Born Lawrence Ivor Edward Hazell in 1921, Larry volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1938 and moved to Cheltenham when his family were evacuated in 1940.
When war broke out he was shadowing enemy ships in the Red Sea aboard HMS Afridi.
Still a teenager, Larry was part of a boarding party on a German freighter when, from a concealed position, he saw the Captain drawing elaborate sections of the Royal Navy ship. He apprehended the Captain who, British interrogators discovered, was engaged in espionage. He also served on destroyers including HMS Mohawk in the Norwegian campaign and in the North Sea around the Hook of Holland.
Larry later in the war found himself aboard HMS Cottesmore hunting U-boats, and his long war service saw him decorated with the Defence Medal, War Medal 1939 – 1945, Naval general Service Medal, 1939 – 1945 Star, Atlantic Star, North Africa Star, Italian Star and Maltese Commemorative Medal.
It was while in the Royal Navy that Larry honed his talents as a cartoonist and painter, going on to have an exhibition of his work at the Hesters Way Resource Centre in Cheltenham.
Larry returned to Norway in May 2003, accompanied by his close friend Forbes Wilson and several other veterans of the Norwegian campaign. He was able to take several trips to Namsos, a town heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe in April 1940.
In October 2005, Larry visited Buckingham Palace along with other veterans of the Norwegian campaign to meet the Norwegian King, Queen and Crown Prince and, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Larry died on the 22nd July 2008 from pneumonia. He leaves wife Ivy, 88, who he married in 1943 and, son Craig, 63.
Forbes Wilson.