He said the Italian peasants were very good to him.”

After his 90th birthday, Mr Ashby's health declined and he became unsteady on his feet.

John said: “Betty next door used to look after him. If one was ill the other would do their shopping. I was the last one to see him before the fall. Me and him would play cards. I played him that night and Betty found him in the morning.

“He was a very generous man. He'd give you his last penny. He always looked after people and I couldn't have wished for a better father.”

Mr Ashby is survived by his four children Dave, John, Peter and Jean, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.