TED Vincent, who grew up in poverty in Belfast and worked on bomb disposal duty in Palestine, has died aged 88.

Edward James Vincent was born on February 17, 1927, to a Catholic family in Belfast.

He was the eldest of 15 children who lived in such poverty that he did not even own a pair of shoes until he was 14. Growing up, he sold newspapers and did odd jobs to earn a bit of money.

At the age of seven he spent a year in hospital with tuberculosis, but two years later he was very proud to play the triangle in a local band.

During the Second World War his father joined the British Army, and the 14-year-old Mr Vincent got a job at a Belfast sawmill where an industrial accident nearly cost him his fingers.

Tired of struggling for work, he came to England with just 10 shillings in his pocket, and got a job making rifles in a munitions factory.

However he went on to sign up for the Royal Engineers in 1946, following in his father's footsteps.

He trained in bomb disposal before being posted to Barton Stacey, near Winchester, where he met his future wife Jennie sheltering from a storm in a shop doorway.

The future Mrs Vincent, from Alum Chine in Bournemouth, was in the Land Army, and they soon hit it off, but before long he was posted to Palestine for three-and-a-half years.

He saw many horrors while serving in Palestine during the crisis, which left him with combat stress. Among his duties was clearing mines from railway tracks with no more protection than a short-sleeved shirt.

When he returned to England the pair married, on February 25, 1950, with a wedding ring costing just £3.

The newly-wed couple lived at North Camp, near Aldershot, and later at Longmoor Camp, near Liphook, and had two children, Margaret and David, however Mr Vincent began to suffer with health problems including spondylitis and osteoarthritis.

After he was demobbed, the family moved to West Howe where Mrs Vincent worked as an auxilliary nurse to support the family for several years.

Two further children were born, Teresa and Sean. Sadly Teresa died in 2003.

They bought their first house in Poole in 1960, and Mr Vincent was able to get a job at Vickers-Armstrong, later British Aerospace. He worked there for 27 years.

A devoted family man and proud Irishman who also loved his adopted country, Mr Vincent was a strong Catholic and a regular worshipper at St Mary's in Wimborne Road.

He loved classical and country and western music, and later in life developed a passion for literature, drama and art. At the age of 81 he studied for a humanities degree with the Open University.

He leaves 11 grandchildren. A funeral service will be held at St Anthony's Church in Broadstone on Friday, July 10, at 10.30pm.