Arthur Taylor, of Christchurch, was evacuated from Dunkirk

Arthur Taylor, of Christchurch, was one of the 330,000 men rescued from the beaches of the French town after spending nearly two days being shot at and shelled by the Germans.

The RAF radio operator witnessed comrades stood next to him cut down by machine gun fire from Nazi planes.

He queued for 36 hours before getting on a ‘little ship’ that took him back to England in May 1940.

Arthur channelled the famous ‘Dunkirk spirit’ to rejoin the war effort and played his part in the crucial Battle of Britain three months later.

Arthur Taylor at last year's Remembrance Sunday service in Bournemouth

In his latter years he was heavily involved with the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships organisation and led the veterans’ parade in Dunkirk for the 75th anniversary of Operation Dynamo in 2015.

He also described in harrowing detail the evacuation to director Christopher Nolan, which helped him produce his 2017 movie Dunkirk. Arthur was a VIP guest for the film’s premiere in London.

Wife Vera survives him.

Ian Gilbert, the vice admiral of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, has paid tribute to the war hero.

He said: “Arthur had a great spirit.

“He was a great advocate for the importance of Operation Dynamo and how it had transformed the opportunity for Britain to save itself after the disastrous campaign of the British Expeditionary Force.

“He was always in great humour and loved life.”

Arthur Taylor with Major (Ret'd) Sankar Gurung in 2017

Veteran Gurkha Sanjkar Gurung accompanied Arthur at numerous Remembrance Sunday ceremonies.

He posted on social media: “I shall miss you very much. You have absolutely done your bit for Queen and country.

“It is time to rest now.”

Arthur told the Daily Echo in 2010 about his experiences at Dunkirk.

“We were queuing for 36 hours to get to the pier. The line was 20 people wide,” he said.

“For 36 hours we were bombed and shelled. We saw people machine-gunned right before our eyes.

“You didn’t think about what was happening – you just got on with it. That was the true Dunkirk spirit.”

Dunkirk veteran Arthur Taylor in a photograph from 1939

Arthur got on the armed trawler the Lord Grey on May 30. The vessel took him to Dover.

He was then posted to RAF Hawkinge and RAF Lympne in Kent during the Battle of Britain where he worked as ground crew on Spitfires.

He met Vera while serving at RAF Christchurch in 1941 and they were married in the same year.

After the war he was demobbed but rejoined the RAF six months later as he couldn’t settle into civilian life.

He served for 36 more years, including in Hong Kong, Kenya and Singapore during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s.

After retiring from the RAF he worked as a part-time accountant.

He suffered a fall at home last November and spent five weeks at Poole Hospital before passing away on December 28.

Arthur had six children, 13 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

A special ensign of St George that only the Dunkirk Little Ships are allowed to fly will be draped on his coffin at his funeral on February 1.

Arthur Taylor entertains officers at the Burton Armed Forces and Veterans Day event in 2015